Last week when I received a message that my help was wanted for the subscription drive, I thought, “Well…that’s an asinine idea.” Come on I’m a snaky, snarky plumber not a blogger. Reluctantly, I agreed thinking they would sober up in the morning and revoke the invitation. Ha…they didn’t.
Then I thought this could be a good chance not only to remind people about their last chance to purchase lifetime subscriptions, but also to lure out some lurkers. Daily Kos is fast becoming a respected source for news and information. I often hear radio hosts quoting diaries from Daily Kos and suggesting their listeners come here for more information. This is all good and fine, but we still need more and better kossacks.
Stumble with me below the orange toilet flushy to find out why I’m sending kos $200. Also learn about the “New Diarist” group formed to help nOObs (newbies) write, publish and promote their diaries.
I’m fairly new to the site, having lurked for years before signing up. As my local paper became thinner, I grew more dependent on the Internet for news. Daily Kos was one of many sites I would visit looking for coverage of current events. By the 2008 elections Daily Kos had become my primary source for election coverage. As time went on Daily Kos became my first stop for all news. Reading about the upgrade to DK4 it seemed like a good time to sign up, never intending to do more then read and recommend diaries, maybe stumble through an occasional comment. Well that’s what I thought.
While enjoying the great coverage of recent history…I never really noticed the community that made this site work. Most diaries posted here are not by paid professionals, but regular people like you and me, who share a passion for this site and the people on it. Writing to inform, entertain or help others. Slowly I stumbled upon the community diaries and there are a lot of them…some cover specific subjects…Top Comments, High Impact Post, GUS, IGTNT, KosAbility, Cranky Users, Saturday Morning Garden Blogging. If you want to see this community at it’s best, look to the Community Quilt Project and Community Spotlight.
Two of my favorites… The Saturday Morning Home Repair, claude has a wealth of knowledge and a cast of characters that join him in helping you solve your home repair problems. I enjoy being able to return something to the community. Next is the overlooked Inoculation Project, every Sunday belinda ridgewood and nervousnellie lead us to projects that help students in poor red state schools. Just a few dollars and we can make these projects happen.
Then there are community diaries and open threads such as…J Town, What’s Happenin'?, Morning Open Thread, Overnight News Digest…among others. Here, people just hang out discussing subjects like news, weather, music, sports and life in general. Having come here for news, I never thought I would get sucked into a community, but I did. I stumbled upon some people in J Town making plumber crack jokes, being a true plumber, I had to step in and defend my fellow plumbers. Slowly I began joining in the conversations, while learning how to interact with other people in a medium that was new to me. We tease and harass each other endlessly, but when needed, we are there for each other. Whether it’s technical help, promoting diaries or helping each other through sickness and loss you learn these are real people with real feelings. Thank you my J Crew for looking past my snarky façade and seeing the real person. I have found my Daily Kos home.
If you are a lurker or a nOOb with no intention of writing a diary like me, don’t be surprised when you find you need to post a diary. For me it was "Occupy San Jose" because there was no local coverage here or in the press. I felt if I didn’t write about it then who would? Then I accepted an invitation to the “Farm Workers Reality Tour” not thinking about the fact I would be expected to write about it. I really stumbled into it this time. It was not easy, but as the words and emotions flowed, suddenly a diary emerged. I was overwhelmed with a sense of accomplishment and shocked by the reception from the Daily Kos community. So please don’t sell yourself short, you may be surprised what you have inside you waiting to come out. Remember your diary has the same chance of being read as diaries written by people such as…MinistryOfTruth, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Michael Moore, Rep. Alan Grayson, Barack Obama, etc… This is a powerful tool that Markos has provided to you; don’t be afraid to use it.
Are you thinking about writing a diary? A new group has been started by nomandates just to help you. A group of experienced bloggers has joined to help you with all aspects of getting your first diary written, formatted, published and promoted. Send the group a message to join. After you write your first diary you can pay it forward by helping others do the same. Together we can push each other to make Daily Kos and ourselves better. Sign up, login and become part of the community.
Even as a nOOb I've seen and felt the power of Daily Kos for news and community. So now I will spend $200 to make it stronger. Plus, now my wife, remembrance, will be able to read the Pootie Diaries without her ’04 iBook slowing to a crawl. She was just about ready to take her frying pan to it. I will miss my friends Mr. Rooter in his nice clean uniform and Angie with her list, but I don’t need them anymore, I have real friends here...and we can't wait to meet you...just play nice...because I hate mean people.
Subscribe now...after December 31st, you will no longer be able to buy lifetime or monthly subscriptions.
Benefits of being a subscriber:
An ad-free experience of the site. Faster loading, no annoying ads. Ideal for a friend on dial-up.
Three download e-books will be rolled out this month. Both givers
and receiver of subscriptions will have access to these e-books.
Unlimited access to upcoming photo organizer -- allowing diarists to upload photos onto Daily Kos itself, as well as have access to the Daily Kos editorial team's news photo library. Expected launch by first quarter 2012.
You can buy a subscription for yourself or a friend on our subscription page. If you would like to make a donation to the site, you can do so on our donations page....Having problems..??..contact the Help Desk.
