This week, we sent out our first installment of our weekly Big Think newsletter (called "The Big Picture") where we highlight the week's theme, as well as some notable user and guest ideas. What do you think of it? Is it helpful? Annoying? Tell us, please!
Discuss
eileen fleming on February 14, 2008, 7:00 PM
You have done a good job, but have you considered promoting voices out of the wilderness who “grapple with difficult themes like war and power”?
Eileen Fleming, Reporter and Editor WAWA
http://www.wearewideawake.org/
Author “Keep Hope Alive” and “Memoirs of a Nice Irish American ’Girl’s’ Life in Occupied Territory”
Producer “30 Minutes With Vanunu”
Ray Smith on February 15, 2008, 6:18 AM
In both the newsletter, and on the web site, I find the color of the fonts often too light to be comfortable. I recommend making all text black on white. It might not be as pretty when looking at the page as a whole, but it surely would be easier to read for folks who have less-than-perfect vision. Several times now, I have found myself reading your materials less because of eye strain.
Amyellen Leib on February 15, 2008, 12:03 PM
Hey, I volunteer to be featured.. [grin] As eileen points out, there are those of us who have “wilderness” voices, and I suspect I’m one…
Norman Hoffman on February 16, 2008, 1:15 PM
Being old and jaded, I sometimes forget that there are some young vital voices offering wisdom, insight and hope for a better future. I will try harder to remember in the future.
Jacoline Loewen on February 18, 2008, 1:57 PM
Big Think is brilliant.
How amazing to have the face to face converstaions with all sorts of people.
I appreciate the classifications of contributers as I can choose if I want to listen to an expert or to someone not from the mainstream but who has an opinion – probably much more so from the former than the latter.
I enjoy reading blogs with their comments but the professional journalists really are able to distill the essence of online conversations which is why I value Big Think. You give me both the blogging from those ‘wilderness voices’ as one of the respondents termed it, as well as the more visual members of society.
I hope to see many more business people being asked to riff on music, love, identity or politics. There are many entrepreneurs running $50M companies who are not big enough to make the Wall Street Journal but who contribute to this society and are generally interesting people getting on with making a living and paying the taxes.
I hope Big Think will be able to screen out the name calling that ruin so many other sites and blogs – “you’re a leftie nut or you’re a rightie crazy.” These are the responses who fall to kicking the player rather than kicking the ball.
I might not like ideas when I first encounter them but I have had my opinion changed radically by discussion sites like Big Think as long as the anger does not overpower the comments.
Thank you for building something so exciting.
Mario DomÃÂnguez Parra on February 19, 2008, 3:40 AM
Good morning, I think this letter is very interesting, taking into account that you are mentioning authors which are not probably known at all in Spain where I live, and the subject is unfortunately always existing.
Concerning what Mr. Collins about poetry and the lack of readers, I do not think poets are to blame for anything. To write “easily” for the best understanding of general readers is to consider beforehand that readers are not intelligent, something with which I cannot agree. I am a poet myself, I write in Spanish, and I cannot stop writing as I write because sometimes a reader tells me that s-he cannot understand my poems.
Eloise Wilkinson on February 19, 2008, 10:10 AM
You should add a link at the top of the news letter that lets you view the newsletter as a web page. This helps with viewing the newsletter through some mail systems.
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