We’ve been shaking things up a bit behind the scenes here at FtB. One of our enduring annoyances has been recruiting new bloggers — the way we set it up here (again, behind the scenes) was to appoint a committee and tell them to do all the work. Then, every once in a while, someone would write to me or someone else and ask how to be considered for FtB, and I’d blithely pass their name along to the committee.
That didn’t work. We don’t have a staff. No one signed up here to do administrative work, we were here to write, so passing a name to the committee was more like casting it away into the eternal void.
So we’re trying something different. No committee. Instead, we have an email link, and you’ll write to us with your qualifications. It then gets passed into a private application channel, and we all have an opportunity to look you over and vote yay or nay.
So if you want to blog here, here’s what you do: send an email to ftbapplications@googlegroups.com, in which you give us this information:
Name
Contact email
Do you want your email public?
Twitter account, if any
Link for donations, if any
Links to your current blog, any biographical material, or best examples of your writing in comments or forums or other media
Why do you want to write for us?
It’s that easy. This is a private communication to the bloggers here; none of this information will be made public without your permission. So if you’re interested in trolling us, it won’t be very rewarding, since your application will vanish into our application channel, never to emerge into the public, and we’ll snigger at it before deleting it.
Serious applications will be examined for their suitability. Our requirements are simple: we want godless Social Justice Warriors. If that’s you, why aren’t you writing for us already? (Oh, because applicants vanished into the darkness of the eternal void of the committee).
We really want to encourage diversity, too, and we also want to see some sort of track record of your writing. Anything will do; if you don’t have a blog of your own, give us links to your substantive comments, or your participation in an online forum, anything to show that you’re actually able to write coherently, and that your views align with our intent. If you don’t have a history of regular blog-like writing, that’s OK — we’re creating a guest blog, and will give you keys to that so you can try it for a few months and see if you take to it.
Group blogs are fine. You can be pseudonymous, too, we’ll just need to have a way to contact you.
What are the rewards, you ask?
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You get space for a blog of your very own!
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You get to join a group of supportive people!
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You get paid! OK, not much. We take the profits from each months advertising and divide it among all bloggers by their proportion of traffic. So you get a free cup of coffee every month!
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Fame and glory!
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You’ll be able to shape the future membership of FtB! Review the next set of applicants, if you want!
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Trolls galore! We’ve got a crop of dedicated assholes who will plague you until you block them. We’ll show you how!
If this sounds fun, send us an application. We’re also planning on quarterly review of new applications, so we’re going to possibly invite new bloggers to join us in mid-March. If anyone applies. If anyone makes the cut. Remember, godless SJWs only, please.
If you think later that you’d like to join, these instructions will be available at the “About FtB” link in the top left corner of this window, at some time in the next few days.
*waves hand* Ooh! Ooh! I’m a godless SJW!
I also don’t have the spoons to manage writing creative original blog posts every day. Or week. Or necessarily month. So I probably wouldn’t be a very good candidate for FTB. But hey, I can always dream.
We don’t have a posting schedule requirement. It’s just that if you only post once a month, you probably won’t bring in enough money to pay for that cup of coffee.
Admittedly I have fantasized about joining FTB for many years, but it makes me nervous. Would I actually like fame and glory? Obscurity allows me to make mistakes and publish some duds without anyone caring.
I am an SJA, godless, and I blog, but I don’t write. Well, not often. I’m more visual based.
#3: you just have unrealistic expectations because you’ve noticed I never publish any duds.
#4: Like we would care? Content is content.
I am also not much of a writer and I am not considering. But I am just curious: do you require bloggers on FTB to write in English?
A visual blog would sound good, if you know what I mean.
As writing “fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck” 740X does not constitute a blog entry, I shall not be applying.
But seriously, best of luck to those who do, and I’m excited to read new voices!
PZ:
Um, okay, I’ll think on it.
Olav @ 7:
Thanks. I’ll have to give this some thought, I’m not sure how it might work just yet.
#6: No. We want more diversity. Spanish language bloggers would be good, but anything goes…as long as google translate can handle your language so we can be sure you’re not running a PUA blog on us.
I’ll assume that applicants are expected to be adults.
Here is another thought, in light of some things that have happened here before: besides an invitation to people to come write a blog, it would perhaps be good to be clear about things you do not want here. And there should be a well defined procedure by which a blogger can be removed, if that does not already exist.
I could be at least as productive as the average blogger here (I started on A+ and moved elsewhere as things went into an ice age there), but I’ve been seriously considering whether I should be blogging at all. Like Unknown Eric, current events have me spewing F-bombs without anything useful to add. Also I’m a pretty overrepresented demographic in being a mostly masculine whitey, my slice of the LGBTQIA rainbow not something that has impacted my life tremendously.
Y’know what? I’ll throw my hat in anyway.
Does this mean that you guys will consider me bringing my Tumblr photoblog over and mooching off of all of your traffic?
Cons: Aside from the above cynical selfishness…. I have no good insights on anything and say nothing of note. As evidenced by my commenting history here and on Ed’s site. I might also be a fool.
In my “pro” column: I’m too lazy to run off crying to YouTube to run a sad little vendetta when you reject me.
I wouldn’t mind doing a visual blog, photography mostly, with occasional ventures into art, I always have more photos than I know what to do with anyway, but I wouldn’t like it to just be my stuff – I’d like to feature photography (and art projects and the like) of the FTB readership (barring the major assholes, natch).
@16- Caine!
You can’t do a photoblog! I was gonna do a photoblog!
*runs off to youtube to start a sad little vendetta*
Caine:
Neat idea. In your mind, would there be a central topic to such a visual blog?
If not I would perhaps submit a picture every now and then. And I would not be offended if my work wasn’t always published.
I forgot to type anything into my application on the subject line. Hopefully not a problem?
williamfoot- XD Where’s the bizarrely formatted screed of multi-colored text?
Same here. For different reasons though. I started a blog up, made one post, then chickened out. I don’t think I could handle the constant worry of screwing up instead of actually helping. I already worry over comments I post enough as it is.
It’s scary stuff putting yourself out there (especially on SJW topics) and I give big ups to those that do.
Just went out on a *very quick* photo walk with the monster dogs (oh, cold outside, really cold), and yeah, I can think of 20 photo based blog posts off the top of my head. I’ll apply.
Honestly, even once a month is optimistic. I can’t predict more than a week in advance whether I’ll be writing, working, and just generally living like a person on any given day or if taking care of immediate biological needs will be more or less the extent of what I can do. My own blog (such as it is) hasn’t seen a proper update for over a year.
And that’s not getting started on the fact that being unable to do much of anything much of the time leaves me with very little in the way of things to write about.
Olav:
No. It would simply be life, all the things I and other people find interesting – I just took a photo of a door knob, and yet another one of a section of chain link fence. I have a thing for all the odd stuff, and I’d bet I’m not alone in that. I also just took a photo of a humongous crystal rock dug up by a construction crew over at the schoolyard – I need someone to tell me “stealing is wrong, do it the right way” over and over right now. I do have in mind a set Sunday Sacrilege weekly post, photos and quotes about god, religion, all that.
That would be great!
I’d be tempted, but for a few things… firstly, I’m not sure I’m well known enough even here where I’m the most active anywhere outside of the meatlands for my thinky-thoughts to be attractive to anyone. I’m not at all convinced that my thoughts are actually coherent. And while I’ve had what I consider to be deep and worthwhile thoughts that have made their way toward become blog posts… uh, well, I started writing a little blog article dealie back before that thing with the elevator, and the rargh!splosion, and a Muslima about “first world problems” and its misuse to belittle those who face legitimate but not-necessarily-as-bad-as-scary-forn-partsers-have-it oppression, and it remains incomplete, so I probably don’t complete things. Not sure whether that last sentence deserves an “enough” added to the end or not.
Oh, also, I wrote a thing on twitter a little while back that got shared and I got four or five likes and was kind of paralysed by that exposure… so….
Still! I like the idea. I will consider applying for your rejection letter!
By the way, on the off chance that there’s anyone else wondering, like I am; when you say “write to us with your qualifications,” do you mean official qualifications, as in Qualifications, A-C, 4.0, distinction with honours and a wizard outfit, or just, “so, what do you feel qualifies you for this job?” sort of thing?
WilliamGeorge:
There isn’t room for two on the network? I’d visit yours if you visit mine. :D
I’m pretty sure you don’t want two-monthly, cross-posted, technical, computer-sciency musing about an obscure free/libre open source software project, right? :P
Caine, I’d lurk at your blog! (in the non-creepy way).
Application sent. I haven’t applied for anything in ages, scared now.
Trixiefromthelurk:
I’d love that! I’d love you poking your head up now and then even more. :D
Caine #28
*holds fingers*
@19 Great American Satan;
I think you forgot the lazy part of my resume.
@25 Caine;
The internet isn’t a zero sum game? How is this possible?
And I already did read.
Williamgeorge @ 31:
Your stuff is fabulous, and you have a very different focus than I do. You’re in a position to open a lot of people up to a culture they aren’t familiar with, while at the same time, providing visibility for those who are a part of that culture. I say apply!
Twist mah rubber arm…
And thanks for the compliments!
Hmmm… have been considering reanimating the old blog. Maybe this would be a good excuse.
PZ, would a old blog qualify as an introduction to my writing? And would mu blogging ve relevant? The only diversity I add is being Danish.
If Giliell shows up in this thread, please think about applying!
Done and so totally done.
I’m just remembering that time PZ opened the blog up to guest posts and was kind enough to publish a “classic” of mine (http://bit.ly/20tlC48) when I was still calling myself mandrellian. It gave me a taste but I was always wary of being that presumptuous guy who asks to join someone else’s successful clan :D
It’s an exciting prospect: Insh’Odin I could be a FtB’er and be hated by douchebaskets forEVER!
Sorry to barge in, but i just wanted to say that i’m thrilled to see Caine has applied, and would also like to encourage Giliell, Tony, Crip Dyke and Vivec as well if they happen to be interested. These are some of the voices that i personally have gotten the most from since i discovered Pharyngula and i’d be very interested in continuing to learn from what they might have to offer on their own slot at FtB.
Also, about the spanish thing, it’s got me wondering if perhaps translations of somebody else’s post could be of interest? Kind of a bilingual offer of the content?
I’m tempted.
I have a useful angle with the Tourette’s Syndrome and being hyper-analytical about social conflict. But it’s been very very hard to be motivated to blog even though I have about a dozen draft posts. The feeling of things not being worth it are hard to shake. I think it’s related to the continuing unemployment and things getting knotted together. Maybe Demons are better off whispering in crowds anyway.
I am intrigued by the idea of a blog that is a joint effort by hordelings. This blog must be called either The Hivemind, or The Echo Chamber, in honor of all the past and future trolls who throw such terms around when multiple people take issue with their comments.
I’m glad that many people like my writing
As I have said elsewhere, I’d be happy to supply guest posts or co-blog with a group, but currently I don’t want to run my own blog on a network where people can reasonably expect regular content.
That does sound like a really cool idea. Might take the pressure off of the individual writing responsibilities, if you know there’s other people who can put up content when you can’t.
DrMcCoy @26
Dunno, that actually sounds kind of neat. Not my field of expertise, but might be educational. :)
About requirements: we’re kind of loose. We want a diverse group all united under freethought and social justice, but otherwise, I’d like to see some different stuff. A Danish blog would be interesting, as long as we could occasionally check it out with Google Translate to make sure it isn’t a secret MRA blog saying “Kill All Feminists” in code (not worried about that with you, Kristjan). It’s not exactly “diversity”, but I’d also like to see more time zones represented on the network.
Group blogs are a really good idea. Look at the Black Skeptics for an example. The way that would work, though, is one person applies as the designated organizer (and also, incidentally, the person who’d get the paycheck — they’d be responsible for divvying up the pittance among the contributors). Blog owners can then freely add co-bloggers — it’s just a matter of going into blog permissions and giving individuals authorship privileges. That’s what I did with Crip Dyke here, for instance.
We give individual blogs a lot of autonomy. You get to decide what to write about, and also who you want to partner with. This has never been a problem before, although I could imagine a weird situation where we bring in a bona fide progressive SJW-type who then, for some reason, recruits RooshV as a co-blogger, and then we’d have to talk. Sneakily subverting the network that way would probably get you kicked out.
So, who wants to be the person to
poke the hornets’ nestact as a coordinator?If there was a group blog that allowed submissions from irregulars, I could definitely see sending something in every month or so. (I need the month to make sure I don’t wrap the words around my legs and fall on my face.)
I think a coop blog could be very interesting. Coordination and oversight might be pretty hectic, as I would expect that the flow of content would be quite *ahem* profuse. :)
I’m sending in my application. Would love the chance… :D
NateHevens @ 47:
Welcome to the application club!
So, who’D be up for a group and what would be your topics?
Giliell, are you in touch with Alexandra (Audley Z Darkheart)? She might be interested in a group blog.
Caine
No, but I should have her mail somewhere…
There appears to be no left of centre engineering blogs anywhere in the world. There must be a nontheist nonstatusquoist, preferably female, engineer somewhere in the world, who is capable of saying interesting things, after all, all living is engineering (apart from the squishy relationship bits that almost everyone seems to be bad at). Maybe make an offer to Verity Stob, though I expect The Register pays her more for her once- every- ten- months articles than she would get from writing 5000 words a day here.
@52, jacksprocket
Ya! I’d love to see more blogging about the world of business and industry and all that, since that’s the world I’m about to enter.
I wouldn’t mind joining a collective blog. Sounds ideal because of my low output (well, kind of low, recently), and I don’t care about getting a small paycheck so someone else can have it :P
Also where’s HJ? I’ll tell him about this. He’s contributed to other blogs and has done videos at FTB con, I would suspect he would be interested.
Are we talking more McDonalds senior coffee or cappucino at local coffeeshop coffee? I do have standards, you know.*
*NB: Standards actually extremely negotiable. Is there the possibility of an occasional cupcake? Macaron? Donut? Stale second-day bagel? Throw me a starchy, sugary bone here.
jacksprocket:
Instead of complaining, why don’t you apply for a blog yourself?
Actually I didn’t bother contacting HJ directly (he probably will read this sooner or later) I just advertised the opportunity to the local university Feminism group :)
Sounds interesting, but Scribblings on the Bedlam Wall isn’t so much a blog as “I got into an argument and don’t want to repeat myself, so here’s what I think about this stuff”.