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- ZackScott, on 10/12/2007, -8/+45blog (n) - A weblog
weblog (n) - A website that displays in chronological order the postings by one or more individuals and usually has links to comments on specific postings.
Source: Dictionary.com - RockMyMonkey, on 10/12/2007, -6/+27Many good points. I don't agree with all of them, but I know I am a little bit insulted when anyone tries to call my site a blog. I have several writers and we talk about a great many things. I do plan on launching a blog feature for users sometime next year, but to call the site as a whole a blog is just plain stupid.
- Junkyarddawg, on 10/12/2007, -8/+27...and the demand is made, ironically, in a blog.
- jbrown101st, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19 I hate it when people do this. My stupid science teacher says wikipedia is nothing more than a blog. I'm like WTF?
- ZackScott, on 10/12/2007, -5/+19I guess if the definition of blog changes, then the author of this rant will have a point. I don 't want to get into a political discussion, but here's an example of how definitions can actually change. In 9th grade, I had a geometry teacher who asked the class if we thought two gay people should get married. I know, that sounds weird to even ask it, but everyone shared their honest opinion. One person then said the dictionary defines marriage as between a man and a woman. I then went home and looked it up in this physical dictionary I had from the 1980s, and sure enough, that's what the dictionary said. Today when I look it up on Dictionary.com, the first and third definitions specifically say man and women, but to accommodate modern use, there is a fourth definition says "a relationship in which two people have pledged themselves to each other in the manner of a husband and wife, without legal sanction." Again, I don't want to start an off-topic argument, but this is just an example of how words can change meaning. I think in the beginning, blog was very broad, but some people have really narrowed the definition at least in their own minds. However, it is rare for a word's definition to become more narrow over time. What usually happens is the definition expands.
Actually, I just thought of another example. People now say Macs are not PCs. But why not? PC simple means personal computer.
Oh, and by the way, the teacher asked us that question because she had recently divorced from her husband who was gay. - ryananderson, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13This is a terrible article that sounds like it's written by a twelve-year old.
- nicepants, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8They just refer to them as blogs rather than "online news websites"....because if they used the latter term, people might turn OFF their televisions/radios and just get the news online, where they'll get it faster. Using the term blog makes them sound unprofessional and somewhat underground.
- atlacatl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Jeesh...What a ***** BLOG this Charlie Demerjian has...
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I always thought of digg, endgadget, kotaku, etc. as closer to a blog (or message board) than anything else as most of the content is user submitted as opposed to owner created. The same thing kind of goes for Slashdot. Cnet, Gamespot, IGN, etc. on the other hand has PAID staff who write who write the stories, conduct the interviews, take pictures, and what have you. Digg has paid staff to come up with new ideas and make sure ***** doesn't break. That's about all (or so it seams).
It also may have alot to do with the layout of the site itself. Stripped down, article + comments only with 1 or 2 banner ads = looks like a blog. Filled with shnazzy graphics, neat little flash presentations, tons shiny things to distract you from the true purpose of the website = doesn't look like a blog. - thegreenone, on 10/12/2007, -5/+9I agree with this 100%. In my world veiw the second a "blog" puts people on the payroll it stops being a blog.
- livejamie, on 10/12/2007, -7/+11wow this person needs to relax a whole lot
- jhshukla, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3>> This is a terrible article that sounds like it's written by a twelve-year old.
No. This is a terrible blog that sounds like it's written by a twelve-year old. - raj3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3yeah, and that's the problem.
- SpeedyG, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4*snore*
Yet another article trying to define the word blog. It's practically undefinable, and depending on who you ask, it's anywhere from "any online news in diary format" to "it needs to have RSS feeds and XML tags and all of that to qualify". Who CARES what the definition is? - violentvinyl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3So what if it's only one poster, but there's a large enough audience to generate a sufficient ad revenue to quit ones day job?
- strebalicious, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3And while we are at it, stop calling them jumps. "Hit the jump..." "After the jump..." They are fricken' links, for crying out loud.
- invader, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4then you deserve a cookie.
- Otto, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3>"Wow, thats a broad definition... so the comments section here on Digg is a blog. I'm a blogger! "
No... Digg does not display its entries in chronological order. Yes, Digg has several blog-like features, but since it is primarily focused on posting links to outside content, it is more properly called an aggregation site.
Slashdot, on the other hand, is definitely a blog. As is engadget. - ZackScott, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Yeah, in 2000 I used to have this website where I would post sets of photos in chronological order with detailed descriptions of each photo. I would occasionally post a few text updates. Anyway, when the term blog appeared, it was as if I was suddenly lumped into being a "blogger," although I never really considered myself as that. I would give people my site, and then they were like "oh, so you have a blog?" I just didn't like the term at all. I then started posting regular text updates and less photos, and I began to accept that I was indeed a blogger with a blog.
- xenixninja, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Isn't it time to stop calling all blogs for diaries too?
It's like calling all newspapers a bunch of lies just because we have some bad seeds.
If you had some rotten planks in your house, would you burn it all down? - livejamie, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3can we call the helio a phone?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2blogs are a rehash of the 'home page' mania of the 90s. nobody cared, nobody visited, except for few that actually had something original to offer.
- OrangeTide, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I designed a new kind of shoe called Blogs. they are like clogs, but they have a B in them, which stings you in the toe.
- muffinmanpoo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@violentvinyl
"Well, Wikipedia kind of is like a...blog"
No, no it's not. - kjhatch, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Did you even read the article? The Inq is not a blog, and he's pretty clear about it.
"If there are more than one person writing for the 'blog', especially if they get paid, it is a site. The INQ has a staff of many, as does Boing Boing, CNet and Slashdot. Just because you read it on a browser...and it does not have an associated cable channel does not make it a blog." - somerandomnerd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2What a load of pointless drivel. It's like reading someone argue that Flickr isn't truly "Web 2.0" because there aren't enough rounded corners.
Sure, some people will insist on calling websites "blogs." And they will look just as stupid as people who use the phrase "the interweb." - eavonius, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2This is the same problem with "logon". How many times do you hear "for more details, logon to our website at www.somewhere.com" on the news. Idiots, you don't need to authenticate to read this stuff ;)
- SamsLembas, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I beg to differ. If it has regular, dated entries, it is a log. If it is on the internet as well, it is a web log.
- invader, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"BLOGOSPHERE, like it's some great wide expanse, but it's really somebody's musty basement."
some would say it's a series of tubes, but it is, in all actuality, a global network of musty basements and the dwellers of said basements. - andrewmac44, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2//question of sexual preference due to pink blog
- Cytranic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Podcasting also. My local radio station says things like "Podcasting 8 in a row" meaing they are playing the next 8 songs in row. This "Podcasting" is not available on there website.
- muffinmanpoo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1For sure. Suddenly any audio that can be downloaded from the internet is a "podcast". Wtf.
- HappyScrappy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Kotaku, etc. are blogs because they don't fact check anything. So they can't be news outlets, they're just aggreators; blogs.
- cecil_t, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I know a guy who doesn't really understand the difference between a blog, a wiki, a forum, etc. Basically he thinks anything on the web with a database behind it is the same thing and doesn't understand the fundamental usage differences. He always ends up trying to turn one into another or says the wrong thing when he means another.
- Nick22, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This is true... I own a gaming news site and I have had many commenters claim the site is a blog. Its a bloody ***** news site for ***** sakes.
- h0dg3s, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1blog - stupid kids whining about things nobody cares about who are too dumb to make their own website
- drjekelmrhyde, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah but in order to be cool you have to say the word blog 99 times when you talk to someone YOU nerds started it
- Cowboy1015, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5another boring blog article on DIGG's frontpage.
- etruscan, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I dunno - I still consider a "blog" a "site"... but the difference is it doesn't offer unique news or services so much as it reports commentary on news or services. It's a fine distinction, but one can be made. While my own site certainly isn't an online journal, it isn't breaking news either - it's commentary on breaking news and interesting stuff (like Boing Boing or Engadget). That, in my opinion, constitutes a blog.
- h0dg3s, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Wow that 5 year long post is exactly why we don't like bloggers. You think people are sympathetic. We are not. We don't care what you think.
"I think so and so let me tell you" no. Stop right there. - adragons, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Eat your peas and carrots, and unlock that caps lock key. Hop on one foot.... Get your flu shots.... brush your teeth. Look both ways before you cross the street.
- AriaStar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Due to the overuse of the word "blog," I call my own my online journal. "Blog" has been taken from it's denotation of essentially being a journal and given a connotation as being the hip thing to call whatever you want people to read, which is everything. So now it's just a dumb word for those trying to fit in.
- h0dg3s, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The generation [insert generation name here] kids are too dumb to actually design a webpage. I was part of the webpage boom of the 90s when I was maybe 10 but I actually had content on my page.
- h0dg3s, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1or "web 2.0"
- Jofaba, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1While I wish there was more distinction between the labels we put on some of the stuff online, I don't really think it's a big deal. For example, most people refer to my site as a blog. It certainly started out as one and acts like one because it's new. But my real blog is what's connected to it. I have a tab called "blog" which is more casual and personal. The site presents itself in a professional manner and is meant to showcase my writing abilities, and as I add to it, will showcase my writing and help me boost my career independently. So to me, it feels like a site, but according to the article, it's still just a blog because it's my personal experiences/ideas, there's just me, and I make no money (don't even have ads up).
To me, a blog is "Dear Internet, today I had a horrible day at school..." etc. Basically, an online diary. Also, the article's tone made me believe that they are against bands and celebrities having Myspace pages (definitely blogs). That's ridiculous. What's wrong with the people who entertain you trying to keep some kind of contact to their audience? Sure, a lot of them are fake or really ran by PR departments, but I'd rather see Anna Nichole Smith posting personal messages on her site than Aerosmith not even going to their own site to see what it says about them. Those are just guess examples but I think you understand what I'm trying to say.
Just like anything else, "blogs" went from being "underground/cult" to the mainstream. And just like always, now that it's so commercialized it's starting to taste stale to a lot of people. As more people call ***** on the fake/pr blogs/blog-like sites, like that stupid Sony PSP attempt, then it'll revert back to something more manageable and trust-worthy.
Or, I could be wrong. Who knows? Only time. - dynotesting, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Isn't that a PR blog?
- ajpiano, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The "one person" restriction really just doesn't make a lick of sense. I, too, am sick of hearing the word "blog" every time I turn on the TV or get a glass of water (gettingaglassofwater.blogspot.com), but the author is way off base with that insistence. Just look at the big-time political blogs of yesteryear...is the Volokh Conspiracy not a blog? Pandagon?
I think that a big part of what makes a blog a blog is that it is the CENTRAL aspect of the website. When you visit BoingBoing or Volokh or any universally accepted "blog," the blog content is right there, in nice reverse chronological order, on the front page. This is a lot different from going to the site of a major media outlet, clicking through a bunch of pages, finding your favourite personality, and then finding their blog, which is just another COOL MODERN FEATURE of MSNBC.com or whatever. - ishmal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1CNN has those two "geek" women who actually read web sites aloud for the morons in the audience for whom the web is too scary. How about getting them to read -this- article?
Or maybe better, submit it to Romenesko:
http://poynter.org/column.asp?id=45
...so that journalists can read it. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2this will upset phil http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12yD8JyaVvY&mode=related&search=?
- jcs_goog, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Like it or not, but the term is here to stay. Blog, blog, blog.
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