It's Beginning, Bettering, and BIGGERING.

[namix]

Cross-trainers:

As promised, I would be more engaged once things had slowed down. Though I am clearly not up at this time in the morning (eastern) because I needed to catch up on the cross-training initiative --- it is also clearly important enough for me to take time for the tangent to give the team a QUICK update.

TEASER: there are some specific things in the works which are going to make US better and THIS bigger than the group would have ever anticipated out of the gate.

DISCLAIMER: at this point in my 'text life' I am not holding myself, or the team members, to any crazy deadlines which takes the fun out of a creative hobby we want to nurture. I'll continue to remind the group that this is about a culture shift -- engage, be a leader, take initiative, be a DRIVING FORCE HERE -- buuut, want to reinforce this:

what you shouldn't expect from me: if you are expecting me to approach this like a tournament, or a league, where I am the single driving force behind dead-lined 'deliverables' and schedules, you got my mission twisted yo! this is an oven, not a light-switch -- BUT others are already stepping up and interested in driving more out of this process, you should engage and do the same --- while I do this:

what you can expect from me: while this may seem to be moving slow to some, slow is a relative as fuck term lol. What I can assure you is that I have a 'relatively' unique set of skills which I will be leveraging to:

(1) ensure this is done with the right 'foresight' and built in the right model to promote the GROWTH of individuals and of the cause.
(2) build a stronger community of writers and stronger writers in our community, on AOB and...
(3) beyond. yes, this is going to be bigger than AOB alone. NOW, there are some things I need to do first to ensure things are done in the right way, but it is high-time this culture bleed into a much broader audience pool who are EAGER to be exposed to some of the creativity our writers have to offer. #3 is based on a roadmap I am going to bounce off a couple people in terms of execution first, before broadcasting the plan --- but either-way, THIS aspect of the mission is what I am most passionate about, so I need to do something here (and would be shocked if anyone is opposed to the idea). THIS is not something that will happen overnight ---- BUT it will be exponential. Believe me, or don't - it's happening either way.

Even one of the most clear 'miracles of life' takes 9 months to come through to fruition, but there are going to be a few very cool milestones 'birthed' in each trimester in this case.


I will be finalizing THE ROADMAP to share with the team in the next couple of weeks. YES. A couple of weeks. It is BY DESIGN, my friends. Be patient --- BUT ENGAGE. Do not wait for me to drive the engagement, DO YOUR PART NOW!!!

I have an excel sheet of "punch-list" ideas - ranging from tactical and organizational -- to 'off the wall' ideas... I am vetting it with a few people, even technically 'offline' people re: the feasibility of a couple of those 'off the wall' ideas.


While my focus remains on tomorrow, FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CAN DO TODAY.
When tomorrow becomes today, those who are involved will be glad I did it that way.


THIS IS MY MISSION, MY GOAL, AND MY PASSION:
~Enable writers to use this group as a springboard to share their works with a broader audience
~Provide a synergistic benefit for AOB.com! Providing this site publicity AND a whole new means to generate membership
~Breathe some new life into this thing we do called "text" in general. Bold, but really isn't that hard.

A butterfly doesn't know just how high it can fly until it leaves the cocoon for the sky.

It's time to expand our horizons.

If you're a part of the first class, then start engaging -- because if you haven't gotten into the forum yet, we'll be making some cuts to give others an opportunity in the very near future.

Its beginning. We're bettering, and it IS biggering. More to come, in the mean time, join the cause or just enjoy the show.

(original registered members - again, if you haven't received access to the First Class thread, that means you haven't sent your benchmark in, and that means you are likely to be replaced in this first round here if you do not holla soon --- there will be a chance in the future if now's not a good time, but get to it yo)
@Mike Wrecka, @Rawn MacDon, @Malachi, @Sharp Nine, @Strikta, @Rayge, @Witty, @Objective, @c.d.m., @King Keith, @Utmost, @Boredom, @Immaculate, @Dystropian, @Split, @randum, @voidformula