So what do you have to say for yourself?!
Sadly, for many the question breeds abject silence. But some of the healthier among us are compelled to reach out and engage in the public dialogue. These are the town criers, the bloggers, the frustrated pundits, the passionate fans who cheer, boo and hiss. That's what I am talkin' about!! We're looking for you. We’re looking for people who fearlessly participate and tell it like it is.
This is an invitation to those with that spirit, those who are firmly grounded in common sense and those who have the discipline to get it right. For those rare individuals, what follows here are some ballpark editorial guidelines for contributing to Furthermore.
First, we need to put it in the context of "what we are" and "what we want to be." Furthermore consists of a growing tribe of these expressive thinkers. Here, like some who discuss sports, we discuss the news of the day. This is a web-based water cooler where the latest headlines from the New York Times, the BBC and the Washington Post, etc. are weighted and vetted. This is a thinking man's Drudge digest. We’ll aggregate the stories you need to be “in the know” and give you a synopsis. This is the place where we come to weave “the common story.”
Furthermore… together we do the work of reflection and insight. Our goal is to give you commentary in real time… not the pabulum or the rants at the fringes, no Franken-O’Reilly mud fests, no special-interest bias and advocacy but rather just plain information and common sense context. We are NOT an instrument of anyone's PR. You'll find no paid-for resource listings that pose as business tools. There will be no instructional "how to's" or faux informational articles that report to help small businesses succeed. No, we're not looking for converts. Rightfully our sponsors might, but the editorial staff of Furthermore doesn't want to sell you a thing. We give you the facts, followed by smart, well thought out and especially honest interpretation of the facts.
That said, here are a few words about style and form. Indeed, the operative phrase is "a few words." We're looking for short, crisp, clean and conversational. Forget the journalistic "inverted pyramid" stuff. Just simply tell the audience “what you're going to say,” “tell 'em,” and then “tell ‘em what you said.” Note: we do acknowledge that we want writing geared for an eight grade level... as long as it’s understood that our rambunctious “eight graders” have an IQ of 150 or better.
Specifically, we are looking for 300-500 word capsules of the most important news stories of the day. We're looking for about a 150-word synopsis followed by your commentary of what it all means.
With regard to how one participates, the process is also straight forward. If you’re interested in writing for Furthermore, first register; then, email a request to be a commentator to the publisher at publisher@furthermore.com. Once approved, you'll be given additional access to Commentator tools such as the frontend content editor, private messaging, chat and private forum. Then every morning, in Furthermore’s online discussion forum our authors will gather for an editorial briefing. Each of us will bring links to what we consider the most significant stories of the day. In this way, we will avoid duplication. It also acts in effect as a group managing editor. If per chance some of our vile self-serving tendencies emerge, the group will surely rein that in. Note, we expect this online meeting to be brief. We hope to have copy then uploaded to the content editor before 8 AM. This gives us time for necessary edits (all good writers need and editor).
That's it!
Thanks for your interest. We look forward to hearing from you. We look forward to your insights and observations.
