What is a blog?

Posted by: garyi on 04 January 2005

I kind of get it, people can post a message, but why is it now called a blog and not a message?
Posted on: 04 January 2005 by jayd
Short for "web-log", I think they're intended to be a sort of interactive meta-diary. A forum of one, with viewer feedback.

I haven't come across a blog yet that wasn't a phenomenal waste of pixels.
Posted on: 04 January 2005 by Barnie
"A publication of content and Web links, sorted in chronological order, with the most recent at the top. The content reflects personal or corporate interests, and is almost always written by an individual. Blogs were originally called web logs or weblogs. However, as "web log" can also mean a server's log files, the term was confusing. To avoid this confusion, the abbreviation "blog" was coined, and became the common term."
Posted on: 04 January 2005 by garyi
Oh right, thus far the only ones I have seen, seem to be simply peoples opinions about nothing interesting (like forums if you will!)
Posted on: 04 January 2005 by jayd
I have a friend who used to run electronic surveillance for a certain govt. agency. He ended up having to change careers because, as he put it, "Once you get over the voyeuristic thrill of it, you realize that people are mind-crushingly boring."
Posted on: 04 January 2005 by Deane F
quote:
Originally posted by jayd:
I have a friend who used to run electronic surveillance for a certain govt. agency. He ended up having to change careers because, as he put it, "Once you get over the voyeuristic thrill of it, you realize that people are mind-crushingly boring."


I take it that fellow never monitored the Padded Cell? Winker
Posted on: 04 January 2005 by Barnie
quote:
Originally posted by garyi:
Oh right, thus far the only ones I have seen, seem to be simply peoples opinions about nothing interesting (like forums if you will!)

Like jayd says - they're mostly boring (like forums), the main difference as I see it is - blogs aren't moderated

Have a look here....
Posted on: 04 January 2005 by Allan Probin
Isn't the 'Jaw' thread a kind of Blog ?

Allan
Posted on: 04 January 2005 by 7V
There are many extremely interesting blogs out there, including some political blogs from all over the world, exhibiting all shades of political views.

Here, for example, is a highly topical blog by career US Foreign Service officers. They describe themselves as

Republican (most of the time) in an institution (State Department) in which being a Republican can be bad for your career.

They have recently become very popular for writing this (sometimes amusing) no-holds-barred account of the tsunami aid effort, as told from the ground. Warning: don't read this if satirical criticism of the UN makes you squeamish.

The Diplomad

Many blogs not only inform their readers of some of the stories that the traditional media gloss over or skip altogether but they have also become influential and do a good job of policing the traditional media themselves. Blogs often offer their readers the chance to immediately add their own comments and contribute to the debate.

Even in China, where free speech and blogs are expressly forbidden, the government are falling behind in their attempts to shut down all the avenues by which the blogs exist and they are rapidly becoming the voice of the resistance (oh yes, there's a massive resistance movement in China).

Many journalists and commentators, both well known and not so well known, are publishing their commentaries and articles in blog format. It is likely that there will be an increasing trend for people to follow individual journalists rather than particular publications.

Here's a link to an interesting article on blogs and their influence: Web of Influence

Steve M