August 15, 2003
What makes a blog a blog?
This from E-Media Tidbits (which still lacks perma-links) today:
What Makes a Blog a Blog?The Economist has a worth-reading story on the profit outlook for weblogs -- and the writer cites the conflict of cultures between those who see blogging as some sort of noble pursuit that can democraticize the masses and those who want to turn into a more capitalistic endeavor. A comment in the piece from weblog pioneer Dave Winer is controversial. Paraphrasing Winer, the Economist writer says, "The key attribute that makes a blog a blog and not some ordinary piece of web publishing is amateurism, says Mr Winer: if it is in any way edited, it is not a blog." Whoa! I'm not certain whether Winer's view was quoted correctly or not, but I think that's an erroreous view. The best bloggers will rise to the top because their content is brilliantly written and well edited. Some blogs will even be edited pre-publication (especially blogs published by news organizations). To say that an edited blog (and that would include this one) is not a blog is just bizarre, in my humble opinion. ...
For his part, Dave says the writer was off the mark, but did say, "Amateurism is an important part of blogging."
No one can possibly dispute that. But that's a big leap from the position that blogs connected with established news sites aren't really blogs.
Perhaps what we have here is a fear by one blog pioneer that the establishment media will try to coopt the blogging movement. That's not going to happen. Blogs will always be a primarily amateur-led part of the participatory media puzzle. But editing doesn't delegitimize a weblog (although I should add that I've argued elsewhere that the less editing, the better). Blogs on MSNBC.com, the Mercury News site and the Providence Journal are still blogs.
Dave is welcome to clarify his thoughts on this, here or on his site, if he'd like.
tony perkins said:
On AlwaysOn, our members post what ever they want, and then we list the # of views and member ratings of those posts for everyone to see on the home page. So in this way, our members play an editorial role. In our next version of the site, due out in October, we will be a blog provider so all your posts on AO will be catalogued in your member profile section. We are also building in a "business network" section, that will allow you to link which other AO members you hang with.
My view is that the some form of the blogging expression, pioneered by the Dave Winerís and the folks listed on the right hand side of you homepage, will be incorporated onto most all commercial sites, starting with the big boys like AOL, Yahoo, Google, MSN etc.
So we can debate what a blog is and what one isn't, but the reality is that both capitalists and politicians are going to leverage this new instant and interactive communication form to rally support and make money. But IMHO, those looking to make money will have to build other services and value propositions into their blog sites to gain viewers who stick around.
Cheers, tp
sheila said:
I think a bog has a discernible voice. If it doesn't, it's a portal.
I think that's not far from what Dave is saying, but "editing" is only the right word if you think of the editor as an alien homogenizer who'll "smooth" the life out of your writing
A copy editor agrees to stay in the left brain, fixing typos and making sure you didn't spell somebody's name two different ways. I sometimes leave stray characters around and thoughts end in mid-sentence before I get around to the verb because a different compelling idea distracted me.
If it's been a draining day, and it's already dark, I may bolt the newsroom without giving the blog a left-brain read (sounds like reed)-- and then end up emailing the night person from home with fixes.
sheila said:
(that's the talking bog theory of blogging)
Thinking Clearly: a new book on journalism
I've written chapters in four books related to new media subjects. The latest arrived in my mailbox yesterday.
Thinking Clearly is a compendium of journalism case studies edited by Tom Rosenstiel and Amy Mitchell, who head the Project for Excellence in Journalism. It contains chapters on McCarthyism, the Columbine school shootings, Watergate, and John McCain's 2000 presidential campaign, among others. Reporters on the project include Geneva Overholser, former Washington Post ombudsman who often appears on PBS's NewsHour; Jack Nelson, former Washington bureau chief of the LA Times; and Jon Margolis, a former long-time reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
I wrote the second chapter, Internet Journalism and the Starr Investigation. I posted it on my website here.
Amazon.com gives this summary of the book:
Written by professional journalists and classroom-tested at schools of journalism, these case studies are designed to provoke conversation about the issues that shape the production and presentation of the news in the new media age of the twenty-first century. This is no abstract ethics manual for reporters but rather a survey of real-life moments when people working in the news had to make critical decisions. In these episodes, questions of craft, ethics, competition, and commerce intertwine, affecting the way we, the consumers of news, understand the world around us. The case studies cover a range of topics -- the commercial imperatives of newsroom culture, standards of verification, the competition of public and private interests, including the question of privacy -- in a variety of settings: Watergate, the Richard Jewell case, John McCain¥s 2000 presidential campaign, and the Columbine shooting, among others.
I'm told the case study I wrote is already being taught in journalism schools and university classrooms, such as Notre Dame. Cool.
Blackout links
Gothamist publishes a New York City Blackout Edition. NJ.com is publishing a Blackout Blog. Reuters has a blackout slide show. Fotolog is on the spot. (TakeTwo and Wolfey have some terrific shots.) And Amy Langfield has loads o' blackout links.
The One True b!X's PORTLAND COMMUNIQUE said:
Technically, as far as I know, it wasn't NJ.com so much as Advance Internet, the company which facilitates the websites of several newspapers across the country, including that of The Oregonian here in Portland. All of those sites went down due to Advance getting hit by the blackout.
More interesting, as I detailed yesterday, is that each site Advance handles was given a stopgap weblog, hosted on Blogspot, to which stories from the newspaper in question and relevant AP stories were posted in the interim.
Salam Pax: The temperature is rising
Salam Pax in the Guardian UK: The temperature is rising in Baghdad, Basra and Nasiriyah. Excerpt:
I went to a press conference where our new one-month-president [the coalition provisional authority has a rotating chairman] was telling us about what they were up to. The press guy, at the request of the conference, was telling journalists that the instantaneous translation thingy has two channels; channel one for Arabic, channel two for English. I would like to add another channel: channel three for the truth. It keeps repeating one phrase: "We have no power, we have to get it approved by the Americans, we are puppets and the strings are too tight." I feel sorry for the guys on the council, some of them are actually very good and honest people and they have been put in a very difficult situation.As usual, getting into these press bashes is an event in itself. You have to be there an hour early, you get searched a thousand times and, of course, as an Iraqi I get treated like shit. I have no idea why the American soldiers at the entrance to the convention centre [where the CPA press operation is] are so offensive towards Iraqis while they can be so nice to anyone with a foreign passport. I have to be the Zen master when the soldier at the gate gets condescending. The reporters of Iraq Today were not allowed to get to the press conference and they went ballistic. "This is my friggin' government, what do you mean I can't get in?" My sentiments exactly. Keep this image in your head: an American officer stopping you, an Iraqi, from attending the press conference your government is holding. ...
Mind Wide Open
Author Steven Johnson (Emergence, Interface Culture) is posting chapters of his latest book, Mind Wide Open: Your Brain, Neuroscience, And The Search For The Self. He discusses the theme of the book and blogs a chunk on mind-reading as his blog readers weigh in.
Blackouts, dim bulbs and deregulation
Greg Palast, an award-winning journalist and author, has this: POWER OUTAGE TRACED TO DIM BULB IN WHITE HOUSE -- The Tale of The Brits Who Swiped 800 Jobs From New York, Carted Off $90 Million, Then Tonight, Turned Off Our Lights.
Thanks to Oliver Willis for the pointer.
Our next governor?
Marc has posted some way-too-revealing photos of Arnold. Actually, these might win over some of the 4% of the voters who favor Larry Flynt.
Internal memo: No more music sharing
Interesting, what's going on in corporations today with respect to music file-sharing. The following legal notice was posted on the pho list today:
This was sent out today at the company I work for (whom I'm sure many of you know). Take a look...
It is critically important that all employees and consultants ofexplicitly recognize and understand that under no circumstances are the computer network or the office facilities (regardless of the particular computer equipment involved) to be used to share (i.e., on a "peer-to-peer", centralized or other similar basis) music files, motion picture files or files containing any other copyrighted materials, with the sole exception of those copyrighted materials which lawfully has licensed and which are being used solely by authorized personnel for client projects or other legitimate business activities. The primary reason for this express prohibition against the use of the
computer network or office facilities for such file-sharing is the following: recent court decisions consistently have held such file-sharing conduct to violate prevailing copyright laws. In furtherance of these court decisions, the Recording Industry Association of America (in particular) and other powerful and influential entertainment trade entities vigorously are monitoring such illegal file-sharing conduct and prosecuting the organizations (together with the individuals within those organizations) where such illegal file-sharing conduct is taking place. Thus, any employee or consultant who chooses to engage in such illegal file-sharing conduct would be exposing both himself/herself and to substantial legal and financial liability. Accordingly, all
employees and consultants hereby are required immediately (a) to make available to , upon ís request, their computers (including, without limitation, their personal computers, if connected with the computer network or otherwise used at ), so that may de-install or otherwise remove from these computers any and all software or technology applications that facilitate or permit the illegal sharing of music files, motion picture files or files containing any other copyrighted materials; (b) to delete permanently from the hard drives of these computers any such files currently existing thereon; and (c) to refrain from any and all use of the computer network or the office facilities to engage in the illegal sharing of music files, motion picture files or files containing any other copyrighted materials. Any failure to comply fully with this requirement shall constitute "for cause" grounds for ís termination of the offending employee or consultant.
immensely appreciates everyone's anticipated prompt cooperation in this matter. If anyone has any questions or desires any additional clarifications with regard to 's anti-file sharing policies, please do not hesitate to call or to stop by his office. Brandon Edwards
http://www.bluechief.com/
v 310.926.3734
aim: bluechief
http://pgp.mit.edu:11371/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0x7484CFC3
/~ Create media about life. ~/
Andy Maluche said:
And while we are at it, I strongly support the idea that anybody who has been caught sharing music or movies on his computer should also have to wear a small yellow patch on his or her left breast with a large P (for pirate) on it.
If I would life in the US, I would be slowly considering moving to Switzerland.
Charlotte Observer photog suspended
From Romenesko:
The North Carolina Press Photographers Association (NCPPA) rescinded Charlotte Observer photographer Patrick Schneider's three awards after learning he had altered some photos. NCPPA president Chuck Liddy says: "In photography, we are allowed to de-emphasize backgrounds by a technique called 'burning,' but in some cases his backgrounds were completely removed." The Observer suspended Schneider for three days after auditing his work and finding manipulation.
Travis said:
The Observer audited all of Schneider's work over the last 6 years, and out of the thousands of photographs found THREE which they were not comfortable with the levels of burning. He never deleted or added anything to his images, nor did he combine multiple images. What is in question is the level of burning he used. He did nothing that could not have been done in a dark room and has not been done by countless photographers. It is unfair that he was the only photographer that was affected, as no policy was in state prior to this to limit the levels of burning.
Slide show on the blackout
Here's an engaging photo slide show, with audio, on the blackout by the NY Times. (It's on the front page, right side, if that link doesn't work.)
Senate panel to probe RIAA piracy crackdown
A Senate panel is launching an investigation into the RIAA's piracy crackdown.
LA Times walls off its entertainment section
Mark Glaser in OJR: The L.A. Times is hoping the time is right to monetize niche content. On August 4, LATimes.com walled off the online entertainment section, Calendarlive.com. Now people who don't subscribe to the paper will have to pay $4.95 a month, or $39.95 a year, to access Calendarlive.
What a terrible idea.
