By thedihedral Posted on

Bridging the Gap // Our Mission

I want to say: THANK YOU!

When we first started theDIHEDRAL, one of our primary goals was to fit in between the cracks1. There is such a great presence of content in climbing for climbers, but we wanted to branch our affection for climbing/hiking/the outdoors to different people and different communities.  In simpler terms, we were cautiously hopeful that we could tap into the energy of a diverse community.  Preaching to the choir is great, but sometimes it helps to open the doors and see who is willing to take a peek.

Our plan was simple: a diverse team of writers will lead to diverse content, diverse content will lead to a diverse audience, and BOOM a gap would be bridged!2  And so diversify we did, with different nationalities, races, sexes, religious affiliations, sexual orientations, ages, abilities, educational backgrounds, families, diets, and tastes (among other things) we came together as a team with a common interest and a common goal. We intensely adore the outdoors, and we want to share our experiences with people beyond our immediate scope.

When we first pitched our idea to a couple potential partners there was a lot of support, but there were scoffs as well.  The one remark I remember most was that we’d be lucky to last a year, at most we may reach 100 views, and at best we could be a 2ndrate blog. Discouraging remarks? Perhaps.  Tack board motivation?  Kind of! (And absolutely yes.)

The point of all this lead up is to say that a group of friends, who like to climb, and write, and hike, and enjoy sunsets, and etc… had an idea to engage a diverse community in diverse ways.  And in less than two years we have been able to interact with tens of thousands of people from over one hundred fifty countries.  Our content has expanded from a web-site with one follower to a multi-platform community with nearly eight thousand community members, and none of this would be possible without you, and you, and you, and every single one of you who has taken a moment to read a post, or watch a video, or check out a photo. A community cannot exist without members to embrace it, and so without you, and you, and you, and every single one of you we would be nothing.

When I think about how far we’ve come (together) from our first post to our most recent, I am filled with confusion mostly, but also a sense of joy that a simple idea could transform into a diverse community that we lovingly refer to as theDIHERDAL!

I’ll close where I started, by saying THANK YOU.  Thank you for being part of a “2ndrate blog”, thank you for every comment, and every moment you’ve shared, but mostly, thank you for making a WE an US!

Sláinte

Carrot
Carrot (Co-writer) theDIHEDRAL
  1. I like to think of us as the off-width climbers of the writing world… Off-width cracks are wider than hand cracks, but not wide enough for the legs or upper body to fit inside; this width is the most difficult to master, as it requires movements that can be physically awkward or uncomfortable. (Long, John How to Rock Climb)
  2. To my fellow logicians, this plan is the classic hypothetical syllogism!
    1. If P then Q
    2. If Q then R
    3. If P then R

14 Replies to “Bridging the Gap // Our Mission”

  3. kusanagi65 says: Reply

    That’s what I like about blogging, and that’s why I’ve been doing it for 14 years now.
    The chance to meet diverse people, passionate people, even if I don’t share their passion.
    I’m an indoor person myself, I mostly like watching tv, reading books and going to the movie, but keeping an open door to diverse experience is in my nature. But I also like to travel, a lot, (but I’m not doing it nearly enough as I’d like) to meet people from different culture, to discover how they live, and what makes us different and what we have in common.
    I appreciated very much the passion and genuinity that transpire from your video, and your purpose to connect with people with different interest by diversifying the writers in your community is, IMHO, great in many ways.
    A question though, what about the name of the blog?
    And what about Slainte? Have you Irish origin, or what?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. thedihedral says: Reply

      I think you hit the nail on the head! Coming together with others is a huge and sometimes under appreciated part of life. A dihedral occurs when two planes come together, essentially it’s a corner. We liked the idea of this site being a cozy little corner of the internet, being a place where things come together, and they are also very fun rock formations to climb. You are perceptive…I am Irish, but I took Italian classes in school! Next time I’ll try and close with “Cento di questi giorni”. Thanks for visiting! Salute!!!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. kusanagi65 says:

        So you’re learning italian, Molto Bene!!!
        I knew what Slainte meant from my only trip to Ireland, back in 2006, when I went on an organized tour in Dublin, Connemara, Galway, Aran Islands and Kilkenny, back when my english was not so good.
        And also from the movie Brooklyn, with Saoirse Ronan.
        I particularly liked Galway, and believe it or not in my living room there’s a big picture of the Claddagh.
        Ciao!

        Liked by 1 person

  7. aarongerry says: Reply

    Congratulations on sticking to your gumption and rounding into form two years in! #NaysayersGonNay

    Liked by 1 person

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