feedthebook

Pulogs? Comunorgs?

2005-02-18T14:55:00.000-05:00

I think that most successful blogs that are focused on a topic, rather than an individual, at some point metamorphosize from a blog into something that is more like an online magazine (Pulogs) or a non-hierarchical organization (Comunorg) or, usually, both. These sites identify common themes and codify them into articles or "resources." They also develop products or print publications. So, when do they stop being blogs and become websites that have some sort of community functionality? What are the boundaries between blog and websites?

A few examples of highbreds:

http://designiskinky.com
http://www.underconsideration.com/speakup/
http://www.linkdup.com
http://www.surfstation.lu/
http://www.coudal.com/
http://www.newstoday.com
http://www.k10k.org/
http://www.core77.com
http://www.woostercollective.com

The big picture

2005-02-02T11:21:00.000-05:00

I'm moderating the ID interactive awards today and was just looking at this website called
www.understandingvorn.org, which searches the web and pulls randomn images that begin with the letters "V" "O" "R" or "N" onto the homepage. The project reminds me of Ben Rubin's "Listening Post" (mentioned in earlier posting).

Although the VORN part--organizing the images by letter--is not particularly profound, the idea of deconstructing sites and presenting components out of the original context for the purpose of creating a kind of overview of online culture is...well...cool. It makes me feel plugged in to what is happening this instant. Which is what networked technology has always been good at.

More later...

What is Blog?

2005-01-25T16:35:00.000-05:00

Alright, so the discussion from the previous post has made me suspect that I don't necessarily know what makes a blog function: what are the necessary conceptual components?

-An opinion: Does a blog have to offer a particular or personal lens or perspective for interpreting information?

-A subject: Does a blog have to be about something?

-Comments: Is a blog without comments just a regularly updated website?

-Context: Does a blog need links to other blogs in order to define the cultural space that it occupies (and is this just another way of saying that a blog must contain an imbedded perspective/implicit opinion)?

Back to the chair and pipe...

Blogs as social engines

2005-01-25T11:57:00.000-05:00

I was sitting in my leather chair and smoking my pipe while reading Walter Benjamin, as one does, when this pithy little nugget struck me like a...like a nugget of pith:

"Significant literary work can only come into being in a strict alteration between action and writing; it must nurture the inconspicuous forms that better fit its influence on active communties than does the pretentious, universal gesture of the book--in leaflets, brochures, articles and placcards [and blogs?]. Only this prompt language shows itself equal to the moment. Opinions are to the vast social apparatus what oil is to machines..."
-Walter Benjamin from Filling Station

Are blogs the new literature? If so, what are the implications?

Discuss!

Feed it!

2005-01-25T11:43:00.000-05:00

Hey friends. Please submit some examples of your favorite blogs. Include a description of why you like them.
Thanks!

Definition and short history

2005-01-18T14:25:00.000-05:00

Wikipedia has a definition of blogs as well as short pieces on the history of blogs and their influence.
Click here to go to Wikipedia

The list of blogs and categories

2005-01-17T18:13:00.000-05:00

How to find blogs
A list of most popular blogs
Technorati
A blog search engine:
Bloglines

Blogs on blogs
Both of these blogs are about how to build better blogs
A list apart
Jeffery Zeldman

The roll up
Many blogs feature content from other blogs. This is called “rolling up.” A good post will get passed along from blog to blog, gathering readers along the way. Because the number of readers grows exponentially each time it is passed up the foodchain, an article that was first read by ten people can reach 100,000 in a matter of hours.
General rollup
BoingBoing
Political rollup
Instapundit
A blog that rolls up offline documents
The Smoking Gun

Celebrities and gawkers
This is one of the hottest blogs in New York right now: it tracks celebrity sightings
Gawker
Moby has a good blog
Moby
As does Barbara Streissand
Barbra Streisand

The electronic confessional
Here’s a personal blog that documents the rather hapless meanderings of one gay New Yorker. It gives a pretty good sense of the genre
Epenthesis
And another
Ultrasparky

Blogs of war
A blog by an Iraqi living in Baghdad that is occasionally excerpted by the Guardian
Dear Raed
A blog by the U.S. army for commanders in Iraq (registration required)
Company Command
And a blog by a right wing guy who includes a lot of links to other right wing blogs
Blogs of War

Blogs and politics
Howard Dean’s blog:
Blog for America
Conservative blogs are gaining momentum and were used to great effect in the “Swift Boat” debacle as well as against CBS. Here’s a popular one:
Townhall
Here’s an article about conservative blogs in the NYTs

Blogs and business
One of the first really popular blogs, documenting the crash of the internet economy
Fucked Company
An article from the Herald on blogs and business

Blogs vs. magazines

2005-01-17T13:58:00.000-05:00

Here's a link to an article by Steven Heller on the Voice website we edit. It deals with the impact that blogs are having, or should have, on design publshing. We got a lot of great responses.

Thoughts on blogs

2005-01-17T13:42:00.000-05:00

One of the things I notice is that most blogs have a similar structure (articles listed by most recent in middle column, links in right column), which is what allows them to share content so easily. It also makes them not-so-sexy from a graphic design perspective. From an information design perspective, however, they can be quite interesting, especially if you start looking at the way content and users move between them. Here is a real time map of the physical location of people submitting comments to weblogs.com:

Ben Rubin also did a stunning project called "Listening Post" where he pulled comments from hundreds of blogs and chatrooms and displayed them on a screen and had a computer read them:

Here are some numbers from a recent report to give you some idea of scale: A new study by the Pew Trust found that 38% of the American public knows what blogs (about the same percentage that can locate New York on a map of the United States). 27% of total internet users say they read blogs. This is an increase of 58% from January 2004.