RE: Blog?

["Darren Barefoot" <darren -dot- barefoot -at- capeclear -dot- com>]

Here's what I wrote (and borrowed from one of the populizers of the
format, Dave Winer) when I started my blog (www.darrenbarefoot.com):

<darren's blog>

I've been following the meme that is the weblog (or 'blog' to the
initiated) for a couple of years. It has recently been gathering
considerable steam and so I thought I'd better jump on the bandwagon.
For those unfamiliar with the phenomenon, here is what Salon.com, who
recently started their own blog service, defines them this way:

<salon>
Weblogs, typically, are personal Web sites operated by individuals who
compile chronological lists of links to stuff that interests them,
interspersed with information, editorializing and personal asides. A
good weblog is updated often, in a kind of real-time improvisation, with
pointers to interesting events, pages, stories and happenings elsewhere
on the Web. New stuff piles on top of the page; older stuff sinks to the
bottom.
</salon>

Dave Winer (http://www.scripting.com/dwiner/), developer of weblogging
software and writer of the long-running Scripting News weblog
(http://www.scriptingnews.com/), has a brief history of weblogs here
(http://newhome.weblogs.com/historyOfWeblogs).

Popular subjects for weblogs include emerging technologies and American
politics, but really they're about anything and everything. They're a
new genre of writing unique to the Internet. Unique because
interactivity and interconnectedness are at the blog's heart. A fine
illustration of the medium being the message, the blog can't really
exist (or be read) without links to other pages (often blogs). Without
getting too power-to-the-people, blogs take the "personal Web site" to a
new level of sophistication and empowering everyday users who have
things to say. They are an illustration that corporations do There's
also been important develops in the technologies behind blogs, but
that's a story for another entry.

There's been much hype about blogs
(http://archive.salon.com/tech/col/rose/2002/05/10/blogs/index.html) in
the media recently. This is probably due to the fact that a lot of
journalists feel threatened by bloggers, who are essentially amateur
journalists who specialize in one or two key areas. Every time a
journalist publishes an article, they can be sure its being picked apart
on at least one blog across the Internet.

This weblog will, I think, be part list of links, part soapbox and part
online journal. Not an online journal in the emotive
"I'm-in-love-with-my-dog-and-I-don't-know-what-to-do" sense, but more in
the "I went to this play, and here's what I thought of it" sense. It's
an experiment more than anything; a way to air a few views, post a few
links and generally get some dynamic content on my otherwise very dull
personal site. Lastly, as a writer who hasn't written much other than
technical articles and geeky Web content for the past year, hopefully
this blog allows me to stretch my creative legs a little.

</darren's blog>

The following is from a white paper I wrote for NewBay Software
(www.newbay.com), who are pitching blogging from mobile devices
(primarily camera phones):

<white paper>

Blogs (or weblogs) are personal Web sites operated by individuals who
compile chronological entries about subjects that interests them. A good
blog is updated regularly, in a kind of real-time improvisation. New
items appear at the top of the list, with older entries sinking to the
bottom of the page and eventually being archived.

Blogs are a unique  paradigm in personal communication. Unique because
interactivity and personality are at the heart of weblog technology.
They are personal diaries, gossip columns, essays-whatever the "blogger"
(the person who creates and maintains the blog) wants them to be. Blogs
take the personal Web site to a new level of sophistication and
simplicity, and have become an addictive soap box for their owners.

Blogs can be about anything and bloggers can be anyone. Here are a few
examples of typical bloggers:

.	A teenager keeps a blog for her friends and family.
.	A family keeps a blog to share events like holidays, Christmas,
weddings and births
.	A couple use a blog to describe their travels through South
America.
.	An amateur journalist has reviewing local events, restaurants
and movies.

<white paper>

That may be my lengthiest TECHWR-L posting ever. DB.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: bounce-techwr-l-118566 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com 
> [mailto:bounce-techwr-l-118566 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com] On Behalf Of DaveC
> Sent: 30 January 2003 15:47
> To: TECHWR-L
> Subject: Blog?
> 
> 
> 
> Please help me with a basic definition.
> 
> Blog? I understand it's an abbreviation for web log, but, 
> specifically, what is one? Is it like a journal, with daily (at 
> least) entries?
> 
> Due, probably, to the popularity of the term and its ability to trip 
> off the tongue, I think it's being misused. It seems to me, with my 
> rudimentary understanding of the term, it's being stretched to cover 
> much more than journals. Unless, of course, I'm misunderstanding it...
> 

> 


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