Intro Video by DAVID MEADOR

Comment and see it in full size here.

Button:

Take this button for your web site or blog (right click and save), and made sure to link back to Supraterranean.com.

About Us:

Supraterranean.com is an open-access interactive web community for writers, filmmakers, and artists to self-publish their creative work, including fiction, nonfiction, essays, poetry, short films, photography, art, and multimedia. The basic idea is to post all submissions without applying a selection process, and then let the audience respond, rate, and comment. The most highly rated items will be featured on the home page. The site was created by Nick Meador in summer 2008, as an independent study project to finish a Masters of Journalism program at Michigan State University. This is an experimental project, and its success will require the participation of both authors and the community. For more information, please read the mission statement and goals, as well as the submissions page.

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Mission Statement:                 

(Statement in progress...) We aim to combine features of a traditional literary magazine with more modern aspects of interactive web culture. Our goal is to apply the spirit of journalism in an artistic setting, taking advantage of the wide berth of material and interconnectivity provided by the Internet. The site is also an attempt to stray from the burgeoning entertainment model of mass media, towards a more intellectually sound method of seeking the truth.

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Goals (in order from modest to...unconventional):

• To explore the artistic potential allowed by the Internet and associated technologies.
• To provide a "writers circle" type environment where aspiring and established artists of many disciplines can get constructive feedback on their work.
• To break down categorical barriers between journalism, literature, poetry, music, film, and art.
• To emphasize the importance of personal experience and expression in all of these media.
• To showcase the cultural advancements taking place in the state of Michigan, and transfer online interaction into real world networking.
• To connect creative minds around the world who were meant to live, work, and play together, but who have been prevented by geography, language, and other barriers.
• To encourage the excessive use of material in the public domain or partially protected under Creative Commons license. To promote fair use of copyrighted material to the extent that is legally allowed.
• To transform, remix, and recreate culture in a way that suits the expressive needs and desires of modern society.
• To evade the pretentious nature of existing literary journals.
• To lessen the selective editor role in publishing (for journalism, literature, etc), and return control to those who create and consume culture.
• To undermine the power of major content corporations who distribute most of the media to which people are exposed.
• To fight the disease of anti-intellectualism rampant in the U.S. and around the world.

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Contact:

General inquiries: admin [at] supraterranean.com

Submissions: submit [at] supraterranean.com

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Staff:

Creator, Administrator: Nick Meador admin [at] supraterranean.com

Nick currently works in the following capacities: Publisher, Managing Editor, Moderator, Contributor, Art Director, Web Developer, Copy Editor, Blog Editor, Digital Marketing.

** We're looking for help in the Web Development and Art Direction departments. If you live in the Ann Arbor, MI area and you are interested, please email admin [at] supraterranean.com. **

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Legal:

Unless otherwise noted, all content on Supraterranean.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. In plain language, this means that you are free to share the content, as long as you follow three guidelines: 1) Provide adequate attribution (the author's name and a link to the URL on our site where the content was originally posted). 2) Do not sell the content or duplicate it in a commercial nature. 3) Do not modify the work as it appears on the site.

These guidelines may change for specific articles or pages, and deviations from the norm will be clearly stated. All rights are reserved on the site itself, the name "Supraterranean.com," the slogan "Freedom Is Expression," and the starry banner design. However, you are free to use and share the small button above, as long as you link back to our home page.

To better understand why we use and support Creative Commons, please view this short video (length: 6:37):

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FAQ for Authors:

Q: Can anyone submit a creative work? A: Yes! While the site was launched and is currently maintained in Michigan, we're not requiring that submissions come from within that state. The goal is to provide an open-access community for writers and artists to share their work with the public. Therefore, anyone from anywhere can submit.

Q: Where should I send my submissions? A: Please send all submissions to the following address: submit [at] supraterranean.com (fill in the appropriate @ -- we're trying to avoid spam).

Q: How many items can I send in at once? A: In general, keep it betweeen 1-3 items per category (i.e. fiction or poetry). For more details, please read the submission guidelines.

Q: Is it possible to post my work under a different license? A: Yes, you can post the work as "all rights reserved" or using a different Creative Commons license. For example, you could allow derivative works if the person shares the new creation under a similar CC license. This makes it more likely that your creation will become "viralized" (i.e. - spread around the Internet like wildfire). Just let us know what type of license you would prefer. For CC, choose: yes/no modifications, yes/no commercial use, yes/no share alike. For more information, see the Creative Commons website.

Q: Will you edit or alter my submissions? A: We won't edit for content or style. We will only edit for grammar and punctuation, unless it's not appropriate or you explicitly request that we do not. For example, if you submit an abstract poem that requires absolutely no editing, we'll probably leave it alone. We'll do our best to present your creative work in a way that satisfies your desires.

Q: Do I have to allow ratings and comments on my work? A: We would prefer to allow comments on all work, but an author can probably opt out of allowing ratings. However, by doing this, the author sacrifices the opportunity to be featured in the home page navigator box. Highest rated and most frequently rated items will appear in this box automatically.

Q: Can I ask that my work not be linked on social bookmarking or social networking sites? A: Sure. We can easily remove the "share" button from your work. Also, we can refrain from linking to the article from our MySpace or Facebook groups. We don't recommend any of this, since interaction and sharing are some of the greatest benefits of web authorship -- but we aim to please.

Q: Can I submit under a pseudonym or pen name? A: We would probably allow this, but it's a dangerous move. Supraterranean is about personal expression, so we want to encourage that you use your real name. However, we know that true honesty can sometimes be dangerous, and that a pseudonym might help tell a more complete story. We also know that many employers are sensitive about what their staff does on the Internet, and we would never want to endanger your job or career.

FAQ for Readers:

Q: What do the letters in parentheses mean in the home page navigator box? A: Those are symbols for the categories on the website. We include them to help you find content that suits your interests. Here is the code: FC=fiction, NF=nonfiction, E=essay, PE=poetry, FL=film, PH=photography, A=art, and M=multimedia.

Q: Can I sign up to receive notifications for when you post new material? A: Yes, but right now there are only external options. In other words, we don't yet have a mailing list or newsletter. The best way to stay updated right now is to follow our Twitter updates. Alternatively you can join our Facebook group or add us as a friend on MySpace. We'll send out notifications that way until we devise a more advanced method.

Q: I love Supraterranean.com so much. How can I support the site other than contributing material? A: Tell all your friends and family about us, and put a link to our home page on your web site, Facebook or MySpace page, or blog. We also welcome PayPal donations to help cover our operation costs. Please click the secure button below to be redirected to the donation page.

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