Recalibrating

bigWOWO has been in operation since September 23 of 2008–six months this Monday.  Originally I was hoping to post almost all commentary on Asian American issues.  I was thinking that it would be similar to my work at the 44s, with perhaps a more experiential and less theoretical foundation.  I think to a certain extent I’ve succeeded in that, but I’ve also branched out into different areas, and the end result has been quite different from what I was originally anticipating.  This change has come about mostly for three reasons:

a.) Life has been different for me in terms of my own personal aspirations and expectations.  The world looks different since I first started blogging in 2006, and my circumstances and outlook have changed, even in the last six months.

b.) Thymos has matured a bit.  It was fairly radical when it first started.  It still is, but we’ve also entered a new phase where we are now working very closely with other large organizations.  Working with others tends to humble a person, and so I’m not quite the radical blogger anymore.  At least not to the same degree.

c.) I now realize the limitations of blogging.  When you organize in person, you can accomplish anything.  Blogging is a great way to gather people and share thoughts, but it’s virtual.  If there is any empowerment potential in it, it will most likely come from people using the ideas on my blog or any other blog and translating it into action (and hopefully letting the rest of us know about it).

Anyway, my main point is this: I think “Asian American Activism and Intellectualism” still accurately represents the mission of the bigWOWO.  I think the topic is broad enough to provide room for me to expand my thoughts and ideas, and I think it’s open enough to allow readers to continue sending me and expanding their own ideas–most of you have awesome thoughts on the topic.  For right now, however, with the spirit of the times and the WOWO zeitgeist, I’m personally going to be focusing a lot on writing and exploration.  There are only two ways to communicate complex ideas–writing and speaking–and for right now, I’m going to focus on writing, both yours and mine, so if you’re embarking on a writing career, let me know.  I’ll focus on distribution, growth, improvement, and everything related to making us better communicators and storytellers.

Please continue to post comments and send me e-mails about your thoughts.

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