Hello! I am very happy to introduce my all-new website. If you've ever enjoyed what I write, please click to read more.
I know that some of you are familiar with my blog
Flogging the Simian which I've been writing for about two years. It was a "traditional" blog, hosted on someone else's domain, featuring my articles and the ability for readers to comment and not much else.
My new blog is a full-fledged website with its own domain name, www.FloggingTheSimian.com. It runs on different software (Drupal) than does Kos (Scoop) but in many ways they are similar. For example, just as there are "Diaries" here at Dkos, every FTS user can post their own "blog" - full articles written by you.
One of the features I always liked most about DailyKos was something I believe was an unintentional byproduct to the focus on American politics. Various DKossers would (and continue to) post straight news articles.
- Sometimes these are breaking news items, with little analysis but valuable for their timeliness;
- Sometimes these are links to news items with extremely thoughtful and valuable analysis; and
- Perhaps my favorite kind of news that I have found on DailyKos is when the reader (or group of readers) has conducted true investigatory journalism and pieced together stories of real merit. The Gannon/Guckert incident is a perfect example of this.
It has been my dream to create a website that combines all three and the all-new
Flogging The Simian is that site.
- Breaking news - The software powering FTS has the ability to display RSS feeds, so that breaking news from a variety of sources appears right on the front page. Without having to install or understand any kind of software whatsoever, every visitor to FTS will see what the top stories are at any given moment.
- News and Analysis - The front page mirrors the kind of articles you see me publish here and at my old blog, where news is discussed and analyzed.
- Investigations - Right now I'm working on verifying a story that the U.S. is paying Somali warlords as part of a "black" special forces operation. I'm working with (traditional) journalists and employees of the UN to "connect the dots" on that one. I'm also monitoring an American who is charged with running a private militia in Uganda. These are the stories which quicken my blood!
FTS is designed to be your one-stop news center. News of an immediate nature to longer, researched pieces about stories that matter.
In addition, every weekday (Mon-Fri) I write my "PDB". I read about 50 newspapers every morning and provide links to and a brief description of the most important stories that matter, particularly those of a global nature. As I live in Europe, the PDB is up on the website before most Americans (and Canadians) get out of bed, so it's great to read over your morning cup of coffee! :)
Furthermore, the news feeds on FTS are better than Google News. This is because non-traditional media sources such as Raw Story and blogs are also included. Furthermore, there is news not only from around the globe (including Russia, Europe, Africa and Asia) but also news in a variety of foreign languages.
This is fantastic especially when you're trying to find more information about a specific area. For example, on FTS there are news feeds from the traditional media about Iraq as well as feeds from bloggers in Iraq, including those written by Iraqis, American journalists and American soldiers.
Flogging The Simian however is not meant to compete with DailyKos or other websites in their focus on the American political scene. There are articles on FTS which do touch on American politics but that is not the primary focus. Indeed, I like to think of FTS as the "intelligence wing" of sites like this one, where stories can be tracked, researched and developed.
I know that some of you disagree with what I have said in the past, particularly on a couple of topics I've written about. I accept this and understand that reasonable people can come to different conclusions. I stand by my work and my writings, including my apologies for mistakes and for remarks which may have inadvertently caused offense. I will state that this is the first and only time I will write a diary on DKos to promote my new site, and that many others have done it before me so I do not feel I am acting out of bounds.
If you have enjoyed the articles I have written, then I heartily welcome you to visit Flogging The Simian and have a look around! And just like DKos, everything on the website is absolutely free and there's no "subscriptions" or anything else necessary.
FTS is designed to be customized exactly to your tastes. Once you register, you can change everything from how comments are displayed to which kinds of news you want to monitor to how the website looks. Yes that's right, you can change the way the entire site is displayed from the header image to the fonts to the colors.
I officially launched FTS on March 1 so we are still in our initial growth period and there are bound to be a few kinks and bugs along the way. The website is open and working just fine now and we hope to see you there!
I thank each and every one of you for your patronage over the years.
Sincerely,
-Soj
Peace