I'm at http://scobleizer.com and don't check this Windows Live Space anymore. Sorry.

This blog is moving to a new home so we can work interactively. Move your RSS news aggregator to here: http://redcouch.typepad.com/

Thanks, and sorry for the move.

Shel Israel just published the first draft of our book proposal. So, what do you think?

I like it a lot and will chew on it a bit over the next 24 hours to see if I can improve it at all.

Where is it too broad? Too narrow? Does it make you interested in the book or does it make you run away screaming?

One thing is that this book will change direction over time as we learn how to use blogs for building a project. That's something that the blogosphere doesn't usually talk about since it isn't the sexy use of blogs.

Also, who knows, over the next six months there probably will be some dramatic news for the blogosphere. Last week's opening of MSN Spaces isn't the last chapter. I'm guessing that it's an early chapter in a rapidly evolving space.

Thanks Shel for this great start. I'm excited. This is the book I'm excited about and I'm glad you pitched me on this crazy project. Can't wait to see how this evolves.

As we start diving into this wacky idea we had over the weekend, we're finding that it's impossible to be totally transparent about the book. For instance, Dana Epp is staying at my house and we're talking a lot about the book on and off. Not every conversation we have about the book will be able to be blogged here. Just to set expections properly.

Plus, Shel and I are finding that we're still doing some back channel communications that aren't in the blog. Why? Because we're still building our relationship and figuring this all out. Just wanted to let you know that it's just really hard to do everything in public eye.

Figuring this out will be an important part of the book, though. Lots of people ask me questions about how to figure out what to write about. This stuff is hard. If it were easy, every company would already have a blog.

Some other things:

1) We're going to do a book. That's our goal. You know, the kind of thing printed on paper. Limited in size (we're aiming for about 400 pages). You'll get to see most of the process and learn from it.

2) We are going to own the copyrights to the book and everything on the site. No one other than Shel and me will be able to redistribute the content. Why is that important? Because our goal is to sell the book and publishers want to know who owns the rights. If this is a problem for you, don't leave a comment here on our blog/site or email us content for the book. Instead, just write about us on your blog. We'll see that, but content on your own blog is yours. Content left on our blog is ours. Just want to be clear. Hopefully that isn't too legalistic.

3) Our #1 goal is to ship a book. Unfortunately that means making tough decisions about what goes in the book. This won't be a democracy. It's Shel and me writing a book. At the end of the day our two names are going on it. So, we may ignore your suggestions. The book might suck because of our decisions, but at the end of the day, it's Shel and me writing a book.

4) We're going to be straight up with you. Always. We'll tell you when we aren't gonna listen. We'll tell you if we ever need to change from being transparent to something less than transparent. You'll know all conflicts of interest or other things. That's our pact with you.

Anything else we should get on the table?

Turns out MSN Spaces isn't really a great place for us to work collaboratively, so we're probably going to open up a TypePad space. That way we can own our own domain, do podcasts, and generally have more control of things (we'll be running Google ads and Amazon affiliate stuff too, so need a more flexible service).

Not that MSN Spaces is bad, it just has some limitations. But for now we're here, so let's enjoy our time together.

I'm taking the day off. A lot has happened. Tons of traffic and links. Now the hard work begins.

Gotta think through the table of contents for the book. And the first chapter.

I hit Shel with an awful lot in just a few hours. We didn't really think this through. Just are reacting in live time.

I'm now clearing space off to write on the book and talk with Shel and you more about the book.

First, gotta go play with my son.

Shel also needs to get up a book space of his own so we can have cross-blog conversations and so you can follow them.

I want him to also figure out a revenue model and see if any of the Google ads or Amazon affiliate programs will help him pay the bills while we're writing.

I'm also going to work on building a podcast for the book so we can do stuff over the phone, record it, and put it up.

Israel and Scoble: an odd couple.

Shel gives more behind the formation of the idea. He hates my title of "the red couch." That's OK. I wanted a wacky title up front so that we don't feel constrained by the title as we write the book. I guess I have the Microsoft disease in that regard. Our code-words are almost always more fun than our product names. For instance, Lonestar became Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005. Whew.