Is blogging overhyped?

[Ioman]

Great article by John Dvorak:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1775944,00.asp

I have always felt this way about blogs and it feels good to get some affirmation.

[megamega]

Yes. Yes it is.

[llbbl]

I'm gonna flame about you in my blog :P

[Tychovk]

Like someone is reading your blog....

tell me, why should we read your blog :P

[llbbl]

Sure blogging is a "trend", but it doesn't meant that if you start blogging you are a conformist just doing it because everyone else is. I am sure there are plenty of people who use it for different things. For instance you might be interested in learning the interface and adapting it to suit your needs or to develop new technologies based on the current one.

Another good thing about blogging is that it gets people to use and interact with the web and anything that does that should be promoted and developed.

Ioman i think only reason u haven't started your own one is because your so busy running DT and bizzbum. bloggin doesn't fullfill a need for you because everything you might use it for is already siphoned through various DT channels. Now I see another reason that you might disagree with blogging because it promotes interaction over a wide distributed network of sites and not one central place for people to conviene.

Dvorak gives reason in his article that two big companies have promoted bloggin and if you look at the % of people in the company that is actually doing it the number is slim. Well ok thats great, but it doesn't mean bloggin is over rated. It MIGHT mean that blogging isn't well adapted for wide corporate integration. When you think about it, this is probably a good thing. After all who wants to read the blogs of all the janitors who clean your offices. "Monday: I picked up trash . Here look at a pciture of the trash" "Tuesday: I cleaned floors don't they look pretty"

Blogging is still a very useful too for millions of people and shouldn't be discounted so easily.

[llbbl]

tell me, why should we read your blog

First of all I was joking and none of what I said two posts ago was the truth. I don't talk about anyone specifically in my blog unless they are in the news. Second of all, I don't maintain my blog because I want you to read it.

There are plenty of sites that use a blogging interface to serve as a way to post content to their professional website.

http://www.meyerweb.com/
http://www.lessig.org/blog/
http://www.wilwheaton.net/

Mine is more for my personal use, but I allow anyone to read it because all it is a history of cool links I find on the web or good news that I read.

[Ioman]

Well, I do not have a blog because I do not want my personal life to be open for everyone to see on the net. I enjoy my privacy and prefer to keep it that way.

Blogging in my opinion is way over hyped. There are only a handful of blogs that are actually making money, and even then it’s from the shear quantity of page views, and not the quality of the content.

5-8 blogs should not be defining an industry. 95% of the blogs out there are not even updated on a daily basis. Is it a trend, yes. Will it last? Only time will tell. Anything can be profitable if enough effort is put into it (like Engadget for example).

I enjoy reading the big blogs, because its like plugging an IV of information into my head with instant access to information. But really, how many blogs post original content? Most just link to the actual news source. An RSS feed can do the same thing.

[llbbl]

Well blogging may not be making money for the majority of people who maintain them, but it sure is making the people who are hosting them money to have all that content. Sure the Engadget network is probably the only biggest name in commerical blogging, but you are forgetting that there are millions of people who dont' give a **** if their blog makes money.

RSS feed is unfiltered. It is not the same thing. It is a raw stream of whatever site or group of sites feel like posting. Blogging is journal of whatever the hell u want to post about. With respect to what I use my blog for, with RSS feed I can't go back two weeks ago and see what was that one site that caught my eye.

Also the blogging interface is a great way to promote vistor interaction where they can talk about news, reviews, and opinion articles because you can have one account that will allow you to comment on a multitude of sites. Like if posted some news article on DT and someone wanted to commnet on it they wouldn't have to sign up to your site, they could use their blogger or passport account. Because you allow people to do this on your site could be considered to be a competitive advantage over other sites and would promoted repeat users.

So don't say blogging is overrated just because the majority blogs aren't making money because the majority of people don't blog in the hopes of running a profitable business. The ideas behind blogging are important to focus on. Anything that gets people to interact on the web is a good thing.

[Tychovk]

First of all I was joking and none of what I said two posts ago was the truth. I don't talk about anyone specifically in my blog unless they are in the news. Second of all, I don't maintain my blog because I want you to read it.

I know it was a joke :P just teasin' you.
can you provide a link to your blog with 'cool links' in it? :thumb

[dang]

technogeek, you'll be pleased with one particular new feature of the new site design. That's all i'll say. :)

[Ioman]

RSS feed is unfiltered. It is not the same thing. It is a raw stream of whatever site or group of sites feel like posting. Blogging is journal of whatever the hell u want to post about. With respect to what I use my blog for, with RSS feed I can't go back two weeks ago and see what was that one site that caught my eye.

So don't say blogging is overrated just because the majority blogs aren't making money because the majority of people don't blog in the hopes of running a profitable business. The ideas behind blogging are important to focus on. Anything that gets people to interact on the web is a good thing.

Saying an RSS feed is unfiltered doesn't make sense to me. If I program the Engadget RSS feed to alert me whenever there is new content, it shows me the same headlines as the articles being posted on the Engadget website.

Blogs are overrated because they are getting more attention than they should be. A blog is nothing new, its a stripped down CMS, people act like its a new invention or something and its not. And I gaurantee you there are only a handfull of blogs that actually update their content on a dilay basis.

So does this mean if we add the ability to post comments on our article and our news site, that we are a blog to? Would you post?

[llbbl]

RSS is a stream of whatever that site (or group of sites) publish, and while I'm sure the people managing their servers are good at choosing interesting content that pertains to their website, it is not like I want to read ALL of the junk they post. That is why news.google.com is so great is because it links to thousands of different articles and groups them (or tries to at least ) so that they are all about the same thing. Up until now I have been comparing how a person GETS the news they want to read about.

Now the reason a blog is so much different than RSS is that it can be used to STORE a historical record of the news you find interesting. It's all about a simple interface for recording cool stuff you find on the web. That is what makes blogging so widely accepted, is the interface that anyone can learn and setup. It doesn't require a MCSE, and a Red Hat Certified Engineer, and A++ technician, and a PHP guru just to get it running.

Why do you think Windows is so popular and not Linux, it is because your grandmother can barely remember which icon is the one she is supposed to click on to check her email let alone know how to:

% mount -t /dev/fd0/mnt
% cp /bootsec.lnx /mnt
% unmount /mnt

If you want something to be used by the masses you got to shoot for the lowest common denominator, make it easy to pickup and learn.

Now the reason that blogging is so much different than just adding comments to news on a particular site is because once again it is a personal record of all your comments with links to stuff you commented on. So that is the one thing that blogging can do better than any other system, is to easily display a historical record of personal comments and stuff that the user thinks is cool. While you may have the ability to search for all personal comments using vbulletin or slashdot or neoseeker or some other system that has been integrated into the site, it isn't going to be a personalized page and it isn't going to be as EASY as just checking your blog.

Of course this is just one way blogging can be used, some people just use it as a pure journal and don't have any links.

[Ioman]

I don't understand what you mean by "historical record".

So you agree that a blog is nothing more than an online journal that is easy to use and for others to read?

So why are blogs getting so much hype then? Because a lot of people are using them?

In my opinion, I would say that the majority of blogs that are being updated frequently are being updated because the owner is hoping to make some money off his site (show me a blog thats updated often and doesn't have ads on it, they are hard to find). It is my prediction that as these people continue to realize that there is little money to be made from their blog, they will update it less often and eventually lose interest and move onto other things.

If a blog is an online journal, then revenue should not be a factor. What is happening with sites like Engadget and Gizmodo is that people with relatively non-technical skills (regarding programming) are using these "journals" to emulate a larger portal site. They get a lot of traffic and thus help to turn blogging into something that is bigger than it really is. And IMO that is why its overhyped. A few big names are giving their sites attention in the media and turning this into a huge fiasco. Even Microsoft, Yahoo, Google and Cnet are introducing blogging services.

Is blogging cool? Sure. Is there good revenue to be made? Maybe, most likely not. Will blogging be a huge hit in a couple years? I predict not.

[llbbl]

"historical record"

Meaning that all your posts are organzied by sequential date and can be retrieved easily.

So you agree that a blog is nothing more than an online journal that is easy to use and for others to read?

No there is more potential to blogging than that. An PERSONAL online journal can be used for many different purposes. In my mind slashdot and K5 can also be considered to be a blog, but they would be more of a COMMUNITY online journal. I'm sure those sites make good income. A CMS is just another name for a blog, it could be community or personal.

The interfaces of blogger and MT I think are a culmination of many years of work on online publishing systems. Blogging is just the term that people have dubbed this "user friendly" publishing system.

In my opinion, I would say that the majority of blogs that are being updated frequently are being updated because the owner is hoping to make some money off his site (show me a blog thats updated often and doesn't have ads on it, they are hard to find).

My blog is such an example. Go take a visit at the million or so blogs that are published and updated fairly often over at livejournal.com. There are probably a number of different reasons that people start blogs and then choose to stop updating them. I doubt that since most people don't start blogs to make money that your reasoning is flawed and that the most common reason is something else. Somone would have do a study or a survey to find out the real reason, and until that happens we all are just guessing.

What is happening with sites like Engadget and Gizmodo is that people with relatively non-technical skills (regarding programming) are using these "journals" to emulate a larger portal site. They get a lot of traffic and thus help to turn blogging into something that is bigger than it really is. And IMO that is why its overhyped.

Well since blogging has been around for a LONG time, just known as a different name, the concept is nothing new. If it makes you feel better to hate Engadget, Gizmodo
and the rest of the network of their sites because their websites are built off the easy to learn interface the new blogging systems represent, than more power to you. I think it is a innovative use of technology.

Will blogging be a huge hit in a couple years? I predict not.

I think both personal and community blogs will be around for as long as there is the internet. It represents an evolution of the internet. Just like who thought of the drive through at your local fast food joint, blogging will become an accepted standard of things to do online.

[llbbl]

I know it was a joke :P just teasin' you.
can you provide a link to your blog with 'cool links' in it? :thumb

Yea I know . sorry Ioman got me all stirred up again.
:cheers

[Ioman]

Well since blogging has been around for a LONG time, just known as a different name, the concept is nothing new. If it makes you feel better to hate Engadget, Gizmodo
and the rest of the network of their sites because their websites are built off the easy to learn interface the new blogging systems represent, than more power to you. I think it is a innovative use of technology.

I don't like your tone with this. Knock it off, seriously.

This is a discussion, and no one will when it when there is no right or wrong. I am allowed to post my opinions as you are, but the minute you start making it personal is when I lock this thread.

And for the record I like Engadget and Gizmodo, I check them out daily.

[llbbl]

Well sorry if I misunderstood your meaning. It seemed to me that by calling blogging overrated and associating those sites with blogging you were insulting the people that run those sites and the millions of people who use a blogging system everyday. How can it be overrated if millions of people use it frequently and the ideas behind blogging are found in almost every webpage on the internet? It also seemed to me that you were trying to insult those the people that ran those sites because you found their programming skills to be inferior due to choice of web publishing systems. That is just how I read it and the reason I responded how I did.

[Ioman]

Well like I said, I just voiced my opinion, and you should not get upset with me for saying so.

I am not insulting everyone, so please do not try to read between the lines, because nothing is there. :)

[llbbl]

this is how i feel

[openbsd-flipp]

Damn Logan, What turned you into an ass? To think all this time I Have been trying to get you angry and Iomans comment about blogs get to you worse then anything I have ever said. And I was pretty bad trying to see you in a non cheerfull mode. WTF???

[ECA]

IMHO
Blogging is only a journal of what a person wishes to SAY...Thats ALL.
If you say something in public, you should WATCH your comments, they are NOT easily removed after others read them.
Its your diary/journal/comments/outlook...
But, this is nothing without OTHERS able to make opinions. Having a idea to express is one thing, being ABLE to make it a SOLID comment, without input from other scources, is CRAP...

Like jumping into a forum, Making a BOLD STUPID statement, and running off, never to read the comments/corrections to your statement.

[llbbl]

Damn Logan, What turned you into an ass? To think all this time I Have been trying to get you angry and Iomans comment about blogs get to you worse then anything I have ever said. And I was pretty bad trying to see you in a non cheerfull mode. WTF???

lol ::shurg:: dunno man ;)

[Ioman]

Here is a related video: http://tv.reuters.com/ifr_main.jsp?st=1112990046687&rf=bm&mp=WMP&wmp=1&rm=1&cpf=true&fr=040805_022501_17d5d2ax1031f27ea08x46e9&rdm=313219.03712605754

[Ioman]

Actually that link doesnt work, try this method:

The video is also available from the home page of www.reuters.com - there's an ad about the event. It has to do with blogging.

[llbbl]

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc. (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday it will soon start invitation-only testing of its new Web log and social networking service Yahoo 360, which aims to better connect users to people they already know.

The Yahoo 360 test release will mark the first time the company provides a service to create and share Web logs, also known as blogs, in the United States. Yahoo already offers such tools in some international markets like Japan and South Korea.

Available March 29, the free test will integrate Yahoo's existing products, such as instant messenger, photos, local search, music and groups with new offerings such as blogs, mobile blogs and sharing tools for recommending movies, restaurants and other items.


http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7925256

[Ioman]

MSN announced a similar service too. I think they are exploring to see if there is anything there.

[valuehosted]

Dang, I'd like to know more about this new site option you are so subtly hinting at.

--Tone

[dang]

You'll see shortly. :) I'll drop a hint, it will only be for news, but will be added to all content pages shortly after we launch the new site.

[llbbl]

Last winter, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory began a Web log, or blog, for employees to post concerns and complaints about fixing problems at the government nuclear facility. But now, some members of Congress who've seen the blog see it as a reason to shut Los Alamos down.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4657337

[llbbl]

Military officials are cracking down on blogs written by soldiers and Marines in Iraq, saying some of them reveal sensitive information. Critics say it's an attempt to suppress unflattering truths about the U.S. occupation. NPR's Eric Niiler reports.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3867981

[Ioman]

Yup it shows how dangerous blogs can be. I think a private blog where an employee can post his/her thoughts is fine, but you just can't make some of that stuff public for all to see.

[llbbl]

doesn't mean that the bad outweighs the good. I think it is great soliders are using it. really the only way we can get reliable news these days. the journalists aren't very well protected and scared shiatliss to do any real reporting in iraq. i don't blame them either.

[Ioman]

I didn't say that.

[llbbl]

oh ok.