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Blogs 2

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SpiderBear6

SpiderBear6

Programmer
Sep 17, 2003
422
AU
What the h@ll is a blog?
 
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Ok, back to the financial aspect. It seems to me this is the same problem we had in the late '90s. People falling for something that has a temporary rush of people being interested in it. Take 'Flash Mobs' for instance. Oh yes, they're all the rage now. But would you invest in a company that does 'Flash-mob planning services'? They plan and organize Flash Mobs. Wow...Flash Mobs are hot, lets invest in that company when they have their IPO!!

Sure writing blogs can be a creative outlet and even therapuetic, but who's got time to sit there and read some strangers diary? I mean--the fascination with reading someone else's diary might be there if it weren't supposed to be read, like the brother who goes into his sisters room and breaks open her locked diary. But blogs are meant to be read--so that 'sneaking' aspect is gone, and you wonder if what you're reading is the persons real thoughts and experiences, or just more posing and wannabe-ing.

So from a financial aspect, a blog-hosting site needs both writers to pay the monthly fee, and readers to justify ad revenue. And blog software, as stated above, isn't truly needed so I can't see those companies making it either.
--jsteph
--jsteph
 
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jeteph,
Right blog software isn't NEEDED but then again neither are such web services like web mail (as I go back and read my e-mail via the web because it's easier from where I'm at) and thats why alot of the software to run blogs are open source. I personally just took mine down, not only because I was getting complaints from my mother about hwo unprofessional it was, but also I just quit updating it. About a week after I took it down I got about 3 e-mails from dedicated readers who felt sorry I had taken it down.

I can see why they read it, it wasn't just my thoughts, but also news from New Orleans, as they were stuck in the middle of no where at school.


Scott Heath
AIM: orange7288
 
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I update my blog about at least once a week. I actually have 3 but 2 I haven't done anything with for a while.

For tech people I see it as an outlet for reviews, code samples, issues, debugging, etc. One of my blogs is going to cover the installation of a new version of a software program we are getting. (You may be thinking oh ya). This is a financial application that takes 3-6 months to go live with. Since we will be one of the first, I have created a blog to document my thoughts on the software and on problems with the installation. I would say most blogs are junk, but there are some that are actually good, and that makes it worth while.

If any of you are interesting in taking a look at blog software, check out MovableType. It is a CGI based application. All the blog pages are static HTML, but all text writting is in CGI applications. Very fast and very custumizable.

iSeriesCodePoet
iSeries Programmer/Lawson Software Administrator
[pc2]
See my progress to converting to linux.
 
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Personally, I think such sites simply Blog down the net.

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein
 
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I may pull out my old blog software and make it so that anyone can use it...just to see what kind of response I can get from it. It would be my first real web-ware release.

Scott Heath
AIM: orange7288
 
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iSeriesCodePoet,
But is your's really a 'Blog'? The line seems to be blurring here between a 'blog' and just a person's plain ol' website.
--jsteph
 
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I have to agree with jsteph on this. If we give something a really cool name (marketing wise that is), then we can market is as something new when it is really just the same old stuff with a different wrapper. I was listening to an interview from Microsoft with this guy who just kept going on about how blogs are so great. I was left thinking... big deal. But then I guess if you are the sort of person who likes to watch those stupid reality tv shows where you are wathcing people do bugger all, then blogs might be appealing to you.
 
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<sarcasm>
Ok. I guess if a Mi&cent;ro$oft marketdroid is bandying about the term, then I need to add it to my buzzword-bingo-card generation database.
</sarcasm>

The true tragedy of weblogs is that a lot of people think they do interesting things and have interesting thoughts, but few really do.

I've never felt the urge to start a blog. While I have been known to make a pithily acidic remark from time to time, I know that I don't do it regularly enough to be consistently entertaining in a blog.

I'm thinking that if Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, or Dorothy Parker had ever had blogs -- now, there would be worth reading.

Want the best answers? Ask the best questions: TANSTAAFL!!
 
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&quot;While I have been known to make a pithily acidic remark from time to time, I know that I don't do it regularly enough to be consistently entertaining in a blog.&quot;

Well, I agree with the entertaining part.


Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein
 
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<<'m thinking that if Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, or Dorothy Parker had ever had blogs -- now, there would be worth reading>>

They did. They called them 'books', and sold them, became famouos, and made money.
--jsteph
 
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On a positive note for blogs, we have recently started using blog software for employees to log their thought and notes in. On more than one occasion, it has been quite helpful when that person has been sick/vacation/terminated.

Outside of that arena, I think they are utterly and completely useless.

11/01/03 - Played BF1942 for 21 consecutive hours.
11/02/03 - Slept in. Played BF1942 this evening.
11/03/03 - Went outside. Big bright ball in the sky hurt my eyes... went back inside and played BF1942.
 
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...I'm thinking along the lines of the old Cheech & Chong bit &quot;My Summer Vacation&quot; that went something like,

Day 1.
I woke up.
Then, I went downtown to quit my job.
Then I hung out in front of the drugstore.

Day 2.
I woke up.
Then I went downtown to look for a job.
Then I hung out in front of the drugstore.

Day 3.
I woke up...

--jsteph
 
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