I Love MindSay Pages! I Love Headliners! Way to go MindSay Team!

Here's an idea for a "What I love about MindSay" Essay.... (well it was...)

Well I know that I enjoy blogging at MindSay. I'm not saying that because they're such a great team - or that there's such a bright group involved in the community. I'm not "sucking up" for a contest. (I was thinking of using this as a Yearbook entry and changed my mind...just 'cause I hate to have to wait to post this!) I simply enjoy MindSay because it's given me an enriching experience that transcends just "writing". It challenges me and it even pulls me out of my little life into the big wide world - out there.

I have learned in leaps and bounds; to interact on the internet and to hone my writing and creative skills through html, css and the challenges of "trial and error" design! I have made friends and interacted with people clear across the continent, shared scary moments and beautiful touching moments and some of the best photography and poetry and writing there is! Who can beat that?

Now we have MindSay Pages, and with them we are begining a most formidable new experiment; Co-Creation!
I'm not sure people really appreciate the impact co-creation has on our thought processes. Creation - for a writer or a designer is a very personal experience. We all do it everyday, here and in our lives in general. Usually the "creator" identifies very strongly with their "creation"... People take great pride in their particular prowess, and rightly so.

In a co-creative exercise there is a whole new dynamic to contend with. Many of those same polished "creators" have difficulty standing back and allowing others to replace, re-design or re-word their work! This new paradigm; working co-operatively in creation with others is a great opportunity to not only vastly increase the material available at Mindsay and help connect people with similar interests but to also provide opportunity to learn co-operative skills, to collaborate, even to learn to agree to disagree, and be able to do it amiacably... well, we can hope, I've no doubt we can!

The experiment has only just begun and the pages are building quickly and there's that "time will tell" thing... My prediction? About this time next year Adam & Brian & all, will find they've almost doubled the number of blog sites since inception of the MindSay Page and attracted many more new users as a result. They'll be forced and inspired to improve the Front Page of the MindSay site to openly invite non-initiates to view the MindSay Pages (there's no "blocking" them) plus anyone's pages that are syndicated and not "blocked" ie; friends only sites, allowing anyone, the world, to access without entering a password or user ID.

And then MindSay Headliners came to be, almost as magically as "The Pages"! It's another great way to connect everyone and gives us all a bit more insight into the resource we actually have here! Again it's not some sort of popularity contest as many other features have seemed and I find that refreshing! Thank You all so for that!

This really highlights the need; someone will have to put their thinking cap on to find a better "Entry Portal" for the MindSay Community - highlighting these features rather than just forcing an interested un-initiate to enter their e-mail address and password. Otherwise we who also list our sites with BlogExplosion (therefore no "blocking") are the only ones who can find ways to invite other people "IN" to the community experience here. But I have learned: once they're "IN" they find it hard to manouever around because of the blocking set up - probably would be good to address that issue, somehow..., early this year if expansion is a BIG goal.

No matter if my prediction is correct or not... I won't win a prize for a prediction - BUT - we've all won something far better, right here; a community that can evolve and enjoy, even revel in; making evolution "happen"!

Hey, wait...that's.... prizeless, isn't it? Oh bother!

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