Month: April 2018

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I would like to start by saying how grateful I am to Innovation & Entrepreneurship for allowing me to do this project. Through the Failure Fund I have been able to:

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]1. Buy my own domain name[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”4249″ image_size=”medium” custom_image_size=”869×100″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]2. Use managed wordpress hosting to build my site, econically.com[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”4172″ image_size=”medium”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]3. Subscribe to the New York Times to make sure I always had access to trustworthy sources[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”4314″ image_size=”medium”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]4. Purchase a kindle, a stylus and drawing app to make eye-catching images to go with my writing[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”4315″ image_size=”medium”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]5. Follow through on a project I’ve been wanting to pursue since my sophomore year[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”4170″ image_size=”medium”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]I cannot believe how quickly time has moved on this project, how much I have accomplished, and how much I have left to do. When I started this process, I was overwhelmed, to say the least. Every decision felt enormous, and I had no idea how to gauge whether or not a spending decision would be the right one. What if I bought a theme and it turned out not to work? What if I got a tablet and it turned out the drawings were awful? What if I promote the site and no one reads it anyway? Eventually, I kept reminding myself, and having Liz remind me, why I was given the funds in the first place: to take a risk.

A few things I know for certain have paid off:

1. I love the writing. I’ve turned in blog posts for my independent study that have been longer than anything else I’ve written at Davidson except one semester long paper. I’ve spent ages digging into topics because I am determined to think everything through carefully and from as many angles as possible. I’m definitely going to keep writing post-graduation, and I’m really looking forward to it.
2. The kindle-drawings work. Am I the best artist? Absolutely not. But I’ve decided that the look I ended up with, which I refer to as my “snarky kindergartener aesthetic,” works for the mood and tone of the blog, and I think will definitely grab people’s attention. I definitely plan to continue that as well.
3. I pushed myself. Deciding to take on this project was scary in its own way, and new things are cropping up to frighten me in new ways. I had to get past second-guessing everything I wrote, and wondering if I had the authority to be speaking to these concepts. Yes, I do. I had to get past feeling like I needed to be certain about everything before trying anything. I remain certain about nothing, and I’ve accepted it. Now I’m working on the fear of backlash on my posts. Anything controversial on social media can get so ugly, and the more attention I bring to this website the more criticism I invite on my writing and my self. The old doubts about whether I am smart enough, educated enough, knowledgeable enough, are creeping in, and I’m afraid of what people will say. But I started this blog with a mission to educate and I won’t let fear get in the way of that either.

Moving forward, I will be using the remaining funds to advertise on social media and to pay people to edit posts and help create images as I split my focus a little more between generating content and attracting readers. I am really excited to see where this blog can go.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Name: Ellie Rifkin, daniellekrifkin.com

Team Name: Econically.com

How I Got Here: I was driven to start this blog by the level of toxicity in today’s politics, and the level of sensationalism: the conversations we have are so explosive and partisan that we ignore the major underpinnings. I initially started blogging about economics in English 201, but without the time or framework to continue, I put the project aside. Even though I’ve had this idea in the back of my mind for a long time, and have had encouragement from friends who say they appreciate when I take the time to explain things about economics to them–even though what they call “explaining things” I call “ranting.” Discovering that the Failure Fund program could provide me an opportunity to really develop the site, gain readership, and even attempt to turn it into a source of revenue, gave me the final push I needed.

What I Do: I blog about economic topics–theory, concepts, and current events– in a way intended to be accessible, understandable, and approachable to anyone with or without formal economics education. The topic ideas come from weekly econversations sessions, informal economics discussions with students lead by professor Shyam Gouri Suresh, who also provides guidance and feedback on the posts themselves as part of an independent study course that satisfies the writing requirement for the economics major.

Where I’m going/what’s to come: Now that the site is up and running and the content, with images, has been posted, I am ready to start in on building the site’s social media presence. From there, I can focus on drawing readership to the blog and getting to the point where I can begin to set up the blog for ad revenues.