Use your brain to help The Mongolian Experiment!

The planning and research that goes into a project the size and scale of The Mongolian Experiment is pretty astronomical.  Unlike planning a family vacation, there’s a lot more to figure out than just where to get the best hotel rates.  For TME I have to figure out everything from what kind of saddle I will need to Mongolian language lessons to water logistics to insurance for a high-risk venture.

I could, in theory, research everything myself. However, the likelihood of burnout from the overwhelming amount of information out there would be pretty high, and even if I was able to stick it out, I’d likely be looking at several years of research.

This is where you, dear reader, come in.

How you can help:

I know that there is someone out there with an answer to each question, quandry, or conundrum that I will encounter in the course of planning this expedition. Some folks have experiences with horses.  Some have been to Mongolia.  Some have done documentary work in third world countries.  Some are extremely familiar with outdoor gear.  Some are familiar with fundraising.  Some are good at logistics.

My aim is to use this site to connect myself to people with answers.

At the end of most of the posts on this blog, you will see a section called “How you can help:”.  In this section I detail what I need help with and the questions I need answers to.  Please look over this section whenever you read an entry here, and see if there’s some way in which you can contribute!

If you have some time on your hands and want to help out with a good cause, browse through the categories, tags, and related posts and see if there’s anything you think you could lend a hand with.  If there’s something that sounds interesting to you or that you know about, take a look and offer some advice if you can.

If you don’t have knowledge relating to TME, you can still help out a lot! TME’s success will be determined by its publicity, and the more people out there talking about TME, the more likely it is to succeed.  You can help out by tweeting or blogging about TME, telling people about the project, or asking your friends if they might be able to help.  There is no such thing as “too little” – any help you can give is appreciated.

What you get for helping:

If you help out with TME, there are rewards other than the satisfaction of knowing that you are helping an innovative journalism project get off the ground.  If you help out by answering questions or offering advice, you will earn yourself a 125px ad on the Contributors page, and you (and your website or business) will be mentioned any time that I use knowledge that I gained from your assistance.  If you provide consistent and substantial help, you may even find yourself on the Staff page, a page set aside to recognize the contributions of those who go above and beyond to help out TME.  For those who make it to the Staff page, there will be a tangible reward after the completion of the project.