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Thursday, September 27, 2012

SIROTI: Cowbird

Cowbird.com logo


So, a long while ago, I browsed through NewScientist.com. It’s a good site for light reading on—you guessed it—science related topics. In their Books & Arts section, I found the article, A Wikipedia for Life’s Meaningful Moments. That Wikipeida is Cowbird, a new site the creator says is “a sanctuary for storytellers.”

Well, hey, that’s us writers! As such, I sympathize with the spirit behind the site, but after some time perusing the place, I came away feeling it’s more akin to blogging than Wikipedia(ing?), except the environment is curated and symbiotic.

It’s a little difficult to navigate, difficult to know where you are and where you just came from. It’s all non-fiction anecdotes from real people’s lives, most of which, as you might expect from everday non-fiction, isn’t brimming with exciting tales of wonder and adventure and new discoveries. Indeed, from what I read, it can lean towards navel gazing. However, if you do happen upon one of the more competent writers there, you can get some bits and pieces of what might make an interesting story, bits and pieces of relatable moments, and sometimes, raw truths that make you think.

Cowbird is not a site for storytellers of fiction, but it is a bit like wandering a library of souls. You’ll skim over lots of stuff you don’t care for, but once in a while you’ll find something to lose yourself in.

Library of souls…hmm. *squirrels it away in Ideas folder to germinate*