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RE: Is blogging more than time?
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David Weinberger
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Nov 11, 2001 05:41 PST
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FWIW, weblogs started out as a way to post links to interesting sites, a
type of recommendation network. "Here's where I went today and what I
saw." They mutated almost all at once, however, to become a public
journal.
I think it's a fascinating phenomenon precisely because there is, in one
sense, nothing essentially new about blogs: it doesn't really take that
much Web skill to update your home page and to FTP it. The convenience
provided by blogger sw certainly makes some difference, but the real
difference is the one Doc points to: the metaphor. A site is a magazine;
a blog is a diary. A site is for The Public; a blog is to your friends.
A site presents explicit, from-scratch context for the casual browser; a
blog assumes its readers are friends. A site is polished; a blog is
jotted down. A site is revised, erasing its history; a blog is archived.
The blog metaphor invites a class of writers that sites exclude, and
vice versa. E.g., I don't write a blog because I'm not relaxed enough
about what I write. That's also why I'm an infrequent contributor to
lists such as this one. (I admire Doc and RB's ability to dash off
brilliant msgs and blog entries, the bastards!)
A history of weblogs:
http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html
A link-based weblog by the guy who invented the term
http://www.robotwisdom.com/
-- David W.
se-@evident.com
'zine: http://www.hyperorg.com
book-in-progress: http://www.smallpieces.com
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