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Today Salon is launching 5 Things, a widget-like box on the Salon cover that will list the five items we think are most interesting, at any given time. It'll go live later today -- be sure to let Joan know, on her blog, what you think.<p>

But what are… Read full post »

Back in my college newspaper days in Indiana, this was a very popular topic on our staff-only Atex network (yes, very pre-Internet). This subject sparked a vast response among our 100 or so staffers, from direct and intimate contact with nobilty to fascinatingly indirect contact with curious C-list… Read full post »

Rachel mentioned the joke <a href="http://open.alpha.stage.salon.com/content.php?cid=314">Hillary site</a>, which followed the joke <a href="http://www.barackobamaisyournewbicycle.com">Obama site</a>. But I'm particularly fond of this, the joke McCain site: johnmcainisyourja… Read full post »

Salon writers and readers are more than a little obsessed with the final season of "The Wire." (Read the current wrap-up of Sunday's episode here.)

 

With one episode left (and HBO refusing to put the final episode on its On Demand service -- drats!) what are your predictions… Read full post »

In last week's SF focus group, there seemed a unanimous desire for more direct call-to-action messaging on the Open cover, directing users to . . . do something. It's a great point. And whether we actually use a slogan on the site or not, I thought it might be a good… Read full post »

We're broadening our team of Alpha testers today in the hopes of a long and fruitful holiday weekend of tire kicking. If you're brand new to the site, here is a quick primer:

Open Salon is a content network, where members can post their own stories, video or photos, and… Read full post »

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If you're in San Francisco, and want to sit in for a focus group to discuss this initial Alpha test for Open Salon, we'd love to have you.  We'll be meeting in the main conference room from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and some form of treat will be provided. Hope… Read full post »

Cary Tennis recently asked: "does this stuff that we're doing just messing around, does this stuff ***go live*** when the thing goes live, or do we start all over then?"

No do-overs, what you write stays. However, you'll notice that you have the ability to edit (and delete) your blog posts --… Read full post »

In anticipation/dread of Valentine's Day, here's a classic from the early Video Dog archives; Heather Havrilesky's dog Potus (with sidekick Bean) saying the three words every dog owner dreams of. It scares me to think of the training time this took . . .

 

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OK, this is really just a test of my photo upload, but . . . aw, look at my kitty! A friend snapped this when we first went over to a Brooklyn animal hospital to check Lucas out; I knew his vet, and she raved about him, and wanted him to… Read full post »

You're here! You've set up your profile, you've commented on or rated a blog post or two. You've added a friend -- no fear of rejection, like Facebook! -- and you've created a test post of your own. And you've found some bugs along the way, and dutifully emailed them to… Read full post »