Travelling Journal

[guy]

Can I suggest an idea stolen from elsewhere.

 

I propose to purchase a small pocket Moleskine squared (as the blank pages are reportedly not FP friendly) and make a starting creative journal entry (double page at most).

 

I would then post that on to the next person who will make their own entry. That person would the send it on to the next, and so forth. Eventually this Moleskine would collect the various missives of all contributers... in fact people later in the list will get the most enjoyment.

 

I volunteer to co-ordinate the exercise... in that I would start the process, collect the postal addresses of participants and inform by email who the next person should be who gets the journal. I will attempt to keep things sensible whilst maintaining good international coverage.

 

My personal preference would be to set up a seperate topic area or at least a sticky topic to keep track of this journal as it travels around... as most people have a digital camera, they could post their pages up before passing on. That way we can all enjoy the experience until our turn comes.

 

What do people think...?

Edited February 6, 2006 by guy

[Titivillus]

Can I suggest a variation on this, an idea stolen from elsewhere.

 

I propose to purchase a small pocket Moleskine squared (as the blank pages are reportedly not FP friendly) and make a starting creative journal entry (double page at most).

 

I would then post that on to the next person who will make their own entry. That person would the send it on to the next, and so forth. Eventually this Moleskine would collect the various missives of all contributers... in fact people later in the list will get the most enjoyment.

 

I volunteer to co-ordinate the exercise... in that I would start the process, collect the postal addresses of participants and inform by email who the next person should be who gets the journal. I will attempt to keep things sensible whilst maintaining good international coverage.

 

My personal preference would be to set up a seperate topic area or at least a sticky topic to keep track of this journal as it travels around... as most people have a digital camera, they could post their pages up before passing on. That way we can all enjoy the experience until our turn comes.

 

What do people think...?

I have been in the path of 5 travelling journals and unfortunately all 5 of them were lost never to be seen again.

 

It is a nice idea but the actual process of carrying it out seems to be rife with pitfalls for the book to fall into.

 

 

You can give it a try but I don't give it a high probablity of completion. Not to pe pessimistic just realistic as I've seen it tried and not work before.

 

 

Kurt H

[corienb]

I would be in, but like Kurt the ones I've seen so far all got lost.

So , if "we" do this it might be a good idea to make a topic and post the name of the person you are going to send it to with the shipping date, and maybe it'sa bit more expensive but ship with delivery confirmation ( for some reason I think those get lost less often ?? ).

Corien.

[joseanes]

I would like to participate in Guy idea of the traveling notebook.

 

I do have a few suggestions, however.

1) Start small. Moleskine cahiers (they sell 3 for the price of one regularly sized moleskine pocket notebook) can be a good choice. Regular pocket sized moleskine notebooks have 192 pages. Each of the 3 cahiers have 64 pages

http://www.moleskine.com/eng/_interni/cata...ogo_cahiers.htm

 

By using small cahiers (small, less expensive notebooks) we can experiment the concept and fix the small issues that may come out. 64 pages, asuming 4 pages to 8 pages of writing per person may be spent and returned to its issuer after around 8 to 16 users. The regular sized Moleskins will require more postal trips and that will increase the possibility of loosing them on the mail or on someone's desk.

 

Also, small Moleskine cahiers are cheaper to ship (less weight). They can go on a regular envelope, so it doesn't require the need for a padded envelope or special shipping equipment. Make it easy on the writer/user and he/she will be less likely to loose or forget about the notebook.

 

2) Upgrade to Regular (Large) on the second go around - After a user has participated in a small Moleskine cahier, have them participate in a regular sized one. Maybe those users will have a) proven to be responsible to continue forwarding the notebooks and Maybe they like to write lenghtier notes that will justify the use of a larger notebook.

 

3) Pre-Include a list of people to forward the moleskine to. Include with the moleskine a list of names and addresses. Write over your address and forward to the next. That way, even if the issuer is on vacation or the current user/writer doesn't have access to e-mail, he/she will be able to forward it.

 

4) Have people put some skin in the game. I would be very happy to donate money to the issuer/coordinator for the initial materials. I would also be happy to buy notebooks/cahiers and issue them myself. The point is that those willing to part even with a small ammount of money ($4 for a cahier? (since they are 3 for $9.99 I think), show comittment, and may be more willing to continue in the game -- as they have already put some effort into it.

 

Hope these suggestions are welcome.

 

Regardless of if you like the suggestions or not, I would like to participate in the circulating notebook writings, and adhere to whichever rules are decided upon.

[Betty]

Oh, I definitely LOVE this idea! When it's all coordinated, let me know and I'll give you my address.

 

I second the idea of having a sticky post of person posting "A sent to B on 1/1/06". Then a post from B "B received from A on 1/2/06. Sent to C on 1/3/06".

There should be a limit of holding the book for a maximum of a week and if you're not able to fill anything in a week, you just send it to the next person with no entry.

 

It's a good idea to start the list from fresh so that new people who sign up are really in existence instead of those who have disappeared after some time.

[Betty]

I would like to participate in Guy idea of the traveling notebook.

 

I do have a few suggestions, however.

1) Start small. Moleskine cahiers (they sell 3 for the price of one regularly sized moleskine pocket notebook) can be a good choice. Regular pocket sized moleskine notebooks have 192 pages. Each of the 3 cahiers have 64 pages

http://www.moleskine.com/eng/_interni/cata...ogo_cahiers.htm

 

By using small cahiers (small, less expensive notebooks) we can experiment the concept and fix the small issues that may come out. 64 pages, asuming 4 pages to 8 pages of writing per person may be spent and returned to its issuer after around 8 to 16 users. The regular sized Moleskins will require more postal trips and that will increase the possibility of loosing them on the mail or on someone's desk.

 

Also, small Moleskine cahiers are cheaper to ship (less weight). They can go on a regular envelope, so it doesn't require the need for a padded envelope or special shipping equipment. Make it easy on the writer/user and he/she will be less likely to loose or forget about the notebook.

 

2) Upgrade to Regular (Large) on the second go around - After a user has participated in a small Moleskine cahier, have them participate in a regular sized one. Maybe those users will have a) proven to be responsible to continue forwarding the notebooks and Maybe they like to write lenghtier notes that will justify the use of a larger notebook.

 

3) Pre-Include a list of people to forward the moleskine to. Include with the moleskine a list of names and addresses. Write over your address and forward to the next. That way, even if the issuer is on vacation or the current user/writer doesn't have access to e-mail, he/she will be able to forward it.

 

4) Have people put some skin in the game. I would be very happy to donate money to the issuer/coordinator for the initial materials. I would also be happy to buy notebooks/cahiers and issue them myself. The point is that those willing to part even with a small ammount of money ($4 for a cahier? (since they are 3 for $9.99 I think), show comittment, and may be more willing to continue in the game -- as they have already put some effort into it.

 

Hope these suggestions are welcome.

 

Regardless of if you like the suggestions or not, I would like to participate in the circulating notebook writings, and adhere to whichever rules are decided upon.

I agree with using the smaller cahiers. And I also agree on placing a small contribution to be placed on the list. $1 per person. 10 people joining should be able to cover the cost of 3 books.

 

Paste on front of the book the rules of this game & attach a list of the addresses.

[chupie]

Oo. I would be in for this too!! Glad to contribute as well some cash. What a neat idea.

[Slush99]

I love this idea, but the ones I've seen all got lost, never to be seen again I never got to write in them.

 

:'0(

[Betty]

I love this idea, but the ones I've seen all got lost, never to be seen again I never got to write in them.

 

:'0(

Just seems like some people held on to them for months at a time that's why. A one week max. rule would be nice

[chupie]

Good idea. One week should be plenty. Besides, to get snapshot stuff, if you did it right away, might work better.

[Bill]

Is this targetted to FPN'ers only?

 

Otherwise, the Wandering Moleskine Poject starts its next round on May 1.

 

Bill

[Guest Denis Richard]

I have never heard about any of those journals ever making it. There is a flaw in the concept right from the start.

 

What about having all FPNers who want to participate send a written page or two to a designated person. They could be put together, scanned and a pdf file created. It could be revised and augmented regularly. I think this would be a nice archive/history of FPNers, and without the risk of losing anything.

Edited February 6, 2006 by Denis Richard

[Betty]

Is this targetted to FPN'ers only?

 

Otherwise, the Wandering Moleskine Poject starts its next round on May 1.

 

Bill

I think starting small is a great idea. Too many people causes too many problems and there's many people who just don't send back. At least if we stick to FPN, we can easily contact them.

[guy]

Well it sounds like there are a few people interested... some good suggestions as well.

I will have a go at drafting up some rules of the game and post soon.

I am happy to pay for the journal (but thanks for the offers) as it is probably simpler.

 

 

Further to my initial post, I too know about the problems with the Wandering Moleskine and other similar projects. By my judgement it was because people held onto it for too long... this was partly because some people were so artistic with their pages they challenged others to better them (which creates its own issues).

 

My proposition was to keep it simple, have one book and move it frequently. If people can scan or take photos before passing on, it would help keep a record in case it does get lost en route.

 

The issue I would like to sort out is that I am "uncomfortable" having a circulation list of every partipants postal address with the journal. Partly this is for security reasons in case it gets lost but also to assist if the idea takes off and people want to join whilst its on its travels. We all have access to email, I would be happy if people email me for the next address... plus I can shout at people if they are holding onto it too long.

 

 

Hey, this could all go wrong and the journal gets lost after three drops. Should that be a reason not to give it a go? I think not!

[acfrery]

What about having all FPNers who want to participate send a written page or two to a designated person. They could be put together, scanned and a pdf file created. It could be revised and augmented regularly. I think this would be a nice archive/history of FPNers, and without the risk of losing anything.

I think this is a great idea!

 

I have a scanner at home and I can deal with PDF files, so I could handle the letters. Nice envelopes could also be scanned and become part of the digital book (I have received some spectacular ones that deserve the honor; just check this one:

Envelope

(huge resolution, but it deserves it!).

Edited February 6, 2006 by acfrery

[chupie]

I"m not sure I get the digital part of this?

[roygbiv]

I've heard of this being done. I once surfed onto a website where they had sent out 1000 journals and you could trace their route.

 

I've also heard the same being done with disposable cameras as well.

 

 

All this being said, I think it would be neat and I would definately participate.

 

It would be very fun to have one that is exclusive to The Fountain Pen Network here and would lesson the chances of being lost. We could also track the progress.

 

I'd go for something much much cheaper than a Molekine. I'm thinking those 88 cent composition books.

 

 

All this said, count me in.

 

 

Good luck!

[acfrery]

I"m not sure I get the digital part of this?

Instead of a physical journal, I (or somebody else) will scan letters and envelopes and make a PDF file. This file will be updated regularly and made available through FPN.

[Betty]

Nice envelopes could also be scanned and become part of the digital book (I have received some spectacular ones that deserve the honor; just check this one:

Envelope

(huge resolution, but it deserves it!).

The postal workers thanks you for writing an address out like that.

 

Do you think it would drive postal workers bananas if we all wrote out address in swirly designs? At least they're find something interesting to look at

[chupie]

I"m not sure I get the digital part of this?

Instead of a physical journal, I (or somebody else) will scan letters and envelopes and make a PDF file. This file will be updated regularly and made available through FPN.

That doesn't seem quite as fun somehow, but I can see it would limit the "loss" issue.