It has been almost two years now since I started writing about minimalist footwear. What began as an exercise in preparation for a public speaking engagement, grew far beyond anything I would have ever imagined. Intense debate continues in the comments, people are always sending me questions, and companies send me shoes for review. So far, I have really enjoyed the ride and don't plan on getting off any time soon.

This somewhat accidental adventure has led me to several realizations along the way:

• I love testing shoes. I will never get to test every pair of minimalist shoes on the market. As much as I would like to, it is just not possible, or practical. I want to be a good resource and I would like to make it easier for people to find the information and reviews they need.
• I don't want to get caught-up in the hype of always having to be the first one to review a new product. While there is a certain value in being able to do that, it is very fleeting. I would like whatever my contributions are to the minimalist footwear realm to be of lasting value to people.
• While I do consider myself a shoe geek, I am certainly not the only one. There are many people (believe it or not, some even smarter than me!) who have good things to say on the topic of minimalist footwear. I would like to make their voices heard.
• I get questions all the time about what shoes I think would be best for a specific activity. I don't always have the answer, but I would like to make it easier for people to find it.
• Runners are fanatical about their shoes and could talk about them for hours. As a result, there are a lot of running-related blogs out there dedicated to minimalist shoes. There needs to be a resource available to people that encompasses more than just running. Outsideways is primarily about the outdoors, so that isn't the right place either.

After rattling these thoughts around in my head for far too long, I finally decided to do something about it. The end result is Toe Salad.

What is Toe Salad?

• A directory. Toe Salad is building a directory of every brand and model of minimalist shoe on the planet.
• A review system. Anyone can rate and review any shoe in the directory.
• A cork board. An easy way to share interesting links and photos.
• A forum. A place to ask questions, chat, and meet new people.
• A community. The site is community supported which means that anyone can contribute.

Check-out the new site, and if you have some time, please contribute... we have some great prizes to give away in the next month!