It’s almost a year ago that I initially posted about starting up some king of collaborative zine based on blog writers; edited blog post like articles.
We had a couple of meetings, various email discussions, I bought the domain*, did a design, some people started writing, there was a couple of near starts but in the end there just wasn’t enough energy into it (starting with me) and it didn’t lift.
I still have the domain though and have been vaguely wondering how to change the formula so we can do something collaborative but that doesn’t require as much work.
Seeing this project I started brainstorming and got this idea going:
Although there are a lot of other communities, Montreal is mostly known for it’s two sided personality, les francophones and the anglophones. That’s where the “duality” comes from in the title and that would be the basis for how we’d post.
There would be two aspects, photos and written posts, volunteers comment here to show interest in one or both categories, I put all the names in two “hats”. Every 4 days I pull out 2 names out of the photo hat and two out of the post hat. I email each of them.
- The photographers are totally free, they simply pic a picture out of their archive or take one that day and email it to me.
- I create an overlayed image with both pictures and post it to the site as the header for that “iteration” of the project. The full image is also viewable of course.
- I pick a very loose subject out of the air or, even better, out of suggestions made here or even through a form on the future site. Exemples: St-Lawrence, Holy-Jo’s, Tamtam, Chinatown, The Habs, The main, Shwartz’s….
- I email that subject to the two writers and they produce a blog post and email it to me for posting. It’s a “real” blog post meaning it can be any length, completely or vary vaguely related to the subject, in any language and treated in a personal angle, news, historical or any other type of view.
- Each person is of course linked from their post and they can repost it on their own site although I wouldn’t mind a delay of 24 or 48 hours. That would have to be decided.
- Every time you also tell me if you want back in. Once the hats are empty I throw everyone back in for another go.
The delay is 4 days. I post what I get, draw four more and email them. Each time we have two side by side posts on the same subject and a composite image by two photographers. And round and round.
Whaddayathink?
*It’s also going to be one year in 3 weeks that I have the Yulblog domain, the renewal just went through so if you want to do your part you might want to pay me a beer or something at next week’s meeting ;).
14 Comments
Good stuff. Good stuff.
The assignment formula might work much better than the previous one, especially if you put on a cute uniform and yell orders at the bloggers.
Did I just say that?
Seriously, I think that assigned themes and short deadlines might be saving this project, even though that sounds like a lot of work for you.
I like the photo idea and I also like the idea of simple themes that can be worked on in a variety of forms and lengths.
Should photos and text themes be linked?
I’m in.
Les photos sont in english ou en français? ;)
I might have a few (thousand) images lying here and there in my hard drive.
I’m in for both photos and text.
I think that using the assigned theme for the photos as well could be really cool too…
Ouais, des thèmes pour les photos aussi c’est important. Pis les photos soumises devraient être des photos prises après que le thème soit donné sinon c’est ben trop facile aller dans sa collection de photos pis en prendre une. L’idée c’est de produire et de créer, pas seulement publier.
So it seems the theme would apply to photos as well. I’d say people are greatly encouraged to take new pictures but it’s not mandatory. It’s more work to ask someone to go out and get a picture that relates to “Riviere des milles iles” than to write a text so I’d say “do your best” would be the policy.
Maybe if someone doesn’t want to, or can’t do, the week’s theme, they can “defer their service”, as it were, until another time?
Nah, wait, scratch that, it would be a pain in the ass in the execution.
Hey, cool! Count me in for photos and text.
Count me in, sounds like a great idea. Photos AND text.
I’m in. Photos, text. If writing in French I’d definitely need a copy editor, though…
You write in the language you prefer. If for a subject you find you’d like to write it in french, I can find someone to review it.
I’m in, photos and short video maybe ?? It could be fun too.
I’ll play. Does it count against me that I’ve never come to a YULblog meetup? ;)
Nope. No problem :)