Rad Geek People's Daily

www.feministblogs.org

A while back I mentioned that Geekery Today is now syndicated at Anarchoblogs, a group blog automatically generated by syndicating the weblogs of a passle of anarchists. It’s a great project, both for bloggers and for readers, and it got me thinking about the value of using free software tools to aggregate independent DIY media into communities of interest. And, especially, about the potential benefits of a similar project for another group committed to DIY media and all too often marginalized, trivialized, or simply ignored in the mainstream media–whether traditional or alternative, or, yes, in the blog world (or in the blog world, or in the blog world, or…): that is, Feminist Bloggers.

So, after spending about a week grubbing around with software and in conversation with some of my favorite bloggers, I’m pleased to announce the public launch of a new collaborative project that we’ve developed: FeministBlogs.org, a syndication-based group blog for self-identified feminists, womanists, women’s liberationists, and pro-feminist men. The site uses contributors’ newsfeeds (RSS or Atom) and the Planet aggregator to generate a community weblog out of our posts. That helps bloggers by raising awareness, firing up debates, encouraging cross-linking and discussions, increasing Google juice, etc. More importantly, it helps readers by making it easier to follow discussions, keep track of several feeds in one place (if you’re in to that sort of thing), and to discover new feminist bloggers. It also helps, inter alia, to raise the visibility of alternatives to a bunch of boys shouting at each other, and to drive another nail into the coffin of Where are all the good female political bloggers?. And that, my friends, is good for everyone. Syndication is powerful.

We’re starting small, with a basic design and a small core of bloggers. But the public launch is only the first step on the road to world domination; further steps include welcoming new members, gathering some more information, making the process of joining more user friendly, and anything else we can do to help the community grow and thrive. So far, our contributors are:

• BlackFeminism.org
• CultureCat: Rhetoric and Feminism
• feministe
• Pinko Feminist Hellcat
• Rad Geek People’s Daily
• Rox Populi
• Sappho’s Breathing
• Trish Wilson

Do you have a blog that regularly discusses gender and politics from a feminist perspective? Then we’d love for you to join us. Do you want independent alternatives to the malestream media? Then check out:

www.feministblogs.org