I CAME.....
Out there in that virtual landscape where eager faces reflect the cathode-ray glow from computer monitors at 2 a.m., where inspiration comes and goes like a whisp of wind in the night, and where itchy fingers stroke keys with passion and anticipation, lies a mirror site to mouthshut.com where some 150 wonderful, talented, sometimes bizarre personalities, writers and reviewers trust me.

That same site that has given its members so many wonderful experiences over the past two+ years is slowly dissembling due to corporate decisions that don’t sit well with many of the community’s members. At the very least a lot of the love has been drained from it. Ultimately it -- and members of my truly eclectic and wonderful web of trust there -- deserve a better fate than a descent into rancor.

....I SAW....
I found mouthshut.com just today when I followed a link from a former member of that web of trust who had registered here. So I, too, have registered and begun investigating, and will spend time exploring this site further before deciding if I switch allegiances. Unfortunately I don’t have the time to contribute anywhere near as many book, music, movie, product and travel reviews as I did to the other site because the collapsing economy and the terror attacks of last month have forced me to devote exponentially more time than ever to my work in a tough marketplace. Only time will tell when, or even if, I can get back to that pace.

But for now I’m watching. Does mouthshut.com have that touch, that feel, that ’’je ne sais quoi’’ that bonds people of different interests and places to each other through visceral and intellectual reactions to musings and product postings? Do I have the psychic energy to start over again, not to mention the time? Will I find new (and old) friends here? Will I be able to re-invent myself once again in a new locale, bonding with a new circle, deciding what I expose of myself and what I don’t?

Is it going to be as much fun, as fulfilling, and as full of anticipation as the other site?

....I EQUIVOCATED.
For now, I’ll withhold judgement until I have had a chance to read, comment, test and think more about mouthshut. I still have a lot of loyalty to the old site, even if external events have conspired to dramatically limit my contributions since September, and even if there appears to be a growing rage within that community that upsets me deeply.

Does mouthshut.com value the circle of trust as much as the other site once did its web of trust? Because in the end, that’s what it’s all about -- TRUST. Not redemptions, but communication and shared feelings and a sense of belonging and friendship. If I crave pennies (which I’ll certainly take, but not lust after), I can do something else.

If you feel like I do...and if you write well, and interestingly regardless of point of view or subject matter...I’ll have to give the new circle of trust some serious thought.