Destination of Weblogs

2004-05-04T14:33:00.000-07:00

Do School's Other Than Universities Use Blogs?

Tammy asked me if I found anything about schools using a weblog to communicate with their students...and I hadn't. It bothered me that I hadn't come across that yet..so I did some searching, and found only one example of how I think she was meaning for the blog to be used.

The blog's descritpion is "updates, news and reviews for the parents of Mrs. Scholder's Kindergarten Class" The blog seems to be very helpful for parents whose kids are bringing home dirty, wet notes that aren't very legible anymore. I thought it really seemed to make the teacher incorporate with the parents a lot more than usual. It also provided a schedule, some weekly, some daily to inform the parents what their kids are learning. The blog was also helpful in that she used it as a way to send notes home to the child's parent(s). Listings of school supplies is a great example of how useful this blog can be for parents...even though they maybe should be, parents really aren't as organized as some might think--and definitely not as organized as a kindergarten teacher whose color-coded everything, etc., so I think this is an awesome idea, because they no longer have to keep the paper, but can just zip to the blog and see what they need to buy.

This method could really cut down on the cost of things for a school--especially a small school with little funding. Notes, announcements, bulletins, lunch menus, all of that could be kept as alink off of a blog such as Mrs. Scholder's. It also is a good spot for parents to go to find extra info. about authors, teaching techniques, etc.

The only problem with something like this is that everyone in the class (or their parents) would need to have access to a computer. This isn't always so easily done, but for those who don't own a computer or internet connection, they should probably look into that or will (hopefully) at least have access somehow...now I see how blogs run through the phone could be useful.......

But anyway, I just wanted to share that little tidbit for Tammy--But for any teachers, I think this is a great idea to show the parent's that you're organized, up-to-date with tech, and how motivated you can be..The constant uses of these blogs amazes me, it's truly crazy how hard people will work to fit a blog into their daily lives/careers.

Another Career
Lawyers are also using blogging to get their name out there in more of a local sense--speaking to potential customers. So many people find information and products through search engines, that lawyers find it beneficial to mention both in a post title and in the posting itself the name of the city or area, plus any other information about the surrounding cities to try get customers to click on their blog as they search for the item they were initially looking for. One tennessee law professor's blog was ranked number one.... His Blog's success led to a swarm of lawyer weblogs, proving that they too can keep up with current trends by following the local news--showing they care and are interested, etc.--while posting from a medium that allows them to stay in contact/available to potential customers from all walks of life.........

2004-05-02T12:53:00.000-07:00

How Far Have They Come?
Part of the point of compiling all of these blogs was to see where they've been and where they've headed. I found This Article written in 1999; I found a thread of a conversation written in '99 of a group of people discussing what they thought weblogs to be, and whether or not the title 'weblog' fits that or not. One writer, going by the name of "floyd(8635)" really helped me to see how some of the online community was taking to blogging.... he said: "I agree with much of what Katz has to say, but I have to admit, the hype around weblogs really baffles me. They're just link lists with a snarky comments, and there's very little that's revolutionary about that."

WOW. Look how far we've (and blogs themselves) have come! I personally, don't think that there is any possible way that statement can hold itself up any longer, and i'm a little surprised it's still available at Slashdot, but with all of the examples, and different cultures that are grabbing ahold of weblogs as their voices and a place to explain in their words what's going on in their worlds....definitely revolutionary. Perhaps at the time they weren't, though.

But for someone who once believed there was very little revolutionary about them......look at the Blog That Came Out of Denial. It's Pretty impressive...and at the same time he blogs around the instant thought in his head at the moment.... nothing too substantial just a place to put them...

And yet, after some digging, I found that Derek addressed this issue himself....read it Here. I guess when I was reading it, and he said he wanted to rebel against weblogs when they were presented to him in 1999....that explains his more-than-somewhat-off explanation of them above, but I too, did this project, or started doing it, to somehow prove to myself that yeah, weblogs will fail....or that they are worthless to anyone OUTSIDE of the online network. None of which I was able to actually prove...

Either was Derek....one of his final remarks concerning weblogs, only a year later....
"So here we are. I've been running a weblog for almost
six months (or over a year, depending on when you start
counting). And the good still outweighs the bad. In fact,
I'm ready to finally say it:

I don't hate weblogs. I love weblogs. Honest."

The Definition Question

The defintion of a weblog and what they consist of was still being battled back then, as Derek asked readers to send him their definitions...in search for his own. I'm not sure which would've been harder, though, definining weblogs now or then. When they first began they were so new that no one could really come up with anything to describe/compare them too, however, now about five years later, there are so many uses and structures to weblogs that sometimes they are unrecognizable...the window for defining them might be too huge now to do it much more effectively than something that has a time and date stamp on it.... but it is interesting to think about the acceptance/or lack of acceptance that they had to go through to spread as they did.

2004-04-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

Something I hope doesn't last.....OR doesn't continue getting out of hand...
Call me cruel or unadventurous but I'm just NOT a huge fan of all the lingo that goes with fads. I don't know yet if weblogs are/will be/should be considered a fad, but this seems to be a bit excessive?-- But
As a dictionary it's pretty well done, it has perma links, sidebars and links so it's quite a bit like the thing it's defining: a blog.

I suppose as a 'thing' blogs are pushing language to come up with terms to define it and it's related items...I'm not sure if there will be a rush of blogs defining blogs (which, hm...I could be doing to an extent) but blogs definitely give people something else/something new, to talk about......According to the blog dict. I think this project would be a kind of blog digest.

If only all the words we have right now could do the job....

2004-04-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

Blogging for Charity?
The The Advocacy directly uses weblogs to spread the word about the organization. This works well to put a face and name to the project--the more human it seems the more likely others are to help out.

Blogging for the Jimmy Fund During the South Carolina Primary, a Blog-A-Thon of sorts was held. The $$ raised went to help the Jimmy Fund, which donates to those affected by cancer. However, I couldn't find any more information as to what they actually were doing or blogging about. Bits and pieces of the Blog-A-Thon can be found here but to get a better picture of this I would look at the Trommetter Times blog that has the archives of his 17 hour blogathon entries....that's right, seventeen h o u r s of blogging. Crazy-blogging-frenzy-frightens me. Anyway, he raised $ by doing it-blogging comes easy enough for some people that the real challenge lies in staying AWAKE long enough to keep blogging. Then I'd have to ask, since no one is physically watching you type the entries couldn't one just switch off wtih a buddy and blog together...that would, however, take your voice out of one's blog I guess. I"m not sure why i'm contemplating cheating on charity anyway.

The blogathon entries of Trommetter Times are recovered. One big problem of joining marathons that depend on technology is that technology can always fail. So can one's knee when their on the last stretch of the Boston Matathon, though.

How Does One Get Involved In a Blogathon??
At blogathon.com of course! It sounds easy enough-pick a blogger to sponsor from their list and away you go. At the end of the blogathon you'll be notified by email of how well your blogger did and then it's your turn to send a check directly to the charity you're sponsoring... in 2001 bloggers raised 20,000 dollaz for 70+different charities. If you're interested check it out here. The Blogathon site keeps it easy by keeping track of the pledges, sponsors and bloggers and also makes sure that every charity gets paid in the end.

Merchandising the blogathon...really?
Yep, there's things to be bought from blogathon--I guess nothing can come for free. They give to charity but I guess something has to help keep it alive.. t-shirts, thong underwear, coffee mugs, coasters.....

A -thon for Writers??
Indeed, 'tis true...the blogathon site also has a blogathon in which people collaboarate to write a poem or piece of fiction etc. by adding one line (or whatever is specified) at a time by each blogger. For 24 hours they write, each adding until it's finished. Here's an example. This is a sponsored event also, and all proceeds go to Gilda's Club Worldwide.

I think blogging for charity is awesome. After doing this project for what seems like forever, I'd say this is probably the best idea for blog use that i've seen as of yet. It just makes sense I guess to use this for something generally good . I don't assume this will have much affect on how long blogs will continue to be around, but it is good to see that the useages of them has turned to benefiting others, instead of blogging for one's own income. Something like this could definitely spread, however, there is a problem with using the term 'blogathon' in 2004 because it isn't going to be setting up anymore -athon's until 2005...but I don't see this ending anytime soon, it'll have to be copied many more times before people get sick of the idea, right?

2004-04-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

Giving Voice

I just want to remark about how weblogs give voice to those who don't really get one--or are encouraged to have less of one, in respect to the above article on BBC News. I've all ready blogged around Salam Pax, and his ability to get on the internet and discuss what was going on in times of war....now, Iranian citizens use the internet to blog about things in their daily lives that they don't otherwise get to. The Internet is one of the only places where they have immediate freedom of speech and the ability to Get Out what they are trying to say...Now, there are over 1200 Persian blogs, according to the article, which boosted after the directions were translated into different languages....

I Think
It struck me that it is illegal for the Iranian govt. to censor the citizen's blogs. Although, finding out who was actually writing what would be difficult/impossible because very few use any real names or information when writing and creating their blogs. If a lot of people here in the US used this idea of blogging anonymously, I think the respectability would go down for bloggers--we (US and Iran) have such different ideas of trust, an issue that keeps coming up again and again....

I think the women being able to find a voice and express their emotions is great...but some of the comments: (for those of you who don't actually want to read the article) struck me as odd:
One woman said: "I had some negative responses,
people saying I am disrespecting the
image of an Iranian woman. Some
people even insulted me."

But at the same time: "I've had e-mails from men who have
told me that I changed their attitude
towards women in Iran."
As they blog on mostly social issues, boyfriends, girlfriends, daily-life issues...

Adding countries into the blogging world is really going to take off, I think, because it is a place to find support, feedback and ideas about one's life.

2004-04-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

I've talked about war blogs, and K-blogs, come across thousands of personal blogs, linked to business blogs, but a new community--of sorts--has sprung up centerered around something entirely different. Medicine. Not as in pill poppers staying up for days writing blogs, but medlogs--blogs by doctors...This seems to be a fairly new phemonemon as I havent' come across any others except those listed here. Most of them are hardly finished and the connection usually broke so I couldn't get into most of them, but they are there....Some centered on medicine alone and others don't appear to be written by a doctor at all. One that I thought was exceptionally well done and is picking up some devoted readers was MedRants. He focuses on important studies, research, pharmacies, medicines, treatments...and it's cute. It's very well done, and I think a lot of people could benefit from these types of blogs, both because they get readers thinking about their own health (as they sit and read blogs or surf the net w/out getting up for hours...nice circulation) and also I thought it was nice to see a doctor as a real person--instead of such an intimidating figure.

Some Problems

If I happened to be reading my own doctor's weblog and I found ANYTHING about me or my health/history on it, that could cause quite a controversey. MedRants seemed to shy away from this however, This Blog could get itself into trouble..I know it only mentions the problem and not the patient, however, if I could recognize myself, I wouldn't be happy.
Another problem I brainstormed was that of copy cat syndrome. It's all ready out there on the web, with the problems between whose telling the truth and who probably aren't. If i wanted to make a blog and claim to be a doctor--it's done, it's easy to be someone you're not when you control how much or little the audience knows about you...It'd be kind of scary to see someone who believes everything they read/doesn't question anything that's on the web or in books, and see how easily they are swayed to try some crazy medical technique that really doesn't exist anywhere but in the land of the crazies--or on someones joke of a blog....I just hope enough people have enough respect for what's true and what's not to decide for themselves what they will/will not believe.

2004-04-05T07:21:00.000-07:00

Blogs of Type: ArtBlogs

I've come across a lot of different types of weblogs, one I like especially, that has little to do with the writing of a blog are art blogs....
Inside that, there are also different types of art blogs- as in photoblogs and drawing..
this blog in particular is a good mix of both art and writing. Rakugaki illustrates a story in a blog format--something different, but very unique to look at. The drawings are enough to keep my attention, and when doubled with a story line about them, it's really a cool thing. The writing is generally short, but I think his focus is more on the art anyway.

This Superhero uses her blog to accompany her website promoting her jewlery. This blog is a lot more personal than either of the other two. The blog is definitely a good place to include picts of her business' products, though. She seems to have quite a few readers--and customers--who leave comments as the commens scroll is often longer than the post itself. The pictures kind of include both unrelated ones and also those of friends etc. wearing the jewlery she sellls. Knowing that this blog is related to her business kind of makes me want to not like it--but it's interesting and fun, and doesn't feel business-y; it's just hard to convince the critic in me. Otherwise, I think this (mixing biz and pleasure on a blog) is a great idea.

Another example of mixing photography with writing in a blog is that of this unknown blogger who wants to stay somewhat anonymous on it as she wants to keep it a place for her to have fun--a place unrelated to work. This doesn't work so much as a portfolio as it does a showcase, which it is. However, for those interested in photography and the technicalities of it all, this blog seems helpful ( i know nothing of photography except those fuzzy snap shots i take from a 3 dolla camera but...) she talks about the equipment she uses, and why the shot did or didn't work for her. This has a very rich blog feel as her personal information is also posted--just not her name or anything much about her job. The pictures adds so much more to the blog--I like that they aren't pictures of her or her cats etc., because I really don't care about what she or her friends or her cats look like. Even though she doesn't always spend the entire post talking about what's featured in the picture of the day...it just adds...something.

blog.art is where you go to get your blogs Out There. It was designed in Aug. of 2003 and has expanded exponentially so that the blog now accepts art from other art blogs and links from your blog to theirs...tadah~ Why not use someone elses blog to get your art noticed?-

What's the Use?
For those interested in art and design, art blogs are great. I see them being used as online portfolios a lot--it's the easiest way for people to get Out There and be noticed, I think. It also adds some furthur info. for potential employers to get a second look at your work; doing it like a blog allows them to see how dedicated you are to sharing it (once a week, a month or everyday) and it also allows one to add little explanations of the work online. Also like the Superhero blog, it gets attention directed toward you and eventually to your business. And as for the second photo blog I talked about, it can also serve to distance ones self from business-like adventures.

what I think ?
Do these somehow add to a future in blogging? Do they somehow enhance it so much or go past the boundaries so far that bloggers are destined to do this kind of writing (with picts) forever? NOPE. but there does seem to be something lasting about artists/photographers posting their work proudly on for other people to comment on. They've formed a community paralell to that of other bloggers mixed in with other bloggers, weaving through both the art and writing worlds, and many of them linked together sharing ideas--it's nice to eavesdrop into. I do think this gives blogs another reason to stick around for a while--if it really is helping business or helping people get noticed/employment--why would anyone give up?

2004-03-24T08:35:00.000-08:00

The Phone Isn't Just for Ordering Out Anymore

Ok, so I was browsing along when I came to a site that claimed it was a blog, but didn't look like one--according to my sketchy idea of what one should look like...I clicked on the ONLY thing I could and it said the weblog wasn't what I was looking at, but what I would hear when I picked up any phone and dialed the number on the screen. So, what better way to decide if this is a good idea or not besides trying it. So I dialed 1-800-555-TELL like the site said, and I got some nice soothing music and a woman's soothing voice. I came to a Main Menu, listened to the options, but the option "extensions" listed on the site wasn't available. However, other topics like Sports, News and Entertainment were still available to listen to. I guess if you're in a hurry and need to knwo a quick blurb about the news--over the phone on the way to somewhere or while eating breakfast is a decent way to do it.

Getting a blog read to you over the phone is fresh and new, but I don't know how many would actually continue it. This was definitely new. IT's different in that you don't have to have a cell phone or text messaging to hear this blog. It also has a list of featured speakers....but since that section of it is no longer in service, the speakers are just bait to get people to call. I guess I don't need to explain it much more..I checked it out here.

For the cell phone savvy, Press Nothing To Continue also offers a blog or "small nuggets of text" to a portable device of choice.
This may make some people nervous giving out their number to complete strangers...and it should, however they do offer this statement:

I will not call your phone. I will not give your number to anyone. I will not sell your number to anyone. I will not write your number in a bathroom stall preceded by the words "for a good time call". The only thing I'm going to use your phone number for is sending you pocket via email or text messaging. That's it.

Whether or not thats reassuring or not is up to you...The site didn't seem too confident that others would actually want to do this over-the-phone option, but it's out there and offered by Blogger.....

2004-03-22T15:33:00.000-08:00

The Future According To...

The Past
In order to figure out how/what the future of weblogs is, I wanted to look at the past. I found a book We've got Blog -- a compilation of essays/articles on weblogs; it was written in 2001. How right were they in determining the future?
One article from the book, which can be found here spoke of the present state of blogs, according to their progress(2001) and also to Evan Williams, associated with Pyra and Blogger.

Definitions
One thing that hasnt changed is the definition, or lack of one. E. Williams struggled to come up with one concise statement to define what a blog is. This isn't surprising that today it is even harder, taking how much farther blogging has gone since then. Write The Web asked Williams if blogging was becoming stale? He said,
"Like anything, over time its lost its newness and on-the-cutting-edge feel. It's much easier to feel like you're tuned in to something exciting when just a few insiders are doing it then when it's done by 50,000 tech-savvy teens and their not so tech-savvy grandmas."

This on-the-cutting-edge interest has changed for me. At first, until I realized that yes, everyone everywhere seems to have a blog, it felt fresh and new; but now, blogging doesn't really seem to be about what a new craze it is, instead it's kind of about joining in on this huge group or movement of people looking for a new way to publish on the web. As you can tell Williams was hopefully only speaking for himself when he said that it was feeling a little stale, because blogging has carried on in the past four years with a way-less-than-stale feel.

The Blogging Phenomenon
Williams wasn't concerning himself with seeing Blogger expand to different uses. This suprised me because Blogs have definitely taken off in a million directions with concepts and ideas behind them lightyears ahead of 2001. However, I took this to mean one thing: Since Pyra/Blogger wasn't necessarily pushing for different uses in 2001, who was? I'd have to say the people who were using it, the bloggers themselves, and if it was the users, that pushed blogging into different directions--whose to say it will ever stop? the craving to blog isn't really pushed onto users in a media-frenzy-do-what's-cool way (although, i kind of differ with the infusion of cell phone blogging) the users did as they liked. I just think that since it's continued on without a lot of drive from the company that would actually be profiting from it, that I don't see the blogs dying off anytime soon.

The Future
Looking to the future Williams said in the article that he would hope to add archiving, email capacity and picture support, but was most interested in adding a 'comments' feature. His prediction for blogging in 5 years--two years from now--" I guess we'll probably be blogging from hovercrafts and wearing shiny suits." --hey, who knows?

What I Think?
In 1999, there were only 23 known weblogs; today, 5 years later, that number has grown exponentially. I don't see how the use of weblogs could hault when so much technology is being made--the mobile blogs from phones, and audio blogs; however, I do think the way they are being used will change, because it all ready has....It's hard to say whether or not any of these predictions are right... A lot of people predicted the fall of weblogs by now, and they were wrong. But whose to say they won't be right someday? A culture's language system can change so much over time that the original language is faintly visible; I think this is probably what will happen with blogs--they will still be here--just unrecognizably so.

2004-03-22T14:46:00.000-08:00

...of all kinds
As blogging continues to progress, it's inevitable that different types get titles (k-blogs, moblogs, etc.), one type that got a lot of attention was the warblog. One that sticks out is the blog of Salam Pax. It did more than shed light on the war in Iraq, it showed Americans a day-in-the-life look at what parts of Iraqi's lives were being affected, and also how they lived through it day to day.

I've focused a lot on bloggers gaining attention, and therefore being "found" by publishing companies, and are given book deals. The blog of Salam Pax was no exception to this trend. The book Salam Pax: The Clandestine Diary of an Ordinary Iraqi was published in New York in 2003. Looking at the book (which I checked out from a library in Minneapolis), I was interested in how much didn't change from the blog. The date and time stamps are still there. The chapters are arranged by the ten months the blog was running during the war. The links, which are a huge part of most blogs, obviously werent available, but were provided by footnotes or just the address Salam Pax was referring to. This was unique in that it took the blog and transformed it into a book spanning just over 200 pages. The end of the book was finished by the blogs that were on Salam Pax's blogroll. Not only did the blog keep people updated about what was going on inside Iraqi territory, but it also informed us, as Americans, about the culture and lifestyle of an Iraqi. His blog not only got him a name in both Iraqi and American crowds--T-shirts and mugs were made in his honor. "Anne Frank of the war" is what Nick Denton called him. Which, is kind of accurate--Salam just had better technology and an anonymous way to communicate.

It's truly interesting seeing a blog made directly into a book; however, it's also a little frightening to wonder how many other journal-type books will follow in this direction, and how many of them I would actually be willing/able to read.....

2004-03-06T12:33:00.000-08:00

Girls Girls Girls
Girls, ladies, women whatever. They're blogging. I found a snippet of an article that said, yes women blog too. I didn't realize this was an issue..but apparently men began bloggin first? hmm..Anyway, not my point. The New York Daily News ran an extremely interesting article titled, I am woman, hear me blog about women blogging. The article featured ten women and their blogs. To say the least, the blogs are all very different and Extreme. Most men would probably think its ten women they should stay away from, but I was drawn to their blogs. The coolest part about their blogs is that their posts landed some of these ladies different jobs in writing that they probably wouldn't have gotten noticed for otherwise. Staff at GQ and MTV (and i'm sure other media-driven businesses) now search blogs for good writing, interesting writing....

Blogging is creating more jobs than I would have ever imagined. A lot of the ladies in the article had freelance or other jobs that seemed to allow them time to blog. This is important, because a good blog (to me) needs constant updating and writing writing writing, especially if it's going to get noticed by a company willing to pick you up for the ride...what's a more accessible, and easy way for magazines etc. to find people who have interesting things to say and a unique voice to say it in than a blog? Most people post about their daily riff-raff, which can be b o r i n g; I guess from a well kept, well written blog one can see what kind of a person/worker the writer would more than likely be:

Some things that come through on a blog about the author
Are they working hard to keep their blog postings fresh and new;do they find/make time even when it seems they are busy; what kind of attitude do they show/post about their current employer and employees; their other interests or problems that could distract them from their job; sense of humor or overall personality that comes through in their postings, and their writng style, grammar/syntax.
With answers to a lot of these questions published on their blog, there is little mystery as to what kind of an employee they will be. That is, of course, assuming that the author of the blog is being honest and not censoring themselves unrecognizably...which, is hard to tell and a HUGE danger of finding writers this way. For more on what I think about trust on the web, you can read: this response to this Chapter, Navigating the Blog Universe.

the blogs that headed somewhere else..
Lindsay Robertson has such an interesting writing style that she was invited to write for GQ and MTV. Had the blogging world never existed, either would her writing career (although, i'd settle for a successful Freelance Copy Editor any day). One feature that the article pointed out was her "highdeas" link on her blog. She collects ideas people get when they are high..and posts them by theme. Today's theme was Television. She also posted a deomographic of people she's kissed with different categories. Yep, definitely a female's blog...

Another female from the article is Blaise Kearsley. Her blog: Bazima, is no wonder she got noticed for her writing talents. The entire blog is covered in articles, long and short, about any and everything, a lot media related, and the writing is good, interesting & funny. I can safely assume that her readers are repeat offenders. She got noticed early from blogging about her internet dating experiences, actually. She documented a woman's perspective on the issue as she lived through it and people responded in a very positive way. She was offered a book deal, and she took it. Although, her blog has changed to more about life and less about dating, she still blogs. In the article, she said, "'I am one of the few African-American bloggers out there,'" . And I said, "Oh really now..."
Is their race something that a lot of people blogging post? How can Blaise possibly know that there aren't a lot of African American's blogging, and that she is one of the few? hm...I know a lot of people have the technology or are computer savvy enough to get pictures of themselves on their blogs..but those who dont? How is one to know?......

Anyway back to the women..Also, Megan McArdle's blog Asymmetrical Information focused on political/economical aspects, unlike the other more personal blogs of the women featured; however, her blog landed her (with no journalism experience) as a freelance writer of articles for Salon, and after that became part of the editing effort for Economist dot com...I looked over her blog for a little while, and was impressed. I'm not a huge fan of politics or, news really, but she posted it with witty side marks and it was really well organized. She had tons of topics to choose from, ranging from the morals of youth to crime to sex and North Korea...it's very well done-

I'm glad to see that blogging is a way to head somewhere with a career in journalism/writing, but at the same time, it kind of puts more pressure on bloggers to be that much more of an interesting, funny, delightful read...I guess it just depends on what you're intent is...Posting for oneself, and posting to get noticed are so different that in order to be true to yourself, you kind of have to decide how you want your blog to come across and how much energy you're willing to put into it, but if it comes naturally enough that online popularity and blogging for yourself mesh together, then, Congrats.

2004-03-03T10:05:00.000-08:00

$$ Blogging and the Biz $$

It's all in the business, it's all relative, and it's all about the benjamins.....

A business called Coudal Partners, Inc. gets customer's attention from the web, mostly from their company weblog. 12,000 people a week visit their site, see the updates and at least become somewhat familiar with their services. This cheap new way to talk to potential customers works, and works very well. For Coudal, their site is impressive, but it should be, as they design sites for other companies,right? Their blog archives alone could give a person hours of reading time....

Coudal is written by an eight person staff, updated often and keeps them so alive that they don't have to buy billboards or newspaper ads. However, one has to consider your customers if you're going to advertise strictly by the web or a weblog. It's dumb to put a blog out there about a product marketed strictly for the elderly--as it is to market something as if everyone who reads it is twelve (see Dr. Pepper blog below).

Smaller businesses get free word-of-mouth, and advertising through blogs. They can keep customers updated with their new products etc., unless something even easier comes along, this will only be the smallest beginning of company blogging. Could it eventually hurt ad agencies? I'm not sure. Celebrity endorsements etc. would be hard to do on a blog, and getting the appeal of all audiences without using television or newspapers would also be difficult, not impossible, just difficult.

Considering the Magnitude, Ripple Effect....
Blogs are at a state right now that they are constantly influencing each other. Posts are linked to someone elses post (keep going with that through as many links as you wish....) and it's an endless community. If a series of postings gave a company or a person a bad or even semi-bad reputation, those ideas would spread F A S T. Ideas are infectious on the web and influencing people isn't always such a hard task, blogging only makes this easier, faster, and more accessible.

Biz Blogging Can Create Jobs
Someone has to be appointed the editor of all of these company blogs. Company blogs moreso than personal blogs have to be monitored and watched so that the company's best interests are shown; especially in cases where there are multiple writers involved in a company blog that company has to censor themselves to shade the correct picture the company approves of. Blogging as a form of advertising takes time and computer skills and an internet connection, however, if the blog is done well, then most of that will pay for itself. The Coudal blog has a "guest editor" find interesting links and sites for Coudal, lasting a month each editor. They also have information on each editor and who is currently in charge of editing.

Reputation
It's a push-n-shove world and it doesnt get any easier in the online world, either. Like offline, you have to have connections; in terms of the online world, these connections are just that: LINKS. There's always the big-man-on-campus etc. guys who you have to know to get somewhere. Well online, there's James Romenesko. I read about him in the article Please Mr. Link Man by James Poniewozik. As of '99 his blog directed 5,000-7,000 people to different links all over the web. That's power. Who he mentions in his blog get attention, and attention to a journalist, personal blogger or business means traffic and $/success. In fact, I went to Romensko's blog to get the link...and low and behold, i found myself NOT getting that but following his lead to a story about Schlitz beer. It's just SO easy to get off task on the internet that using it for advertising is an awesome idea. Blogs in general influence how/what/whose sites people visit. Not only by a link, but by a caption or an interesting summing up of a place on the web. When you're a business reputation means everything, so it's a touchy game trying to figure out how to get the right attitude across, and how to do it well enough so that people keep returning.
This is from Mr. Link Man, an interview between Romenesko and Poniewozik--
James Poniewozik:Would you accept ads or sponsorship from a publication you link to? Would that present a conflict?

J. Romenesko: If a publication sponsored the site, I would offer it a small logo placement, say on the left of the site, and put two or three daily story links below the logo -- making it clear to readers they are sponsored links.

Anyone that Romensko endorses on his site...gets business, at least traffic, and is WAY ahead of other companies who are foreign to the world of linking and blogs...Providing a space for company's ads, is a great way for successful bloggers to make a little ca$h of their own as well as provide popularity for the company.

2004-03-02T12:36:00.000-08:00

Is It Possible To Make Blogging Easier?
In the case that bloggers are looking to turn the intesity up a notch--for anytime, anywhere, no-matter-what-the-circumstances-as-long-as-i've-got-my-phone, a company in Ireland has come up with FoneBlog. All you need to blog is a mobile phone. Yes, it's possible to update a blog using Blogger Pro right now, which uses an email address and sends the message to it from your phone, but with the NewBay product FoneBlog, bloggers could send a text message from their phone to their blog and also could send pictures and sound clips.

From the above article, the FoneBlog seems to be marketed to the teenagers of the world who are current inseperable from their phones...
"One obvious appeal is for wireless-crazy teenagers who love to peck out text messages in clipped cryptic shorthand that only makes sense if you're under 18. For some reason, teens who haven't the patience to sit through a 45-minute classroom lecture don't have a problem hitting the numeric buttons on their mobile phone keypad to render messages like "CU L8ER" for "see you later" and "PCM 2MORO" for "please call me tomorrow."

This is frightening to me. I personally, am not interested in reading any blogs that are written in text-messaging lingo. Most blogs written from the phone would be sent this way..and i'm afraid I wouldn't have the patience to read it. I havent seen/found anything that says this NewBay product has hit the US yet...so maybe I'm safe for a little while. I just think that enough people are connected to their phones without giving them another reason (blogging) to mess with them.

The bloggers interested in this service would set up a plan with the wireless provider of their choice. They would then design their blog on their phone, and update from their phone. Blogs created through a wireless provider will be available both from a computer and from a phone. Sure, the wireless providers could have a chance to make a killing off of text messaging fees, but once everyone starts blogging, the quality of most blogs is likely to decrease (especially with texting lingo) and then where does the future of blogging sit?

With the introduction of this new way to blog, does that mean that people are all ready getting bored with traditional blogging?

2004-03-02T12:14:00.000-08:00

I found a blog that uses it as a travelogue, but has also become kind of a permanent scrapbook that he can access anywhere.

The popularity of blogs has become so that Forbes.com has added the Best Blogs to their roster. For a slew of different categories like movies, travel, sports, etc., the site rates the blogs for Presentation, Quality, Relevance and Reputation. I decided to take a look at the travel blogs. Their Number One was Vagabonding.com. In this case, it seems that Blogs have begun to be scrapbooks for people. Vagabonding's travelogue entries are so conversational it's almost like he's just telling you about his trip. This is an excellent way for friends and family to see what you did on your trip while you were on it. Included on his blog are video clips of the places he had gone and a map of his route through all fifteen countries. Wherever Mike, the blog author, goes he'll be able to access his blog to see pictures etc. of his trip. This is portable unlike the hardcopy journal, videos and pictures, all he needs is a computer and internet access and he can look at it whenever he wants.

Another that mixes blogging and travel....most people would/could keep a blog as a travel guide or a journal of some sort. This is a Camping Blog that endorses camping products, links to great places and includes stories about the good campgrounds they have been to. It's different in that these people are taking it upon themselves to impress upon other campers (or want to be campers) the places they've been and good places for them to try out. It's not journally in the way of deep thoughts and personal details; there are some personal details, but just enough to know a little about the writer.

Both types of the blogs (the places Mike went, and recommending camping sites) are hard to keep going. Right now Vagabonding is in an archive-only mode, as Mike isn't currently travelling. As much fun as travel blogs are to look at, I think they would be the easiet to phase out, because travel isn't the easiest topic to When you center it on travel--you have to travel in order to write.... I guess for business people who are required to travel a lot, a blog of this sort wouldn't be as challenging to keep up, but then they would also have find the time to write and also see something more interesting than a meeting room. It just seems like this is a very dead-end kind of blog to keep, unless it's used as more of a scrapbook than anything else...

2004-03-01T13:39:00.000-08:00

hmm...Interesting
His blog isn't just used as a place to find info. on the newest media or movies, one can also use his body to send that special someone a very different kind of message. Tech buff Chris Pirillo uses his weblog as an outlet to make $$. Most of his entries seem pretty normal, a lot of technical information with a mix of his daily life. But as i spent more time clicking on interesting links, i clicked on a cartoon picture of Chris. Up popped, Rent My Chest which allows Chris to make a little money on the side. The rent my chest is an idea that people can request things to be written on his chest--in different colors--he takes a picture of it and it is yours to use as you wish....for $20. The pictures/examples of it seem to be Birthday messages, Merry Christmas messages, and yes, even advertising. To me it's quite a unique way to send a message, and i'm not sure how many people have actually rented his chest, but it works. And it's offered on his blog. I'm sure if anyone has been searching blogs and come across his, it didn't take them long to dig around. His blog is filled with links and search options..and also a daily technology tip. So for tech. people this would be an interesting place to visit..and for those who want to see Chris in the buff...mission accomplished.

2004-02-29T17:18:00.000-08:00
The future of weblogs + writers = getting noticed. The more I search blogs the more i find long entries with full rounded stories in them. Are people writing these just for fun? Sure, some maybe, other's to spark an interest, or get feedback. Using a weblog to write works in that people can leave comments or email the author and without having to distribute actual copies of the story around--the author has feedback. One author this worked for was Star Trek's Wil Wheaton. Wil's plan: (from his blog )
When I started writing Just A Geek back in September or October of last year, I never thought that it would turn into a real book. My plan, honestly, was just to collect some weblog entries, write an introduction, and present it as an off-line version of WWdN.

Now, Wil has signed a three-book deal with O'Reilly & Associates from ideas and entries that began in his weblog. For someone not necessarily looking for a book deal, Wheaton succeeded. Weblogs are a new way for authors to get noticed, get out there and get their things published (at least online). People used to have to always send in their manuscripts (and yes, they still do), but becoming popular in the online world first does not hurt an aspiring writer in the least bit.

2004-02-27T19:02:00.000-08:00
Raging Cow Raging Cow is a weblog made my Dr. Pepper. It's fictitiously written from the Point of View of a cow. This is the only weblog I've been able to find where a company has tried this approach...I'm not sure that any other's will, either. As far as a weblog (minus the personality behind it) it's very well done. The archives look pretty extensive, the sidebar is filled with other links, as are most of the entries. Some of the links within entries go to other bloggers (also fake, part of Dr. Pepper's scheme) like Shelby LouAnn's blog. Her's is about a girl whose father owns the farm that the Raging Cow lives on. As far as I can tell Raging Cow's blog has been kept for Seventeen weeks.

Is It Working?
This blog is supposed to be selling Dr. Pepper's new flavored milk--or at least that's what I think the product is...it's hard to tell, really. The quizzes, games, blog and screensavers kind of take a lot of light away from the milk itself. As a form of advertising...I guess it works. It works in the area that this blog probably didn't cost much vs. the cost of making a commercial. Plus whether or not people are actually going to the blog and reading them doesn't really matter as this little cow has brought up quite a stir among the online community--enough for people to know about the product--mission accomplished.

So I had to ask myself WHY? they would do this. From a writer's stand point, yes, this would be a job. I guess the blog is written by six teenagers/young adults. It would be like writing fiction of some sort, and I'm sure they are getting paid something, but is it worth it? I'm not sure...I'm really not too sure if anyone has even taken the time to read all of the blogs from this cow. I surely didn't have the patience, I read a few, yes, but IT'S A COW.

What Other's Think?
This is what I was most interested in. I found out about this beautiful Raging Cow from other's opinions of the idea. I didn't find anyone who was actually supporting the idea yet. But i'll keep looking. I did, however, find a site actually trying to organize (or did successfully organize so far) a boycott of Raging Cow. Really? It amazed me that people were THIS upset about it, but if one company pulls it off, the web will be littered with fake talking-products, which would get more than old and annoying. I'm not sure how I feel about it--it seems i'm against the idea--but if Dr. Pepper has the balls to jump into popculture like this, why not let them? If they fail, they fail...and if they succeed? Hello flashflood of product blogging.

2004-02-24T21:37:00.000-08:00
Future of Blogging and Journalism
I have a feeling I'll be coming back to this in time, but I can't help but discuss this article by Alexandra Marks. The article pointed at the fact that many people don't find news, (reading, writing it, finding it out) to be essential anymore. Yeah, there's probably a good deal of truth to that; i myself, don't read the newspapers anymore, I really don't have time to care--I do realize I should care--but ignorance is easier. I'll occasionally read local papers for the obituaries and accident reports, but i find small papers to be a bit of a joke. They report on what the tiny little community is doing rather than any important news, unless it directly affects the tiny bubble they live in, this, isnt all newspapers, just a few small ones that I tend to get my hands on at times.

Wheres a better alternative for news?? The Web. I'm not sure what's not to like about the internet as a news source. I find myself turning to major news web pages like CNN or MSNBC for more trustworthy news. I also prefer this because I can search it to find things of interest instead of paging through each paper. It's a fact: the web has changed the way people get news it has also changed the way people reflect on news...tons of weblogs are dedicated to finding news articles and discussing them..the articles can be breaking national news, or just funny articles with a spelling error that changes the entire meaning of the article--either way, one can see for themselves the full article from a link--that's good service. If I did want to get my news from someone else I'd surely turn to a weblog, but there is something I don't like about getting news that is shaded by someone I probably don't know anything about.

One part that concerns me is MY future and weblogs. I'm going to school for editing. I want to edit hardcopy. It may sound dumb, but I guess I've never really thought about becoming an editor for an internet site...It just seems, less legit. Anyone can get on the internet and be published spouting information, news, opinions etc., so I think I would just feel more accomplished editing something in PRINT--until recently...In the above mentioned article, Sara Lyle points out on fact: Many editors of things in print make less compared to editors on the web and of weblogs, and they move up faster than those who edit newspapers. Instead of working long hours editing a newspaper or magazine, I could find myself staring at a computer screen editing/managing a company weblog. It would be nice that others could find my name on the blog and link to other things i've written and other accomplishments, though.

Sara calls newspapers "archaic" and whether or not that's true or ever will be true will definitely change in the coming years. I don't want to be a part of something that's seen as old fashioned, but NOT everyone has access to a computer, some don't prefer to see news on a computer, and newspapers are as easily accessible as news on the internet, i think. One can walk by a newspaper or a headline of some sort thousands of times a day without ever noticing, and sadly, without ever picking one up, because it is easier/ preferred for them to get news from a blog's links. I guess it's all just a matter of how comfortable you are with technology as to where and how you read the news--but it will be interesting to see what this does to my career...

2004-02-16T16:17:00.000-08:00
to date or not to date--using weblogs is the question
Dating weblogs. Need i say more? Yes, i do believe I will. In all the directions weblogs could go and of all the excellent things they will be used for...why dating? I just think it's ridiculous, there is enough dumb chat rooms for the lonely; i guess for them this adds another realm of dating, or online infatuation. Now most people's lives are scattered on the internet (whether or not the words are true, is up to who writes them), but the idea of using weblogs to date is..........(speechless) a little bit scary.
I guess I'd have a problem with someone reading my blog (thoughts etc.) and deciding if they want to date me or not. It seems more like a sixth date thing--trailing off of censoring myself--if i knew people would read blogs in a dating ring and try to match me wiht someone, i would probably end up (intentional or not) writing like someone other than myself.

Here is an example of a dating weblog. This one, however, doesn't match couples up, but gives advice on what to do in the Twin Cities. This could be a helpful one, but with a name like Single In The Cities, Dating blah blah blah, there is less chance I would ever stop and browse it--if it werent for this project, of course. Ruby (the writer of Single in the Cities) has a good personality, she delves into subjects off of what to do in the Twin Cities, to why the guy just wont call back; if not for its advice it's better than providing a service "to meet the one" or whatever. Keeping with its Cosmo-like feel, it includes links to quizzes etc. I suppose if i had to I'd approve of this one...

Yet another way to incorporate dating and weblogs is things like what the Star Trib is doing as a part of their site. They included a weblog of a thirty-something guy joining the dating pool...i think it only ran through Feb. 16th (today), but it followed him from his SpeedDating services on to the dates; why he needed to be a part of the Star Tribune's site i'm not sure. Perhaps they figured people would be browsing for blogs and would stumble across their news, therefore getting news off of their newspaper rather than a different one or someone's blog. hm..but Sean the Dateblogger's dating story is on it. I don't really understand why anyone would want to post their success/failure on the web. Sure, it happens all the time, there are shows like A Wedding Story, A Dating Story that networks like TLC thrive off of, but it'd be nice to think that one element of life/media life could remain untainted by fickle dates....

2004-02-14T11:57:00.000-08:00
Weblogs and Education
I think one thing that really strikes me to lean toward the staying power of weblogging is the fact that I am doing this for a class. In 2001, a class at the University of Iowa had their own weblog, and now in 2004 I'm in a class that is centered around weblogging. Professors are seeing weblogging as a new form of writing and self expression-it would be jumping the gun to assume this is only apparent in American schools. Dan Gillmor a professor at Hong Kong University is also teaching a web class that requires the students to design their own weblog. Dan Mitchell of DeAnza Community College also keeps a school-based weblog I dug around on it and it includes a lot of information. His blogroll is filled with information that would be interesting to anyone--not only his students. He links to his own weblog, other faculty weblogs, the campus news and other departments of DeAnza. I don't see how a weblog this helpful would somehow fade away like a fad. The way he uses it makes it a tool to keep his studets connected to his classes and the school news. I can't think of an easier way to do it. Even the weblog course i have has a blog that keeps me up to date with what's due when and how--with links to helpful information if needed--in a school where not eveyone deems it necessary to have great attendance, I dont see a better way to stay connected.

2004-02-14T11:07:00.000-08:00
Destination Weblogs is for a project in my weblogs and wikis class. I was intrigued by what everyone out there on the web was doing with their blogs so i decided to research it, but i wanted to include my own, and other's opinions about whether or not weblogs are a fad or if they are here to stay...