Talk Amongst Yourselves
"Interactivity" is a word that doesn't inspire much confidence these days: Most of the time it's used by crass hucksters peddling push-button shopping choices.
Here at SALON we tend to agree with multimedia pioneer Pedro Meyer, who argues that true interactivity doesn't mean choosing from menus -- it means back-and-forth communication among people.
When we launched SALON as an interactive magazine of books, arts and ideas, we were thinking of this deeper kind of interactivity. That's why we created Table Talk, our conversation area, as a place where our readers and our writers could mix it up, exchange ideas and rub virtual shoulders. We deliberately avoided the model of the bulletin board, with its brief, fragmented exchanges, and that of the chat area, with its ephemerality and its randomness. We wanted to facilitate deep, absorbing conversations that would, as much as the articles we publish, be the heart of SALON.
We've been delighted that the Table Talk system we started out with got so many great exchanges underway, from the give-and-take over Vladimir Nabokov's appeal to the never-ending debate over Hillary Clinton and Whitewater to the vital discussion of what readers really want from a Web magazine.
But we also know the old system had its bugs and frustrations. So it gives us great pleasure to unveil a whole new Table Talk. Our new software, Lundeen & Associates' WebCrossing, is fast, reliable and easy to use. It also has some great new features. Its "subscribe" function lets you select conversations you want to keep up with regularly, tracks what messages you've read and guides you to conversations with new messages. You can also tell other Table Talkers about yourself (just hit the "Personal Preferences" button).
Of course we've carried over all the existing conversations into the new system. If you're already a registered member of Table Talk, your old registration and password will work. For newcomers the registration process is fast and simple (and free).
When you arrive in Table Talk, you won't get too far without bumping into Mary Elizabeth Williams, our ubiquitous conversation host. Williams' job is to keep the conversations going smoothly and answer your questions if you run into any kind of problem. We don't think there's a better host on the Net.
Though Williams calls herself "a relative newbie -- online less than two years," she took to electronic palaver with stunning alacrity, and within a few months of joining the WELL she was co-hosting two of its hottest conferences, "popcult" (on popular culture) and "byline" (on freelance writing).
"I bought a modem right around the time I started freelancing, and it changed my life," Williams says. "It saved me from the isolation of working at home, put me in contact with other media professionals, and introduced me to some really amazing people who became my real world friends. I don't think the online world shuts us off from human interaction -- I think it proves how much we need it."
We agree. So come over to Table Talk and join in the conversation. We'll see you there!
