As you may or may not know, in addition to contributing here at IPR, I also maintain the blog Poli-Tea. Over the last year, a number of friends and readers there have suggested the creation of a group blog devoted to third party and independent politics and I decided finally to put something together and so launched Third Party and Independent Daily on January 1st. From the announcement at Poli-Tea:
Obviously, the site is a work in progress . . . but I have already created a number of news aggregation pages attached to it, and have been in contact with some of you who have expressed interest in contributing to just such a project. Allow me, then, to take this opportunity to extend an invitation to friends and readers who might be interested in becoming contributors to the site. Contributions could run the gamut from link lists or simple provocations intended to spark debate, to excerpts of news articles or press releases, to cross-postings of original reporting and commentary from your own blog.
From Third Party and Independent Daily’s welcome page:
Third Party and Independent Daily aggregates news and blog items relating to third party and independent politics from across the political spectrum. Our aim is to facilitate the growth and development of the nation’s third party and independent movements by serving as a clearinghouse for the dissemination of information relevant to that aim and providing a discussion forum for independents and supporters of third parties. Our goal is to aid in the election of third party and independent candidates for office and to promote reasoned critique of the two-party state and the duopoly system of government.
If you are interested in contributing, please do not hesitate to send me an email (damoneris at gmail).
And d.eris has set TPID so that it works just that way — no Google account required — I just checked.
You only have to have a Google account if the blog owner sets it up so that you have to. Blogs can be set so that’s not necessary. It makes spam a bigger problem, but if it’s a pretty active blog, the proprietor will be able to spot and zap spam a lot more easily.
I mean the fact that you have to have a Google account. Although it’s true that most of us do have Google accounts, it is one extra step.
I’ll try my best then TLC. Good feedback on the comments. Do you mean how the google blogs comments either take you to a separate page or have a pop-up window? I think there is an embed option as well, similar to the one here.
You’ll have to earn my endorsement too, and Catholic Trotskyist’s as well.
A big difference between the two sites, possibly even the main difference, is that Google blogs are more difficult to post comments on than WordPress blogs. So TPID may not develop the vibrant and stimulating community of trolling and unique characters that IPR has developed.
One of the features at TPID, which I hope to develop further, are the news pages (in the left side bar). Obviously everyone has their own news reading and aggregation habits, but they could be a good resource for folks posting here and elsewhere, or for anyone who follows third party and indy news. Each news page is a public Google Reader page that aggregates 3 or 4 feeds on a specific topic. For example, the ‘Libertarian Party’ page has a live feed from a news search for that term, a blog search for that term and the LP’s official blog. Similarly for the other parties and independents.
Michael, thanks. Peter, I suppose it depends how you define ‘real.’ TPR, we’ll have to earn your endorsement then 😉
TPR,
I don’t see it as an either/or thing.
I would welcome more places that cover the same general topics as us. It would make it easier to stay on top of news, and we can learn from each other as to what works and what doesn’t.
I still prefer IPR for my third party and independent news.
Good job Sir
visited the site, it looks good. As an aside, the article about Alan Maki, well Alan is a friend and political ally of mine in Minnesota.
Keep your eyes on Minnesota folks.
Sounds like you have a real job. I’m self-employed (writer) working at home, so I’m a step beyond distraction/procrastination – more like addiction. I’m gonna be the smartest unemployed political junkie out there – just you wait and see.
Thanks Peter. I’m a third party and independent political blogger in my spare time. I have a job that keeps me in front of the computer, which obviously leads to procrastination (I’m a news and politics junky, I suppose). Frustrated that I couldn’t find the kind of political commentary I desired to read on the net (sustained critique of the two-party state and its ideology, support for alternatives to the duopoly system of government), I decided to begin writing it myself, just under a year ago now. I don’t think its very mysterious.
er, who is this mysterious d.eris who runs Poli-Tea and now TPID?
Just visited the new site – looks good, reads well. A valuable new resource. Thanks for the initiative – we need more smart people to take the lead in politics.