The recent flurry of meta weblog discussion continues. Why this is happening now is unclear to me. Is it just the linguistic gas supplied by Chris Locke? Seems like we go through these times of blog analysis ("what is a weblog?") periodically. This time around has generated a lot of words. Doc points to the recent activity on the cluetrain email list. The thoughts are all interesting, but is the question? I think the reason why different words (either 'weblog' or 'blog') became popular (instead of just 'website' or 'homepage') is because having a 'website' implies some technical skill (even if it's just understanding basic HTML and FTP) but having a 'blog' only requires the desire to write publically. And most bloggers realized, naturally, that they weren't 'webmasters' and so they needed a different word. Having a 'weblog' is specifically not about displaying your mastery of internet technology. Having a 'website' often is (at least as a side effect.)
Artists I know are just now starting to get "websites." Usually they get someone to set one up for them. Most of them don't know the term weblog. If there's interest in the term outside the weblogging community it's just the usual search for the "hot new thing"--everyone knows the terms website and homepage, what's a weblog? ("Me-zine" doesn't seem to be catching on outside of Slate staffers, thank g-d.)
I think some of the idea flow around "what's a weblog?" right now is from people who are starting to write books about the subject. I think a year from now there will be a few pop sociology type books out on the subject and then the term will migrate into the larger mainstream consciousness.
But at the same time I don't really think weblogs are anything clearly seperate from websites, except maybe for the fact that you don't pay anyone to keep one, and you don't have to learn too much about underlying technology. (Well, somebody has to pay somewhere, but it's so little that it's essentially nothing.)
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- jim 11-12-2001 3:55 pm
Artists I know are just now starting to get "websites." Usually they get someone to set one up for them. Most of them don't know the term weblog. If there's interest in the term outside the weblogging community it's just the usual search for the "hot new thing"--everyone knows the terms website and homepage, what's a weblog? ("Me-zine" doesn't seem to be catching on outside of Slate staffers, thank g-d.)
- tom moody 11-12-2001 6:47 pm
I think some of the idea flow around "what's a weblog?" right now is from people who are starting to write books about the subject. I think a year from now there will be a few pop sociology type books out on the subject and then the term will migrate into the larger mainstream consciousness.
But at the same time I don't really think weblogs are anything clearly seperate from websites, except maybe for the fact that you don't pay anyone to keep one, and you don't have to learn too much about underlying technology. (Well, somebody has to pay somewhere, but it's so little that it's essentially nothing.)
- jim 11-12-2001 10:20 pm