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"Mobile blogging.. any blogging?"
01/13/2003 Entry
I thought I would have to take a short break from blogging because I'm on the road and I didn't expect to have Web access. During the day I sometimes come across something and think: this would make for an interesting blog entry. But I have so much on my mind these days that if I don't write these thoughts down - and I don't - then they disappear. Moreover, sometimes they involve an image and these are rarely situations where I'd get out my camera even if I did have it with me.
Given all that, I was enthusiastic to read about a British company that is working on bringing together blogging and camera phones. I don't usually jump to buy such gadgets, but the idea is fun to read about. Then again, this is probably already possible with some existing gadgets, but I'm not fully up-to-date on all that (and neither is my wallet).
What was perhaps even more interesting though was to read the reactions to that article on Slashdot. Slashdot is a community site where lots of people discuss all sorts of topics; their self-description: "News for Nerds. Stuff that matters.". There are numerous reactions to this story along these lines: "Is anyone else getting tired of these 'blogs'?", "Do we really NEED more Blogs?", etc.
I can't believe these people don't see the irony in their posts. What do they think Slashdot is but all sorts of individuals expressing their opinions about various random topics? That sounds quite synonymous to blogs. I wonder if there is a bit of jealousy going on here (given all the recent media coverage of blogs) or a concern that frequent interaction about all sorts of topics is spreading to the masses and is no longer a geeks-only arena.
Yes, there may be lots of blogs out there that are truly about nothing more than what someone had for breakfast or what the weather was like in their town today, but if that's all some people see in blogs then they are really missing out. There are lots of interesting topics - serious and not, humorous and not, often thought-provoking and at times very amusing - that get covered on blogs and I don't see how these are any lesser than a bunch of silly one line posts on Slashdot (or elsewhere). I don't think such overarching reactions to various types of interactive communications are particularly sound, looking a bit deeper may make for a more nuanced view.. as is often the case.
For more Slashdot frustration check out this discussion about "Girls not going into computer science" brought to you via Schussman.com.
Replies: 2 Comments have been posted, click here to see them and add your own
As for the tone of Slashdot's commentary: pot. kettle. black. :)
(Random note: I was bored today and searched google for my name and when I found this entry on this guy's blog, we are both listed. I think he meant it as a list of resources, and having my blog on there made me giggle. :)
Posted by Kara @ 01/15/2003 12:08 AM CST
I actually like the fact that much of the blogging going on is people talking about their daily life. Much more interesting than the SlashKarmaSluts all trying to get famous through informal peer review.
To read about some anonymous persons' real life, when I spend the rest of the day bombarded by student and institutional problems at work and media sturm und drang everywhere else, listening to the mundane and personal voices of people just shouting because they want to share something about their lives is just so nice. I reminds me that we both don't spend enough time just sharing stories about our lives and don't give enough though that computers are for putting people in touch with people, and not merely putting us in touch with our own academic/professional egos.
Posted by jason @ 01/17/2003 08:03 AM CST
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