In the book "The Tipping Point" author Malcolm Gladwell wrote about "Connectors" -- "the kinds of people who know everyone [and who have] a special gift for bringing the world together."
You don't have to be the gregarious, back-slapping type to be a Connector, Gladwell wrote. He cited Roger Horchow, a Dallas businessman, as one who is "more an observer, with the dry, knowing manner of someone who likes to remain a little bit on the outside. He simply likes people, in a genuine and powerful way, and he finds the patterns of acquaintanceship and interaction in which people arrange themselves to be endlessly fascinating."
It would be a gross overstatement to call myself a Connector. Yet, I'd say there's at least some Roger in me. One of the things that's most satisfying to me is introducing people to each other -- sometimes when they have little or nothing in common, other times when there is a shared experience but they don't know it.
Through my work as a journalist -- especially as The Oregonian's former newsroom recruiter, as the ex-Sunday Opinion editor and now as a web editor focusing on community engagement -- I'm constantly coming into contact with new faces in new places. Layered onto that is my increasing presence in cyberspace, something sparked by my teaching a mini-course at Portland State University a couple years ago and the subsequent birth of this blog.
Why am I doing it? Several reasons.
First and foremost, I think it'll be fun. By inviting a variety of smart individuals I know and respect, I expect there's going to be a high entertainment value.
Second, it could be a painless teaching tool. I'm hoping there are things I might learn from this exercise that I can apply to my work with public blogs and a related project involving blog partnerships.
Third, to bring more diversity to this site. This month you'll hear from people who live in New York City and Southern California, the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest. You'll hear from young journalists, established writers, educators, social justice advocates, a documentary filmmaker or two, parents, adult children, longtime friends, etc. I hope they'll share their passions -- be it music or baseball, race or religion -- or whatever moves them to write.
Credit for this idea goes to Kristen Mira, who invited me to write a guest post on her blog last month. I'm fortunate to know Kristen through my son and daughter-in-law. She was a bridesmaid in their wedding not quite two years ago and she'll be among this month's guests.
So, please ... read, comment, connect with each other -- and help spread the word about this project through your networks via social media, e-mail, snail mail, whatever. If you're not already, become a follower of Rough and Rede.
I can't wait to get started.
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I'm dedicating this project to DEH. You know who you are and you know why.
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