Four months ago, it was a URL that someone else owned and an idea in my head. A month ago, it was a mock-up.

Now, it's live. Umthebook.com has arrived.

Backtracking a little: two months ago, this was an idea in my head and the head of Eric Ogburn, an amazing designer I met at SXSW Interactive. Before Katrina, he used his knowledge in the restaurant biz (he'd been a chef) to design websites to build online communities for New Orleans restaurants; after the hurricane, he made online homes for dispersed communities. I liked how he saw that a book is a lot like a restaurant: a physical place/object that becomes a staging ground for conversations and social experiences.

I hope lots of people go to the site to learn about the book (and buy it) but also share their experiences with language, particularly the blunders, and pass them on to friends.