So I’ve been keeping a secret from you for a few months now, because I didn’t want to talk it up for fear that it would go away. However, as of this morning, I can report that it is, indeed, a real thing:
The Crommunist Manifesto has moved to FreeThoughtBlogs
Let’s back up a bit.
In early July, I received an e-mail from Ed Brayton, author of the very popular ‘Dispatches from the Culture Wars‘ blog. In it, he told me that he had thrown in with one of my favourite bloggers, PZ Myers from Pharyngula. Following some negotiations with the publisher of Scienceblogs, PZ and Ed had decided to start a hub for atheist bloggers. My name had come up in some meetings, and so I was being invited to join in.
Well, dear readers, I’m not an idiot, so I said yes. Ed told me that they were rolling out blogs on a staggered basis over the next few months, so I sat back and waited patiently. Earlier this week, I received the notification that the wait was over. I am being invited into the fold of FTB.
What does this mean for Crommunist?
Basically, to use a sports metaphor, this is like being scouted to play for the minor league affiliate of a major sports franchise in your rookie season. I have not been in the blogging game for very long, so to be invited to hang my shingle alongside veterans like PZ, Ed, and Greta Christina, as well as up-and-comers like Jen McCreight, Jason Thibeault and Stephanie Zvan… it’s a big deal for me. If I put in a few good seasons, there is a chance that I will have the opportunity to play in the majors – a guest column in a newspaper, the opportunity to attend conferences as a lecturer, maybe even a book deal somewhere down the road. While I don’t have any specific ambitions toward these things, I’ve learned that one should always be open to the opportunity should it arise.
Obviously, as someone who shares his personal insights, I am interested in disseminating them to as large an audience as possible. Having a spot at FTB will contribute to that a great deal. I have picked up a few new blogs since they went live at FTB, and I have my fingers crossed that I will similarly reap the benefits of being on the same page as the big guys. That being said, I have fought for every reader I have up until now, and I know that if I put out an inferior product I will lose readers quickly.
What does this mean for readers?
There will, sadly, be some slight changes to how you access this material. This URL will remain in existence, for a while at least. I will, however, not be putting up full posts on the site anymore. Instead, I’ll post ‘teasers’ and a link to the full-length article. I would like to concentrate traffic there, simply because it makes my blogging management twice as simple. I’d also prefer that you comment there rather than here. As always, I will respond to e-mails as quickly as I can.
If you follow me from an RSS reader, you’ll have to update your settings, or simply rely on the teasers and links to direct you.
As I alluded to above, the content and quality you’re used to will not change, or will improve. The fact that people are reading this stuff is a major motivator for me to do better, and more readers = more better. I solemnly refuse to forget those of you who were here when I was just a guy with a website. Besides, now you can burnish your hipster cred: “I read Crommunist before he sold out”.
I hope you’ll see this as exciting and positive, because that is certainly how I feel about the change. See you at the new site!
XOXO
Crommunist
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Congratulations! That is great news!
Congratulations!
For those who want to follow you on LiveJournal (yes, perhaps old and outdated, but I still use it), your new blog is now syndicated there at http://ftb-crommunist.livejournal.com/