The official launch notice of dafcast.net

[rhu]

Behind the cut is the email that I'm starting to send out about dafcast.net, my new website for translating the Babylonian Talmud. The site's official launch is today.

If you can think of any individuals or lists who might be interested, please copy-and-paste this email. Also, please consider cross-linking to this entry from your blog, if your readership contains the sort of people who might be into this.

Internet virality is the key here --- I'm hoping to find 1,400 volunteers, and have at least the first few hundred within seven weeks.

The email:

---

PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY BUT NOT AFTER ROSH HASHANAH 5769 (Sept. 30 2008)

I've created a website, Dafcast.Net, to coordinate a new translation of 
the Talmud Bavli, and then turning that into a podcast. For details on why,
please visit www.dafcast.net/?id=about

The key is using the Internet to find 1,400 interested people:

500 people to volunteer to translate just one daf
500 people to volunteer to translate just two dapim
400 people to volunteer to translate just three dapim

and we'll be done with phase I of the project, the raw translations.

If you'd like to volunteer to contribute to the translation --- or, if
you don't know enough Aramaic to do that but you'd like to help with the
editing or with the conversion into a podcast (scriptwriting, voicing, 
or post-production) --- then please visit www.dafcast.net and sign up 
for an account.

And if you're not interested personally, but you can think of individuals
or groups who would be interested, please forward this email message.
(If it's already 5769 or later, please check the current status of the
project at dafcast.net to make sure we still need volunteers before
you forward this any more.)

Thanks,
  Andrew Greene

Comments

[42itous.livejournal.com]

If you print up some little flyers, you could hand them out at a booksigning at a Jewish bookstore. (The reason I mention this one in particular is that an out-of-town friend is sending me as her proxy groupie.)

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

I could forward it to jewish-boston, jewish-sharon, KTM, the Malden shul... I could even start it being passed around in the NY/NJ area. How widely is "widely"?

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

Widely is widely. The site is launched, and my first milestone goal is that by Rosh Hashanah (in 7 weeks -- ack!) I'd like to have 500 signups, all of Kiddushin translated, and all of Bava Kamma reserved.

Thanks!

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

Good idea. I'll try to make that happen, although I have a work conflict with Thursday night. (8pm teleconference with our team in China.)

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

You asked for it... brace for impact! :-)

(BTW I made a slight change to your message: changed
and we're done with phase I of the project, the raw translations.
to
and when we're done with phase I of the project, the raw translations.
Hope that's OK (?). Made it sound like that was already done, which could discourage volunteers...)

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

Good point. I made a similar edit to the master email above. Thanks!

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Oh, good - I was hoping you wouldn't mind. Let us know how it's progressing!

Daf translations

[(Anonymous)]

I am interested. Write me at sslivko@gmail.com.

BTW, who is going to edit the whole megillah (I don't mean just the masechet)for consistency?
BTW#2 -- why do we need it (That is, who is your target audience)?
BTW #3 -- Did you know that the ABSOLUT layout for a daf of talmud actually predates your design by about 1 year? It was inspired by Evan Winiker, a student of mine in SSDS Bergen County in 1993-4 who, whe he took his first look at the opening page of Brachot he said "Hey, this looks like an ABSOLUT ad." I made a T-shirt design out of this for myself at a CAJE convention the following year when I presented on right-brain/left-brain teaching. Great minds think alike.