Good morning everyone!
If you're a follower of the blog, you've probably noticed I haven't updated it at all this week. I'm writing today to address that specifically.
Over the past year, The Elephant in the Room has evolved and grown beyond my wildest expectations. From an "insider" stand point, we started with three people, then we shrank to two, and now, aside from some help from an original admin, Pachyderm Pride, it has been pretty much just me... Mike (LME) running the show. It has been wonderful, and I'm glad to have taken on this role by myself. Don't worry, I'm not shutting things down; this isn't a break-up letter :-).
Sometimes, in life, other things do evolve, too. For me personally, I've accepted a new job at a start-up company, and my first day was Monday, January 28th. It's truly a great opportunity, and I feel very fortunate to have been accepted. It is vastly different from my previous job, however, and as you've probably noticed, it has an effect on the blog.
One of the biggest and best things I think this blog does is bring people together in an open manner. I'm HUGE on openness... from personal emails from "fans" (and non-fans alike), to getting to know the over 100,000 visitors, to daily debate engagements, the open blog format, in my opinion, has been a success. I'm also big on keeping The Elephant in the Room fresh and "with it" the best I can.
As I said, the new job is vastly different from the old one. At my previous employer, I was in the office 2 hours before anyone else, and I could research, write, and even post daily news headlines to stir debates. At the new job, as with any start-up, the hours are long, and I'm finding it difficult to make it to the blog each day. Additionally, in an open-office (ironically), Google-like atmosphere, I don't want to be working on the blog as I did at my last job. That was an uncommon luxury, and I don't plan on continuing it forward here.
So what does this mean for The Elephant in the Room? Well, I don't know yet. I've taken a one-week break (unintentionally) to assess how to go forward. The first thing I can readily affirm is that I won't be able to post Morning Headlines. I enjoyed posting these, and they were a great way to share with people some relevant news information as well as being the catalyst for civil and open debate. With the nature of the new job, I simply won't be able to keep these going. As far as "main" or "deeper" postings... I'm going to try my best to continue with these, but I'm not sure how many and at what frequency they will be posted. I tried to maintain at least two being posted live each week, but I don't know if that will continue. One of my pet peeves with other blogs is when they post so sporadically... like once every three weeks. I prided myself on not going down that road, but with these new conditions, I'm not sure how this will work out.
Where does this all lead? Well, first, employing the open blog format I love so much, I'm asking for feedback. As I said, I won't be posting Morning Headlines, and I do plan on writing main posts on a here-and-there (sadly) basis... but how do you think this should work? For example, I was thinking of starting a post every Sunday night that will be a week-long open board for people to post the week's news events as they come up. I might just keep the blog title and a set of instructions up and leave the comments section open to share and debate. Also, I was hoping to capture more Reader's Posts. Being a content-driven, open blog, this might help in fulfilling that segment.
But what else? What suggestions do you have? I'm truly sad that the blog will take a hit as I love politics and political debate, and I love facilitating and running a place where people can come to express themselves. I hope to keep it going with the largest capacity I can, but I'm just not sure it will be possible. I'm open to any and all suggestions, and if you don't want to post them in the comments section, please email me at loudmouthelephant@gmail.com.
Again, this isn't an "end" letter... just a major update. It has been a pleasure so far, and I hope to keep it going. I'm looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say! Thanks again!
Mike (LME)
P.S. Go Ravens!
Showing posts with label Reader's Post. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reader's Post. Show all posts
Friday, February 1, 2013
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
READER'S POST #20 - Romney Misguided on Egypt/Libya
By: whatsamattausa
Mere hours after Americans were killed in savage attacks in Libya and Egypt, Mitt Romney blasts the Obama administration for apologizing for freedom rather than condemning the attacks. Here is the 'apology' statement Romney is talking about: Link - http://egypt.usembassy.gov/
September 11, 2012
The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims – as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions. Today, the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Americans are honoring our patriots and those who serve our nation as the fitting response to the enemies of democracy. Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy. We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
READER'S POST #19 - Where's Waldo... And Obama?
By: 32slim32
Remember when that horrible, evil George Bush (who didn’t
care about black people) didn’t go to New Orleans for two days after hurricane
Katrina? Well, he flew over two days after because there was nowhere to land.
He returned the next day. Remember all the outrage?
That makes you think that a president that actually cared
about black people (you know, a Democrat) would be there much sooner. Right?
Hurricane Isaac hit the gulf coast late Tuesday evening. Where
was President 0bama? Well let’s go to whitehouse.gov and check his itinerary
for the days following the hurricane?
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
READER'S POST #18 - You Have Got To Be Kidding Me
By: 32slim32
From Yahoo
news: “Mitt Romney
says Barack Obama doesn't think entrepreneurs
built their businesses. The problem is that's not what the president said.”
From National Review: Obama
campaign deputy manager Stephanie Cutter (of “felon” suggestion fame) is out
with a new charge: Mitt Romney is lying about Barack Obama’s “you didn’t build
that” line.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
READER'S POST #17 - Are Celebrities Stupid, or do They Think We Are?
By: 32slim32
I saw where Cher made this tweet about Mitt Romney:
“I Feel if he [0bama] doesn't get all his DUCKS IN A ROW
we'll b forced 2 listen 2Uncaring Richy Rich! The whitest man in MAGIC
UNDERWEAR in the WH”
That is just priceless, Cher calling Romney Richey Rich.
While Romney is worth $250 Million, Cher is worth $305 Million. Pot meet
kettle. I’m not even going to touch that
“whitest man in magic underwear” thing.
By the way, what is Magic Underwear and would it be better if he were
the blackest or brownest man in magic underwear?
Monday, June 18, 2012
READER'S POST #16 - Observations From the Grocery Store
By: 32slim32
I am sure we have all been to the grocery store and seen
someone pay for their groceries with their food stamp card.
On one occasion, I saw a lady run through all of her
groceries and swipe her EBT card. She was informed that one of her purchases
was not covered (a Monster energy drink I think it was). Then she noticed that
she was charged sales tax on that item. She was livid. “What am I paying taxes
on?” she demanded.
So not only do they get their groceries for free they stiff
the state on sales tax too using their patriotic looking card.
Monday, May 14, 2012
READER'S POST #15 - Is the Democratic Party Nothing But Hypocrites?
By: Anonymous
I submitted this to start a discussion about a topic that has been on my mind for probably about 10 years now. I've always wondered about democrats, and instead of spinning my head in circles, I decided to post a discussion topic on one of my favorite blogs to help get some answers. Maybe you guys can clear this up for me. This isn't a major analysis, or a rant, but some simple observation-based questions. Again, I'd like to open up a discussion, and I'm glad I can do it here. If this is too controversial for you, please go on to the next posting.
Are Democrats Hypocrites?
Why do I ask? Because I see that:
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