::scr Blogging

[Simon Batistoni]

On 23/11/01 10:17 +0000, Dave Hodgkinson wrote:
> simon wistow <simon@thegestalt.org> writes:
> 
> > On Wed, Nov 21, 2001 at 03:44:48PM +0000, simon wistow said:
> > > I have to admit that I'm confused by this whole blogging phenomenon 
> > 
> > Sorry, let me put that in a slightly less verbose form ...
> > 
> > 
> > This whole blogging phenomenom really pisses me off - I really hate them and I
> > can't quite put my finger on why.
> > 
> > Anybody else feel like that? And if so, why?

It depends partly on what you class as a "blog". Slashdot is usually
cited as a blog now, but I would stongly disagree with that
assessment. Slashcode and its derivatives can certainly be used to
maintain a blog on another site (and frequently are), but Slashdot
(whatever problems it has with its community) is the original site
which brought a reasonable model for community-generated and
moderated news on the web to a wide audience.

Whilst on the tube last night, we came across a snippet in the
Guardian's Online section proudly announcing that they'd started a
"blog". This makes me grind my teeth because it seems so... false.
If they mean a section of the site where they stick lots of links,
shouldn't they just *have* lots of links in their content already?
Media entities trying to be hip 2 tha kidz by jumping on the latest
trend suck. Especially when I suspect that their biggest motivation
is lazy journalism ("hey! We don't have to write stories any more.
We can just post links and illiterate one-liners in our blog!")

My biggest problem with it is the buzzwordiness of it all. Buzzwords
are bad, m'kay? They generally herald the arrival of bad marketing
on the scene, and you just know that your village is about to be
burnt, your crops plundered and your womenfolk ravaged.

Fine, people can keep online diaries, and lists of links that they
find useful but does it have to be a (insert meejahor "quoting"
finger gestures) phenomenon? Does it have to have its own fricking
name?

And does it have to try and include everything? I've seen NTK
described as a blog, ffs, and I'm sure there's some idiots out there
who'd willingly call the (void) archives a blog, too.

The only blog I find useful is #london.pm's scribot
(http://www.astray.com/scribot), and I think that's because I'm part
of the community that generates it, and it reflects their, and my
interests. I know when I follow a link that it's going to be
something I'll find amusing, useful or both.