Just In: HuffPost First Blog on Yahoo! News

Scott: Arianna, welcome to Yahoo! [details] (we like that exclamation point after “Yahoo” btw). Just to kick this off, tell me why you decided to start the Huffington Post. I mean, opinion blogs seem to be quite the thing lately, but what got you interested?

Arianna: First things first: we like that exclamation point, too!

I’ve been a huge fan of the blogosphere for a while now. I love the passion, the relentlessness, the obsessiveness, and the immediacy of blogging. And I love the links.

And it struck me that while many of the most interesting things happening in our culture were happening online, many of the most interesting people I knew were not taking part. The Huffington Post group blog was an answer to that.

It was also important to me to have a collection of voices that were not all coming from the same political point of view. We can’t just keep chattering among ourselves in our little ideological ghettos or shouting at each other across the great political divide. I wanted a conversation, not a pep rally. So that’s why we have bloggers representing the entire ideological spectrum. You can read Robert F. Kennedy Jr. right next to Joe Scarborough. Rep. John Conyers right next to Byron York.

I also wanted our bloggers to write not just about their political passions but about other parts of their lives, as well. I mean, we are so much more than just what we think politically. So right alongside a serious political post from Vernon Jordan or Arthur Schlesinger, you’ll find a really warm and funny post about fatherhood from Paul Reiser or a beautiful meditation on the life of a writer from Jon Robin Baitz or John Cusack describing what it was like attending Hunter S. Thompson’s memorial. It’s a great mix of topics and tones.

Also, for me satire has always been the best way to punch holes in the conventional wisdom, and we have some seriously funny satiric stuff on the Huffington Post being written by folks like Harry Shearer, Larry Gelbart, Bill Maher, Adam McKay, Paul Feig, Brad Hall, etc, etc.

Scott: I’ve been at Yahoo! a grand total of 8 weeks. Yahoo! today is literally at the intersection of Silicon Valley techno-culture and Hollywood media. Quite interesting, actually. Both camps are simultaneously intrigued and repelled. I expect we’ll produce beautiful children eventually, but the mating rituals can be awkward.

Arianna: My theory is that you should go ahead, hop into bed, follow that passion… then work out who does the dishes and who takes out the trash later! And speaking of mating rituals, I love that we are the first blog you’ve had on Yahoo! They say you never forget your first!

The Hollywood/Silicon Valley hook up is actually one of the reasons I’m so excited about what we’re doing with the Huffington Post and what we can do together with Yahoo! The last presidential campaign saw an explosion of contagious media projects zipping around the web -- everything from Jib Jab’s “This Land” to Will Ferrell’s Bush at the White House West (written and directed by HuffPost blogger Adam McKay). And things like MoveOn’s “Bush in 30 Seconds” contest showed just how much untapped talent there is out there armed with fresh ideas, digital cameras and Final Cut/iMovies. Tapping into that wellspring of undiscovered talent and showcasing hip political satire is one of the things we both should be doing.

Scott: As a new Angelino, what three things do I need to keep in mind to survive, thrive and achieve bliss on the beach? In Seattle there’s a coffee shop on every corner. Here, there are yoga studios. Is yoga the answer to life?

Arianna: Bliss on the Beach, is that a new cocktail? I personally think the answer to life in LA is doing yoga while watching Meet the Press, then posting your comments to our weekly Russert Watch blog. That’s how I spend my Sunday mornings. You should join me next week… I promise you’ll love the combination of Downward Facing Dog and Bending Over Backwards Russert.

And at $20 a class, yoga is actually cheaper than coffee around here.

My other two LA must-haves: a killer laptop with full wireless so you can blog while achieving -- or sipping -- bliss on the beach, and, since LA is all about the drive time, you’ve gotta get a gas-sipping Toyota Prius hybrid and a full collection of books on tape. Start w/an LA power pack: Day of the Locust, What Makes Sammy Run, As I Lay Dying, Devil in the Blue Dress, City of Quartz, and, what the hell, Fanatics and Fools.

And since I hear you’re newly eligible, after you’ve settled in, I’ll set you up with someone. One hint for dating out here: never ask if they’re real. They’re probably not.

Scott: I really love the fact that you’re bringing new voices into the blogosphere. In fact, one of the reasons we wanted to host Huffington Post blogs was that your roster doesn’t include the usual tired suspects. But why have a blog with celebrities -- don't they have enough outlets to say what they want to say? We know what Tom Cruise has to say about psychiatry!

Arianna: Yes, but wouldn’t you love to hear what Larry David has to say about what Tom Cruise has to say about psychiatry? Or Norman Mailer? Or David Mamet? Or Mike Nichols? These aren’t people you see every night on E! (they like exclamations, too).

Plus, we’re bringing you these people unfiltered, unedited, uncensored, unrehearsed, unpredictable -- and in real time. It’s a No Publicists Zone.

And we’re all about the mix of voices on our site. Celebrities are just part of the recipe. Half the fun is coming to the site to read something by Ellen DeGeneres, Diane Keaton, or Quincy Jones and discovering one of the great HuffPost bloggers you may not know yet like Danielle Crittenden or Iraq war vet Paul Rieckhoff -- or discovering that sportscaster Jim Lampley has very, very strong political opinions.

With apologies to Forrest Gump… with the Huffington Post, you really never know what you’re going to get.