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February 23, 2005
I Blog, therefore I am.
There?s a lot of press about Blogs these days in the media. (Papers, TV, etc.) A lot of it seems hopelessly out of touch with the subject or format. Some seems written by reporters off of their regular beats, "Candy! Drop your usual column on high fashion and whip me out something about these "Blog" thingies!" Some liken bloggers to some sort of affliction or rash that will just go away with enough time. Others seem to grasp the fundamentals but aren?t sure what the role is going forward.
I?m amused at all of this for a number of reasons. I went to an accredited Journalism School and some of what I am reading from some of the most revered newspapers in the country is embarrassing in comparison to some of the blogs I regularly follow. That being said any crank with some time and basic HTML skills can create their own spot of weirdness here on the internet. (Lord knows you?re reading one right now.) I never compared the 4 page fanzines I saw growing up to the New York Times but those differences seem lost on people trying to lump all blogs together under a single ?BLOG? label.
Human beings drift towards things that attract us. Odds are that if you regularly follow my writing here you?re a.) interested in Jack, b.) interested in my wife or I, c.) interested in parenting or raising children or d.) something I haven?t thought of. Realizing that the first three are probably your main motivation I try to keep the subject to one of those topics. It doesn?t mean I won?t digress occasionally but the unwritten compact that you as readers and I as the writer share is that my ravings won?t be too far off of the mark.
In the last 6 months the Star Tribune and the Pioneer Press have written several articles on local Minnesota bloggers. Most of the articles or comments were on a local trio who were featured in Time last month or discussed political blogs. There was one centered on parents of newborns who blog but, alas, they didn?t get in touch with me due to a lack of awareness. I suppose I need a better press agent to get the word out.
Blogging is here to stay. (As is this website.) It?s won?t go away for a lack of interest, despite the predictions of some, and its appeal, due to its variety, will remain universal.
There are Blogs for just about every interest imaginable. All you have to do is go to Google, type in a few keywords and the word ?Blog? and the odds are favorable you?ll find something right up your alley. (It may take you a few tries but you?ve been warned.)
As soon as I can get the module installed I'm intending to begin experimenting with podcasting. (Essentially audio blogging.) I'm not certain of what I'll offer up in an audio format but we'll see. It may just be me reading Jack bedtime stories. It's already an evolutionary step for the medium and it's a natural extension of what I've enjoyed so far. We'll see if it sinks or swims.
As always thanks for your time and your indulgence.
Jim
Posted by Jim at February 23, 2005 11:59 PM