Thursday, July 06, 2006
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
A blog epiphany
I have reached a point of understanding in my bloggedness.
Defining blog, aside from the literal denotation of "abbreviation of 'web log,'" tends to meander in several directions. In this little endeavor of my own, I've wondered in type about the forms of blogging and what "it" is.
Here's my take: it's a personal web page.
Please pause here so the shrill cacophony of disagreement can envelope the earth as bloggers everywhere take up keyboard and web connection to counter my assertion.
Now allow me to explain how I got here.
In my professional life, I've attended professional association meetings on the topic of blogging. Corporate blogs are usually at the center of the discussion. And, like anything in this world, a virtual cottage industry has formed to jump all over the trend. There are companies willing to monitor your blog, host your blog, count the hits on your blog, pay you to advertise on your blog, and even promote or defend your blog when things get really interesting.
But the idea that finally struck me, and this is the epiphany my title describes, is that the true essence of blogging is simply the ability of an individual to easily post information and especially opinion, on the Internet. Corporate 'blogs' really aren't blogs. They are just more corporate web pages masquerading as blogs.
See, that's what makes blogs different. Read the ideas of Thomas Friedman in his much acclaimed book "The World Is Flat" and see what seeded some of this epiphany. He suggests that the ability of individuals to freely express ideas and connect has been one of the catalysts in flattening the world and ushering in a new era of life as we know it.
Used to be, if you wanted to have a web page, you at least had to know HTML and get some web space rented. In the last couple years, all that has gotten easier and cheaper. Anyone can create a blog now using free software and free storage space. All you gotta have is a connection and a way to type and click buttons. Once created, you can even post via cell phone.
And when you study what the hardcore bloggers, those who live and breathe this stuff, seem to defend about blogging, is the purely personal nature of it. Sure, it may be some a-hole from Jerkoria complaining about how he just got ripped off at some retail giant's store, but that's a personal experience and perspective on the world.
When you've got some executive from Boeing posting a 'blog' that in at least some way is promoting the Boeing brand, then he's not blogging - he's marketing.
Understand there are plenty of blogs out there that are trying to sell, promote something, etc., but I'd argue they're really just individuals or organizations taking advantage of the free-ness of blogging. If they weren't so cheap-assed, they'd actually buy space and pay someone to make a page to promote their agenda.
Blogging is interesting because it gives a personal perspective, even if it is uninteresting, uninformed or unbelievably stupid.
Blogs that purport to being a news organization, political organization, or sales front are just those things - not blogs.
So that's my take anyway. There's a whole other discussion beyond this about what that means, a la Friedman's assertions and the effect of blogging on journalism. I've written elsewhere on a variation of that topic before and because I don't feel like making the effort tonight, I'll simply preview it with a synopsis: Ride-along journalism lacks the editorial process.
More on this later.
Defining blog, aside from the literal denotation of "abbreviation of 'web log,'" tends to meander in several directions. In this little endeavor of my own, I've wondered in type about the forms of blogging and what "it" is.
Here's my take: it's a personal web page.
Please pause here so the shrill cacophony of disagreement can envelope the earth as bloggers everywhere take up keyboard and web connection to counter my assertion.
Now allow me to explain how I got here.
In my professional life, I've attended professional association meetings on the topic of blogging. Corporate blogs are usually at the center of the discussion. And, like anything in this world, a virtual cottage industry has formed to jump all over the trend. There are companies willing to monitor your blog, host your blog, count the hits on your blog, pay you to advertise on your blog, and even promote or defend your blog when things get really interesting.
But the idea that finally struck me, and this is the epiphany my title describes, is that the true essence of blogging is simply the ability of an individual to easily post information and especially opinion, on the Internet. Corporate 'blogs' really aren't blogs. They are just more corporate web pages masquerading as blogs.
See, that's what makes blogs different. Read the ideas of Thomas Friedman in his much acclaimed book "The World Is Flat" and see what seeded some of this epiphany. He suggests that the ability of individuals to freely express ideas and connect has been one of the catalysts in flattening the world and ushering in a new era of life as we know it.
Used to be, if you wanted to have a web page, you at least had to know HTML and get some web space rented. In the last couple years, all that has gotten easier and cheaper. Anyone can create a blog now using free software and free storage space. All you gotta have is a connection and a way to type and click buttons. Once created, you can even post via cell phone.
And when you study what the hardcore bloggers, those who live and breathe this stuff, seem to defend about blogging, is the purely personal nature of it. Sure, it may be some a-hole from Jerkoria complaining about how he just got ripped off at some retail giant's store, but that's a personal experience and perspective on the world.
When you've got some executive from Boeing posting a 'blog' that in at least some way is promoting the Boeing brand, then he's not blogging - he's marketing.
Understand there are plenty of blogs out there that are trying to sell, promote something, etc., but I'd argue they're really just individuals or organizations taking advantage of the free-ness of blogging. If they weren't so cheap-assed, they'd actually buy space and pay someone to make a page to promote their agenda.
Blogging is interesting because it gives a personal perspective, even if it is uninteresting, uninformed or unbelievably stupid.
Blogs that purport to being a news organization, political organization, or sales front are just those things - not blogs.
So that's my take anyway. There's a whole other discussion beyond this about what that means, a la Friedman's assertions and the effect of blogging on journalism. I've written elsewhere on a variation of that topic before and because I don't feel like making the effort tonight, I'll simply preview it with a synopsis: Ride-along journalism lacks the editorial process.
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