Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

["Jeri C. Gloege" <gloege AT metalab.unc.edu>]

Okay when did we start erroneously calling online journals "blogs"??  A 
blog is simply a list of links folks.  Dare I refer you to 
http://www.spoonfed.net/blogs.html who rants about the misused verbiage 
of late much better than I???  

Blogs are not going to change the face of anything.  Thanks to Blogger, 
BlogSpot and every other build-your-own-webspot-in-thirty-seconds tool, 
anyone with something they want to say, can.  If you want a Blog, go to 
Memepool (www.memepool.com) or Mefi (www.metafilter.com).  If you want 
online diaries go anywhere.  They are as rampant now as "I love Leo" 
websites and can even be supported by paypal or by donating off of 
someone's amazon.com wishlish (I mean we gotta keep the teen girls in 
stuff or they might turn off their webcams - ohmigod!).   

If you happen to enjoy blogging then do so.  Just don't call the synopsis 
of your day that cause then you are misusing the term.  And let's face it, 
if something is going to change anything, can't we at least get the words 
right here folks??

jeri



On Fri, 19 Apr 2002 AlMaur777 AT aol.com wrote:

> I keep hearing that Blogs are going to change the face of journalism, 
> rahrahrah and all that. Sounds just like a lot of Internet hype I had to 
> wade 
> through in two years of covering the industry for Localbusiness.com. 
> Now I happen to enjoy blogging, although I do it through my Science fiction 
> related site as headlines and links rather than actually through a blog. 
> I've 
> done that too, because I enjoy trying out tech. But most of the blogs done 
> by 
> amateurs are just that: amateur. The writing and insights are so-so.
> Personally, I enjoy reading quite a number of them. 
> Some, done with the love suggested in the word amateur, are indeed fine. 
> Many, done by professionals of one sort or another, offer insider insight 
> into what people in a given field think is important, interesting, 
> disturbing.
> But most are mediocre. I think most will fade away through neglect. (The 
> late 
> SF writer Theodore Sturgeon said, "Sure 90 percent of SF is crud. 90 
> percent 
> of everything is crud."  He didn't use the word "crud."
> Those blogs done by actual journalists (Sullivan, among others) are 
> professional because they're done by professionals. Those done for  love of 
> subject or even a deep need to be heard will likely survive in one form or 
> another.
> Something I suspect will affect blogging is that the Net is inevitably 
> moving 
> toward a pay-for-stuff model. With some exceptions -- where advertising, 
> sponsorship or product sales support the content -- less and less will be 
> free online and linking to stories will bring up a register and pay to view 
> page.
> Blogging might get a lot less interesting if the writers have to actually 
> say 
> something intelligent rather than just commenting briefly on content in a 
> link provided.
> I'm not arguing the pros or cons of paying for content, just commenting 
> that 
> it's happening and is only going to become more pervasive in various forms. 
> 
> 
> 
> Allan Maurer
> Writer
> PHONE: 919-667-1733
> Cell Phone: 919-491-4524
> Published widely in national, regional, and local media: books, magazines, 
> newspapers, online.
> 
> Senior Writer: www.localtechwire.com   A new daily online news service 
> covering technology and venture-backed companies in the southeast <A 
> HREF="http://localtechwire.com/";>
> LocalTechWire.com</A> .
> 
> Explore the science fiction world we live in at  <A 
> HREF="http://scifiscanner.com/";>SciFiScanner: Science 
> Fiction through time and space - Literature Entertainment</A> 
> 
> 
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