As I’ve been exclaiming on Twitter since 12:01 AM this morning, the Daily Dot launched publicly today. I’ve already been with the Dot for nearly a month now, but this is the most exciting workday I’ve had yet.

You’ve already been able to read my stories when I tweeted them out, but they were just image-less text on our test site. Now, the invitation-only version of the site is open to all. I love the design, and I actually got to contribute to it! I’m the designer behind the meme inspired ads on the sidebar.

Tech sites like Mashable, Betabeat and Gawker all have written explainers today on what exactly the Daily Dot is supposed to be. However, what would you, a reader of Otaku Journalist, get out of the Daily Dot? I think you’d find it interesting for the same reason I did when I was considering whether or not to take the job. It’s about exploring online communities and sharing their stories, stories that might not get told anywhere else.

You know I’ve been saying that fandom needs to be taken seriously? This is how the Daily Dot treats community coverage, too. It’s not just about posting a funny video we found on YouTube; other blogs do that already. At the Dot, we might reach out to the creator and get the story behind the viral video. That’s what I did with my story about Where’s Waldo: The Musical.

Another story I wrote for launch that I wouldn’t think of writing for anywhere else (except maybe my blog) is my interview with a former Twitter spambot runner. Nobody assigned me this story. As a Twitter user, I noticed what seems to be an increase in spam and it felt like my community of followers did, too. So I wrote to somebody who would definitely know the answers, a former spammer.

It’s especially great to work for a place that not only appreciates but encourages my interest in fandom communities. Whatever the Internet is talking about is fair game. That’s how I managed to write about bronies a few weeks ago and JManga’s launch last week. I’d like to write about geek fandom even more, but it’s tough to spot every story. So if you see one, definitely send me a tip. I’ll read it — just ask The Patches.

Today was an especially exciting day because I spent most of it getting around downtown to disprove a hoax on Twitter that the Washington Monument was tilted after the earthquake. As you can see in my photos, it isn’t. It’s great to have the flexibility to drop everything to sate my curiosity, and this job lets me do that. This was the first time I did any reporting offline for the Dot, since it just so happened I was the only reporter on staff near the earthquake’s epicenter. Other places covered the earthquake too, of course, but you can see from my story that this was about telling it through people’s voices on Twitter and on the National Mall.

I hope my examples have shed some light on how the Daily Dot is different. I don’t expect everyone to understand it or like it simply because it’s so unusual. In fact, I was skeptical at first, too. When something uniquely new comes out, it’s hard to figure out how it’ll fit in our lives. Back when the iPad came out, I was laughing with the rest of the tech world about it. It had a funny name and why would I need a tablet when I already have a laptop and a cell phone? You know how this ends. I got one and I love it — especially for scheduling and taking notes at cons.

I don’t know if the Daily Dot will end up being your iPad, so to speak. It’s certainly changed my life. It’d mean a lot to me if you would check it out and let me know what you think.