... are imminent at The Buddha Diaries. I have been aware for some time that my various activities online have been rather diffuse, what with The Buddha Diaries, Vote Obama 2012, Persist: The Blog, my sites at the Huffington Post and Goodreads, my "One Hour/One Painting" promotions, not to mention my contributions to other blogs and magazines, Facebook and Twitter, and so on. I realize that there are benefits to interconnectivity that I have not yet explored. Hence the decision to make the move to the more comprehensive PeterClothier.com.
In making this move, I would much value your help. First, the title. I'm thinking that "PeterClothier.com" is too "me, me!" for what I'm attempting with my work. I thought about "The Heart of the Matter" or "The Examined Life," but there seems to be too much traffic in those areas. So I'm thinking about "Persist" as an umbrella title--I already have "Persist: The Blog," though that site has gone unused for some time. But for me, it's all about persisting, looking a little further, digging a little deeper in order to get, as the epigraph for The Buddha Diaries says, to "the heart of the matter"--whatever that matter may be: art, books, politics, the vicissitudes of life...
(I have been worrying, too, about "The Buddha Diaries" as a title. It morphed, as long-time readers know, from my original blog, "The Bush Diaries", at a moment when three years of daily "correspondence" with George W. Bush seemed to have become too restrictive. I was tired, I wrote then, of waking up every morning with Bush in bed with me. Lately, though, it has worried me that the title seems a bit presumptuous for one who is, after all, an amateur Buddhist at best. And there is much in the pages of The Buddha Diaries that does not, frankly, have very much to do with the Buddha. I feel like I'm taking his name in vain.)
Okay. Next, I'd appreciate feedback on the organization and usability of the new site. Its aesthetic appearance is still a work in progress, so that's not what I'm talking about. I'd like to know if the priorities, insofar as a reader would know them, seem clear and easy to navigate. Any suggestions as to possible improvements?
If you have thoughts about any of this, I'd really much appreciate the input--either as a comment to this entry or as an email to me at PeterClothier@mac.com.
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4 comments:
Just keep digging hard and change nothing!
I am a mite confused here. Are you saying you will be folding your other blogs into this one, or this one will be morphing into something else, the way Bush did into Buddha (vat a concept!)?
Buddha is the only one I follow – except occasionally the huff posts – and I have always known it was only tangentially about Buddha. So if you want to give it a new name taken from an Eagles song, go ahead. But my vote is to keep it as it is. I liked when you'd post about your travels and you inserted some cool pics.
But don't set the bar too high. You have taught me the value of writing something every day, and I believe this is that for you. I know also that your weightier ruminations are going into published works.
All best,
N.
I think I'm a bit confused, too, Noe. I'm planning to leave access to The Buddha Diaries unchanged. Don't want to disappoint on confuse many readers who have been faithful over the years! Thanks for the feedback.
persisting,
(you'll think of something).-Stuart
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