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<p><img src="stuff/me.gif" alt="{ 2 }" width="280" height="201" border="0">
<p><br><b>On 9.12.98, fray had its 2nd birthday party.</b>
<p>Gathered
together in a small San Francisco warehouse were
150 people – many meeting for the first
time – taking the storytelling out from behind the
glass of our monitors.
<p>I'd be lying if I said it didn't scare the
shit out of me.
<p>I've always believed that this monitor in front of
me was a way to connect with other people – that's
what inspires me about the web. But I've come
to realize that it can also be a barrier, an unnecessary
step in the telling of stories.
<p>So on 9.12.98, among fray's friends and contributors,
I did something I haven't done in a long
time. I stepped onto a stage
and told stories and played songs to a crowd of waiting eyes.
<p>Then, one by one, others followed.
The open mic lasted all night, as I'd hoped it would, filling the warehouse
with stories and songs usally reserved for quiet
bedrooms and computer screens.
<p>In many ways, this was the real test of fray – to
see if what we built here, from behind the
safety of this glass, could survive out in the open.
<p>Tonight fray got real.
<p>So if you were at the party with me, I'd like you
to take a moment to post and
tell the world what you saw that night.
<p>If you couldn't be there, think about the stories you've collected in the last year. They're the things that make you real. Tell one to us.
<p><font size="4" face="arial,helvetica"><b><a href="post/">Happy birthday, fray!</a></b></font>
<p align="right">– <a href="/is/derek/">Derek</a></p>
<p align="center"><br><a href="index.shtml" onmouseover="window.status='into the {fray}';return true" target="_top"><img src="icns/fray.gif" alt="{fray}" border="0"></a></p>
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