My blog readers are cordially invited to talk with me live on Zoom’s Internet meeting site, which many of us have used to communicate during the pandemic.

My idea is simple and potentially transformative. (Above photo, me and Andrew, my tech mentor, putting together the Zoom Meeting.)

Once a week –  every Wednesday at 10 a.m. EST, you can talk live with me on my Zoom Meeting for one hour. I can tell you what I’m doing; you can, if you wish, tell me what you are doing. I’m happy to take your questions. The site is not about arguing; no hostility, no cross-arguing, and no politics will be permitted unless we decide that it is essential.

Here’s the link to join my meeting. I’ll post it again tomorrow, over the weekend, and Monday and Tuesday. I see that several people have joined already, so it’s possible to sign up at any time using the link below.

(Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/71331834095?pwd=wlcUjiyOaNLSSqW7XhBPa7kkZnsuZg.1

Meeting ID: 713 3183 4095
Passcode: c2dUP3)

 

Feel free to ask me anything you want. Digital communications are full of misunderstandings and misinterpretations.

Also, there are lots of broken people and angry fools. This is an official safe place.

I can mute or eliminate anyone who gets nasty or angry. I hope I never have to use those buttons, but I can toss somebody in a micro-second.

You should be able to access the meeting by clicking on the link below.

If you need the meeting ID or passcode, they are listed below.

Most of you won’t need them. Your names will be forwarded to me on a meeting list as you sign up.

I will have to admit each person who signs up for the meeting. I’ll admit people from 9:30 a.m. on September 14th, next Wednesday.

The meeting will last for 45 minutes to an hour. The Meeting has to be launched for people to sign up.

For the first meeting, I’ll admit 12 to 15 people for the first talk, I can expand that number, but I don’t want it to get so large that people don’t get the chance to speak up.

And it’s strictly first-come-first-serve. Feel free to e-mail questions if you can’t get into the meeting, and I’ll try to read them on Zoom if I can.

I hope this new idea for bloggers will help clarify our feelings and help us understand each other as human beings, not labels. I also hope we can have fun and host good and lively discussions.

I am told I can record the meetings and post them afterward, but I won’t do that until I figure out how this works and get comfortable with it.

Everyone will be able to see the sessions soon, whether they were in the meetings or not.

I can’t say enough about Andrew Koehler (above in the photo), a tech and musical genius and good friend who has helped me in more ways than I can recount and has helped me set up the Zoom Meetings.

He’ll be with me Wednesday morning. We have worked hard to set this up and make sure it works.

Just hit that link below and ask to sign in. The link is all you should need. The passcode and Meeting Id are there if you should need them.

(Jon Katz is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/71331834095?pwd=wlcUjiyOaNLSSqW7XhBPa7kkZnsuZg.1

Meeting ID: 713 3183 4095
Passcode: c2dUP3)

I’m excited about this experiment. I look forward to knowing some of you as people, not just messages. My wish is that this will build and enhance the sense of community around the blog.

That’s how friends are made in the real world. I hope this works. I’ll give it my best, and I hope to get the chance to talk to many of you to face to face.

I’ve tried several times in different media to communicate in new ways – podcasts and two radio shows. I’m trying once more.

Again, I’ll launch the meeting at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, September 14. People will not be able to sign up before that unless I figure out a way to do that.