Our inspiration is something like Kickstarter, which matches smallish amounts of venture capital to people with good ideas.
    --we're imaging this site to be something like an academic equivalent to Kickstarter, specifically for cultural studies
    --but instead of investments of monetary capital, what we're seeking, instead, are investments of intellectual capital
    --it's a "business" incubator, but by "business" we mean the practice of cultural studies
(the only question is, what do you get as a return on your investment, besides some electronic goodwill? maybe karma? a better publication record?)

Some Problems With Thinking Out Loud

I.    This essay was composed "out loud," that is, on a public website visible to anyone with internet access who might care to view it
    A.    We made this choice at the outset because:
        1.    we wanted to experiment with techniques for making both the labor and historicity of academic work (especially writing) more apparent
            a.    note: we archived revisions to the text, a la Wikipedia, so that others could follow each step we took in writing and revising
        2.    we were interested in soliciting feedback on the piece while it was in progress, hoping to:
            a.    clarify and build upon its strengths; and
            b.    identify and address its weaknesses prior to subjecting it to more traditional editorial and peer review
    B.    Our proceeding in this way may lessen some of the  journal editors and reviewers are often called on to do
    C.    (Note how this results in a liminal status for the work)

(2) One issue: colliding definitions/understandings of "publication"
    (a) Is something "published" when it appears on the internet?
    (b) I've heard, anecdotally, that some editors of traditional academic journals will not consider material that has already been "published" to the internet.
    (c) Perhaps we need some other designation, like "in transition," or "in progress."
    (d) To me, it doesn't make any sense NOT to avail ourselves of the available tools to produce the best scholarship.