The Wandering Moleskine Project

[molesk...@gmail.com]

Its official. We will restart The Wandering Moleskine Project on May 1,
2006. There's just a little hitch...until now, we still can't get hold
of any of the notebooks we've sent out. We want to avoid that in the
next batch so I need your suggestions on:

- How to keep track of the notebooks.
- How many notebooks to send out initially.
- Where to start?
- Who will keep track? Yes, Joy and I will be here but we need help.
- "Other WMP-related matters".

[KP]

Hello,
Sorry to hear that you can't locate the 2005 notebooks...
The first thought that came to my mind to keep track of notebooks for
2006 is...to create a new thread/topic in your site, and if you are
able to get info of people who are participating, then have them keep a
log in the thread...such as when they received the M, and when they
sent it to the next person.
I don't know if this is the best idea, but if I come up with another
way to keep the whereabouts of the precious notebooks, I'll post here
again.

I think the project is such a fun idea for all of us M
users/enthusiasts.

Best,

[Louis Moga]

I think that a really good idea would be to have a web page off of
Moleskinerie in which you log your activity with the books.

You first make an item saying the date you receive a book and which
book it is and any condition problems with the book. When you are done
with the book you then go back to the page and log an item stating
where the book is being shipped, shipping information, and any tracking
numbers if they choose to use a mailing service which support them.

This way you would know whom is supposed to have the notebook at any
given time. Since no one (I've ever met) likes to be responsible for
something I think that everyone would make an effort to log their
shipping of the book to the next person, therefor passing
responsibility.

Having a page to log it for you would prevent you from having to
undertake undo work and it would be an easy thing to program. I would
offer my services to write code for it assuming Moleskinerie is coded
in a language I am familiar with to do so, but I'm sure you have
someone very capable of doing it &/or security concerns as to why some
random person shouldn't.

[Neal Dench]

Have you thought about requiring parrticipants to keep track using something like frappr (is that the right name?). I must admit I've never looked at it myself, just seen it mentioned in various blogs, but it seems to be a way of getting readers of a site to easily enter their location information into Google Maps.

--
Neal Dench | http://porkpop.blogspot.com/

[Dave Graham]

another option would be to use bookcrossing.com - you could get a BC number for each moleskine and ask people to log them as they arrive, that way each notebook would have it's own travel journal.

[Fredrik Nordstrom]

I agree with Dave that using a bookcrossing.com BC-number would be the easiest way of keeping track of the moles. I was about to suggest it myself when I saw that Dave had already made the suggestion.

//Fred

--
"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." -- Albert Einstein

[Speedmaster]

I would really like to be part of this. Maybe people have to contact
Moleskinerie via email when they send a journal and as soon as they
receive one?

--
Chris Meisenzahl
http://amateureconblog.blogspot.com/

[molesk...@gmail.com]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions so far. Keep 'em coming.
We're reading and taking notes.:)

[Dave Graham]

I'm doing a version of the Wandering Moleskine Project amongst my livejournal friends (though completely unrelated to the original Moleskinerie Project.)

I was wondering (apologies for hijacking the thread slightly) if I should add some rules to the front of my moleskine, or rely on the common sense of my LJ friends? I was thinking of things like:
* Use no more than x pages. (as there are 30+ people on the list a standard pocket moleskine should have plenty to go around but we don't want one person hogging half the book)
* Get permission before 'improving' someone else's work.
* If you cannot do your bit within a limited time, let people know or send it on without changes.
* Let people know when you have sent it on.
* Nothing too obscene in the book.

etc. Thoughts/suggestions?

On 2/1/06, molesk...@gmail.com <molesk...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Chad Sobodash]

Have a sender check in when it is sent and who the recipient is, and
have the recipient check in when it is recieved. If there is a problem,
it's now narrowed down to two people whom you can harass until they
break.

[Cinemafia]

Very cool, I was too late to get in on the last one, I have to be a
part of this year's!

[Chad Sobodash]

How do we "apply" for this?

[molesk...@gmail.com]

Chad, we will announce when the list opens for registration.

[Murk]

molesk...@gmail.com wrote:
> Chad, we will announce when the list opens for registration.

Can we assume that if we previously signed up we're still on the list?

(One solution that springs to mind as well as the BC route, and making
sure that the current 'owner' is recorded in a public place - which
would also provide people some assurance of progress - could be a
'premium' book, i.e. a deposit is paid. Of course, there is a
significant downside).

For day to day I would like to be able to access a list which displays

1) Where the book has been, with links to resultant pagescans and web
addresses of page authors (if appropriate)
2) Where the book is now, with a link to webpage of the owner
3) Where the book is headed.

With the original WMP it was quite frustrating not to know anything
about where the book was, and how far down the list you were (as far as
I am concerned, I'd rather be later on in a book, but not so far down
that it never arrives or gets lost!)

This tracking page could also link to frappr (map of places), possibly
each person could have a frappr link, and ballofdirt (map with a line
to show the route taken, and the ability to post pictures/notes
alongside). Frappr could be user maintained, but would be incomplete
ballofdirt could be updated as scans come in.

Of course, how to do all that in a userfriendly fashion is tricky, but
the tools are out there, it's just how to tie them together!

Additional: Books should be posted with a 'signed for' as a minimum
(special delivery is rather unneccesary!). In the UK this adds about
60p (around a dollar) to whatever the regular postage would be.

[molesk...@gmail.com]

Murk wrote:

> Can we assume that if we previously signed up we're still on the list?

We're starting with a clean slate so everyone has to register again.
With all the great suggestions here we might just restart earlier!

[Sylvia]

How about a deposit made through Paypal? When the deposit is paid, the
previous person gets the address for the next person, and when the next
person gets the book the previous person gets their deposit back. Of
course it means only people with Paypal can participate.
I like the Bookcrossing idea too. Seems like a natural.

[mary]

I need your suggestions on:
>
> - How to keep track of the notebooks.

I don't know how you've tracked them in the past, but I'm
wondering if registered mail might be the best to pass them on? Make
everyone agree to use it and that way when one book is mailed, it is
done so with a record and a signature is required on the end? Also,
there should be a main project email attached to each book. (As in, if
you've found this book and you're not sure of what to do with it,
please email this address and you will be given further direction.)

> - How many notebooks to send out initially.
> - Where to start?

I think it would be nice to see a dozen go out from different points in
the country. I'll send one out ifI can sign on to this project? I'd
like to ...

> Who will keep track?

Each person who has a book has to be responsible for logging in its
location before sending it off to the next location. This can be done
easily enough with a google group or yahoo group, I think.

[the.no...@gmail.com]

Good luck with your project!

I think you are incredibly brave to make it an "open" project - but the
potential rewards (in terms of creative endeavour) are high.

I am currently running a "travelling journal" project with friends from
an online community. Frankly, it was in observing that so many of the
notebooks from "open" projects had disapeared that I became convinced
that our project had to be more controlled, and invitation to
participate kept only to a known (but widening) circle of 'friends'.

I see many wise suggestions here.

We are keeping a blog, to track the journals and their activity (4
currently in transit). We log dispatch and arrival of each book, and
then put up scans of the previous work once the recipient has had the
chance to see that work "in the flesh". But already, it is clear that a
degree of care-taking and gentle nagging is necessary in order to
prevent the books from stalling. Once someone has had it a couple of
weeks, it seems that a little longer wouldn't hurt, just a little
longer ..... ;o)

So, in the rules, some form of "contract" is good. To set expectations
of what you should do with the book, if you put your hand up for one,
and when it arrives with you.

I like the BC idea, but we have the blog to cover our 4 books - but
even then, don't under-estimate the work involved in keeping a blog
going as well as the books! After a little while, each of our books has
acquired an "owner" who has assumed responsibility for tracking one
book, reminding the recipients to move it on, if it has stalled, to
send in their scans, and so on.

Tricky balance between letting the books go and do their thing, and
maintaing some form of control. But, if you ever want to see the books
again, and we all do!, then some control is necessary, I feel.

Good luck! The stuff that people put into these books is just, just,
just WOW!

Cloudhopper

[jeffsl...@gmail.com]

I'd be interested in participating!

Jeff in Omaha, NE

[jose...@gmail.com]

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 cool.gif 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
($2 for a cahier? (since they are 3 for $5.99 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.

[molesk...@gmail.com]

Thanks again for your suggestions. We are compiling the best of your
ideas into a set of guidelines for the second wave of the WMP. In the
meantime feel free to add your thoughts to this discussion.

[Jim]

Hi, I think the only way this will work will be for you to request a
£50/$50 deposit which is returned to the person once the book is
returned. It it will also be necessary for the book always to go back
to you and then onto the next person rather than one to the next. I
think its the only way. With 10+ entries in the book it will be such an
attractive work of art you perhaps will even need to increase the
deposit it double that.

What do others think? Remember its only a deposit and fully refundable

Jim

[Joy]

While the idea of a deposit isn't unreasonable, I'd have to vote no for
several reasons. A very large deposit seems antithetical to the
philosophy of the WMP. Two, it would be an administrative pain moving
money back and forth.

-Joy