dougs digs: The Website Snowball Effect

Have you ever read an article on a website or email or blog and at the end checked out the few sentences about the writer because you really enjoyed the piece ?

After reading the brief info about the writer that you just discovered and enjoyed, you find out they have written articles on other websites and perhaps might even have a few books published. Because you enjoyed one piece of informative work from this writer, you arrive at the rational conclusion that there might be more out there you don't know about and might enjoy. So you go to another website with an article from this person, then another, then another. . . then another . . . THEN ANOTHER.

You get my point, 'the Website Snowball Effect'.

This is quit an enjoyable experience, you're discovering stuff you didn't know about when you woke up this morning. If you're like me, at times I feel stagnant in the same websites I go to and the particular writers I enjoy. So, the discovery of a handful of new writers and websites all in the span of a morning is pretty darn cool.

This happened to me this morning.I was reading an article from an email newsletter I get every Thursday morning. The link to the article led me to a website I have never been to before (is that even possible?).

I was pleasantly surprised. This site is my kind of thing. A pragmatic and deconstruction approach to understanding culture and religion . . . with a humorous twist (a must). A keeper in my 'favorites' as well as an addition to 'My Yahoo' blog feed. I'm pumped.

Because I enjoyed the article and website so much, I wanted to know more about the author, Will Braun. Come to find out that Will is the editor of a new religion/culture magazine, Geez. This 'scavenger hunt' of new websites and info just keeps getting better. This magazine could be a keeper for me. I only subscribe and support one magazine and have for years, Adbusters. Those not familiar with Adbusters, let's just say you will never view our capitalistic society the same after diving in to it.

Anyway, I was not prepared for what I was about to discover after being led to the Geez magazine site. Their Publisher and managing editor is Aiden Enns, former managing editor of Adbusters magazine (2001-2003) and founder of Buy Nothing Christmas. Raised as an urban Anabaptist, he finds hope in struggling for justice.

Are you kidding me ! ! ! How freaking cool is that. Who knew ?

Then I discovered this little nugget about Will. Editor Will Braun, is a writer and aspiring farmer. His background includes advocacy and organizing around impacts of industrial development on indigenous people and lands in northern Canada. He finds inspiration cycling from one monastery to another. He has written for Sojomail, Znet, rabble.ca and Radical Grace magazine.

A writer for Sojourners . . . are you kidding me ! ! ! The snowball is now a 100ft boulder going 100mph.

I am elated at this point. I have discovered new websites, new blogs, a new magazine, and a few new writers to enjoy; all in an hours time. Not bad.

After the excitement subsided slightly, I headed back to my new favorite site, SoMA to check out other articles. One in particular stuck out to me. I won't go in to detail, but it is a great read. If you happen to be a friend or fan of Brian McLaren's you may not totally agree with this guy. If you are a casual observer of the Emergent stuff and don’t really know what to think of it all, it's a good and balanced observation (though not 100% factual). My friend Tim recently sent me a really good article looking at the Emergent/emerging thing. I can really get behind this article; it is well researched and comes from a loving place. I happen to agree with about 90% of the critique, check it out no matter your views of the movement, conversation, thing.

Anyway, again, good article and good writer. So let's see where this one goes. Come to find out the author, Patton Dodd, is a doctoral candidate in religion and literature at Boston University and the author of My Faith So Far and has his own website. The snowball just got bigger and faster.

His website is decent, more or less of a publicity tool for his book. After visiting the amazon.com page for his book, I discovered he is also a contributing writer for another website, killing the buddha. Of course, yet another pleasant find and a keeper. This is just getting ridiculous.

All in all, I think I discovered 3 or 4 (lost count) new websites, a new blog or two, and a few new writers that I really resonate with. Not bad for a mornings work. Speaking of, I guess I better actually start my 'real' work now. With all of these new discoveries, it's going to be hard to concentrate on anything else.

dougs digs

8.04.2005

The Website Snowball Effect

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