Archive for December, 2006

Update: Websites come and go, especially social networks. It’s no secret. It is a shame, though, that these two online communities for writers have gone extinct. It’s also a reminder to save your work someplace else. If your only copy of something you want is on a website that dies, then your stuff dies with it.

There is hope, though. A new writers’ community, currently in a closed beta, might become something really useful to writers. It’s called Lit4us.

If you know of any good spots for writers to hang out online, please post a comment about it!

I’m excited about a new, and useful website for me to become addicted to for a while. For writers starving for community, there’s a new social networking website out there. Urbis is a bit like Friendster, or MySpace, except that it focuses on writing. Share your work, critique others’ work, and make friends in the process.

Dive right in at Urbis.

From the introduction…

How do I Use Urbis?

1. Create an account
2. Submit an item to the Creative Review Engine.
3. Build a network by inviting friends and fans and meeting new ones.
4. Connect with Seekers who wish to expose your work.

The Creative Review Engine

1. Receive as much as you give using the Urbis credit system. Earn credits by reviewing people and spend credits when receiving reviews. Learn more about credits.
2. Choose whether you want supportive reviews from people you know (in-network) or unbiased reviews from strangers (out-of-network)
3. Qualify what kind of people you allow to review your work by specifying age range, location, talent, experience, and more. (coming soon)
4. Hold members accountable for reviews that don’t meet the high standards of the Urbis review guidelines.
5. Understand the value of the reviews you receive by viewing Reviewer stats.
6. Receive ratings (algoratings) that are weighted to provide a true reflection of the community’s opinion of your work.

For a complete introduction to the idea behind this website, read the writup, “Judging the Books Without Covers“at the ambiguously named website, “solution watch”.

Urbis differs from many of the other writers’ websites out there, which focus on blogging, or “litblogging”. My favorite of those is MetaxuCafe. Here, writers come together, mostly as readers. Critical response to books and ideas seems to be the name of the game, primarily, in the litblogs, and there are many litblogs out there for you to choose from.

Together, the litblogs and an online community should provide a wealth of useful resources for a writer.

The Two-Hour Star Wars Holiday Special in only Five Minutes!
Merry Holidays, here’s a stupid video for your stocking stuffin fun.