This wise bit about personal voices on the internet came from blogger Tina Bray, via Jason Kottke, author of a long-lived and illuminating blog:

Not alone and not un­read, but the ground un­der­foot ain’t steady…

The great danger is that the Web’s future is mall-like:

No space really public, no storefronts but national brands’, no visuals composed by amateurs, nothing that’s on offer just for its own sake, and for love.

 

As Improvised Life approaches its eighth birthday, I feel Bray’s concern, having long-viewed this website as The Little Engine that Could ...

 

…maybe…

 

 

The fuel I get from readers goes along way: emails saying how Improvised Life has affected their lives and worldview especially, but also heads-ups about videos, artists, poems, cool things…and the occasional astonishing gifts —a rare John Cage folio… books of poetry I never would have found otherwise…

But…

…the very practical matters of paying for Improvised Life’s hosting service, programmer, assistant… and myself to write it daily, threatens to outweigh the less tangible payoffs.

Please consider supporting independent, hand-crafted, thoughtful, useful, interesting, made-by-a-real-person content. And a clear space that replaces ads and sales pitches with ideas, art, poetry, room….to……think….and…..expand………….

 

(If you are already a member, Improvised Life makes a dandy gift……….

Supporting independent voices is a strong way to fight a mall like internet.

Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till it’s gone

 

 

 

 

With heartfelt thanks to all our supporters/members!