Well folks, tomorrow is the one year anniversary of my blogging efforts at Junior Open Wheel Talent. I started writing a year ago as a way to help promote drivers and teams in the junior formula ranks–since that time I have developed a decent following. For those of you who frequent the site, I am truly grateful. You are the ones who help motivate me to spend nearly every waking hour on the Internet and phone trying to come up with junior formula news. There are a couple things I would like to touch on as a reminder to loyal readers as well as to those who are new visitors to Junior Open Wheel Talent Blog.
This is a Blog, Not a Website-
In other words, the stories you read here are written by me. I do not post press releases written by teams, drivers or series. I will occasionally throw in an opinion or two as expected, and as a reader, it’s up to you how serious you want to take it.
Nobody is perfect-
And I certainly don’t claim to be. I write all the stories you read here and edit them too. I am human and I do make mistakes. If I catch something after the fact, I will try to go in and make the necessary changes. If you catch something, please let me know, I won’t be offended. I take pride in what I do and if I’m not offering you something worth reading then I shouldn’t be writing it.
Comments-
This is the one area that I really hope to see improve. There are several of you that do leave a comment now and then, and I do appreciate it. I want Junior Open Wheel Talent to be a user friendly site that promotes healthy discussion on things related to the stories here. At this time, I do allow anonymous comments in an effort to promote more interaction. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate knowing who you are but that doesn’t mean I won’t accept anonymous comments. Occasionally, I will receive a comment that corrects misinformation, typos, etc.–I haven’t always published those comments but I do make sure that the necessary corrections are made as soon as possible. I appreciate all of your input and I really hope to see the comment sections grow over the next year.
JOWT Philosophy-
I am constantly trying to find new ways to improve my coverage. If you have suggestions–feel free to email me at junioropenwheeltalent@gmail dot com. As stated above, this is a blog and I tend to shy away from strictly posting results. There are numerous other sites out there that offer that information on a more frequent basis–simply because they have more resources (including live-timing) to do so. Instead, I am focusing on keeping track of the junior formula silly season (ex. Who’s Testing With Who, Signings…etc). I will also try to offer original analysis on all things pertaining to junior formula racing. In case you haven’t noticed, my race reports and previews have been slim lately as I am trying to focus on keeping things simple. This allows me to promote drivers that other press releases might miss. Sometimes the guy that went from 30th to 8th–deserves as much press as the guy that went flag to flag. Just another way to try and find my niche. Once again, thank you to all the loyal readers.
Donations-
Last month, I decided to add a donation link or tip-jar to the blog via PayPal. Maintaining my current level of coverage requires a significant amount of time and effort. Fortunately for me, it’s something I truly enjoy doing. In fact, those around me, on a daily basis, may call it an obsession. The donation icon is there for readers who wish to add a contribution. All I ask for is your readership. For those that have donated, I am thoroughly grateful. Every donation is appreciated no matter how small. My hope is to use this money as a travel fund to provide more live-blogs down the road.
Anonymity-
I have had several readers request my true identity. For now, I prefer to keep my full name private. I hope you will respect this request. I know that some of you—which I won’t name—refuse to correspond with me until I relinquish my full identity. I assure you this time will come, and I know some of you have already figured it out. All I ask is that you respect my privacy and my request to remain anonymous. For those of you who are upset by my decision–I do apologize. I’m sure my name will be leaked sooner rather than later. Be patient.
Live Blogging-
I have done a few live blogs over the last year and I hope to do even more in 2009. Thank you to everyone that tuned in during those race weekends.
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Once again–Thank you to everyone who frequents this site and the teams who have provided information. If you enjoy what you read, make sure to send the link to your friends. Thanks for reading!
-JOWT
