Blogging Popularity, The Media, and Journalism Part I

Most of what blogging has grown to become reflects not only the writer/journalist within a lot of us but also an innate conflict between that which is published for our consumption and the thoughts we actually entertain for relevancy.

Blogging, is primarily a free service that maybe eventually become fee based all around. This will be determined by several factors: One being the economy. Providing more user friendly self publishing tools has been proven a successful contribution. I think the more that eCommerce flourishes to play a part in the act of blogging or blog publishing the more likely blog host and developers will see a tremendous turn over.

There is a growing amount of attention being paid to blogging because of the significant user increase in such a short period of time. Marketing analyst live for moments such as these when there appears to be light at the end of the internet commerce tunnel. The greater awareness has been that so many providers of blog hosting, however reliable or unreliable, are investing in their own ideas. Web services in general have had to do this because of the tremendous disruption in technology investments. This gets attention because it's not a common business practice.

Innovation to simplify only reminds me of Henry David Thoreau. His views on technology growth versus the real world. Perhaps this is why I find myself often sitting in the eye of the storm. Much of the Marketing enthusiasm of web logging centralizes around the reincarnation of pre 9-11 terms like B2B (business to business) and P2P (peer to peer) discoveries. A new way to ease and streamline online demands so that the vendors or technology providers would have some rough outline of what their focus should be.

I think it makes sense in a non threatening way. What has become unattractive is that their has been a dark side lingering in IT. The suspicion of greed, manipulation, and monopolistic control determining the future of IT success and evolution rather than the necessity of the people.Or should I say demands?

There exists the potential of some threat to smaller venors seeking to advance, however, having big vendor support for web service innovations is not a bad thing as long as it exists as support and not influence or dominate. Mitch Kapor is a front runner for Open Source Applications, encouranging vendors like Microsoft to pay attention to these new facts and findings and to help accomodate them in a fundamental way. OSA Blog and Osafoundation are links to pages that provide more insight to the effort and up to date records on results.

Still, the majority of serious blogging still belongs to journalist who write professionally but, privately require an outlet for ideas and thoughts that require a more open-minded audience. These are labors of love and sanity. Donation friendly but not dependant publishings. Questions linger as to whether or not blogs can become more than a canvase for the musings of a frustrated or repressed journalists. It can be and the longer these services remain free, the more likely they will be.

Blogs are popular content reads, for the same reason that porn or erotic content does so well. Taboos are intriguing. It feels more real to read what people are thinking rather than what they want you to think they are thinking. We have free speach but we also have emotional repression. Any writer that dares to delve into the topics or expressions that are not deemed palatable by mainstream publishers will find a new kind of cult following guaranteed.

Andrew Sullivan is another note worthy blog journalist who publishes interesting mind tingling food for thought. I cannot help but get drawn into the very nature I observe. It's sinfully delicious in a not so sinful way.

So that while the speculation for what is really happening here, where it is going to lead, how much money can be made, and why did this happen in the first place may proove never ending to the philosophers of life, staying tuned in to find out is the cult of personality that everyone is guilty of, after all they say its the journey not the destination that counts.

For blogging and its IT roots this can be no exception.

More on Blogging and Journalism

Collection of related articles

Community Spirit

To consolidate much of my current research and fact finding I have created a Yahoo Group! called Blogging Community. This group may be located at Blogging Community Group Invitation.

The reason I decided to establish this group had mainly to do with the fact that I couldn't find one like it to join. When I first found blogs through short articles and journal entries, I was immediately intrigued. Based on my experience in the web service industry, software development, and IT services I thought this idea had to be something important.

Thus far, I have found no evidence to support the claim of fad or metaphore. I have found that regardless of content ( there has been no subject not expressed in blogging activity) there is something of a buzz surrounding this practice. The statics for usage popularity alone are staggaring in the web service field that is still technically at its genesis.

There are many groups available to bloggers to bring them closer to the source of this enthusiastic tool, however, many ideas were just too limiting, moderator centric, or conservative to feed the flame.

I get a strong sense that for those that keep a blog and take time to update it frequently, there is more happening for them than just experimentation. Its personal, revealing, and important for an infinite number of reseasons.

As a result I established this new group for blogging with the community spirit in mind. For the purpose of establishing comfort and familiarity for this movement to thrive unconditionally to validate not only its essence but its future.

I have promoted this page modestly as I also work to make more of its offerings. Promoting the links page so that members may feel comfortable promoting their blogs at this group, establishing the links page for useful resources and tools promotion. I wanted members to feel like they could post anything on their minds and get feedback not ridicule.

Much of my experience with other groups has been: One) the moderator is the only one able to post. Two) that you are blasted if your post is deemed off topic by veteran members. Three) that you just get ignored. This is not something that promotes growth, in fact, these situations are what most often determine the future and the expiration date of any socially relevant idea. The question of Will it fade away ?, has less to do with its value and more to do with the attitudes of those promoting it. Negitivity will result in the feeling of discouragement, the days of something which is obviously useful lasting and growing have changed since say the "lightbulb", new creations must be met with new ways of thinking and envisioning the concept itself.

I couldn't let this discouragement happen without giving a little diplomacy and democracy a try. I wanted to support this movement/endeavor and give those that are equally in support of this a chance to get stronger within it. I am glad I did. I look forward to more members, feedback, and conceptual evolutions.

I would like to invite those that blog, like technology, are philosophers of the human existance to join in contribute, answer questions, make moderator recommendations for the group. Most importantly help promote this group by letting your peers know about it.

Thank you in advance for your support!

Blogging and eCommerce Part I


As many of you that surf blogs may have found there are ways of utilizing web service tools specifically eCommerce tools. Typically, a blog that promotes more thought provoking political content will promote its posts and attract a larger following for news related content. Why? Because most of the mainstream news only tells a story. Of course, accompanied by an image that skillfully provides the necessary imagery to give the story more meaning or significance.

The common occurance of passionate blog usage is to discuss a particular current event in detail. Some dealing with personal issues or experiences, social issues, political, some deal with misc. issues like music, movies, art, or other interest that are also channeled as commentary for deeper thoughts opinions discussions.

Often times, I find myself more interested in blog news than the "real" news because the publisher of the blog feels that certain events should be interpreted a specific way or that more action must be taken. Its a news response in literal terms. So that mainstream news content gets distributed, people read about it, think about it, and then walk a way with a different idea, feeling, or opinion.

They are able to use this medium as a place to channel those ideas. To store and collect new ideas. On a human level, this type of data collection is important to the very core of our ability to control not repress our existance. I do believe this is the biggest reason for such popularity of blogging. The more effected we are by circumstance the more compelling action becomes. The need to do something meaningful, however, before this understanding can be clearly arrived at, people need to express their thoughts somewhere, getting new ideas, and feedback. The internet thrives in times such as these when much introspection is felt to be necessary regardless of distractions.

Typically, a blog that carries common opinion to a higher level are the ones that request donations to keep going. There are even scattered thoughts on the relevancy of payment for the service of filtering information so that it makes sense so that news becomes personal.

I don't think it's a bad idea to utilize mediums that provide publishing tools like blogging to better grasp life's ironies, to even create a business in so doing is not without ethics in this light. As it is neither exploitive nor co-dependent. Its a pure resource that should not be inhibited by capitalist instincts. You cannot survive in the world today at least on the level that we determine as civilized without money. Purism is an occurance that comes from luxurous circumstance. These circumstances are not a birth right merely circumstance. Therefore, pulling resources together that both apply to real life and improve it while generating economic success are not corrupt measures.

There are many interpretations of globalization, economic security, and ethical capitalism. These concepts when broken down by the analytical process do simplify themselves on a case by case basis. This basis is an honest and real one that should be nutured to avoid corruption rather than criticised by skeptics to kill advancement and ambition.

Certain, purist thoughts should be overlooked for the sake of purity. Ironic perhaps, but clarity in tact it is all but impossible to dismiss the need for human involvment in the construction of the human experience. eCommerce has taken a seedling home in blogging, it has rooted forests throughout the internet. I believe the cultivation of services/web services as a whole are essential in joining the and simplifying the life process. Another way in which to measure the exansiveness of what may be had. First fire, then the wheel, now the internet. With each new tool that man kind learns to use to its advantage the more the possibility for understanding, enlightenment, and even wealth can also grow. The goal to all this living was to learn to do it well, intelligently, skillfully, efficiently, and most of all joyfully.

I think that this time in the process of things should provide reminders of those goals and carry them forward, not to contain them or hold them back.

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eCommerce example

Old Ideas; new thoughts for webmasters and bloggers.

I have been getting more actively involved with groups that relate to web service, blogging, design, webmasters, and data mining.

I would like to be contacted for content offerings.
If you would like to submit for publishing here, I am looking for:

*Content
*Articles
*News
*Ideas
*Information
*Questions
*Answers
*Links,buttons,banners
*Books

Please contact me from the link at this page or send me content directly at: lukasherron@hotmail.com

Currently I am researching information regarding:

-Yahoo! Groups that don't suck ass
-Book titles and authors that discuss web logs and blogs for practicle applications.
-Tools, Sites, and Links that promote or enhance personal publishing capabilities.
-Articles relating to blogs and web log communities, organizations, hosting.

What is What?

Like all things worth writing, the act of publishing requires an inner drive to be heard.

I would rather listen.

The plan for my next mission will be to explore the relevancy of peer to peer groups, sites, businesses.

Before this however, I am still on the look out for new tools, new blogs, and new media entries on blogging.

I have followed up on the "Klog" knowledge blog. Where tool enhancements would seem a must. I must admit there were not as many examples as I was expecting. I was thinking somewhere along the lines of a blog with hyper-content and active pages. I was also thinking that perhaps this community of klogs was as large and spread out as blogging itself. So far this theory has not been proven. Based on this my prediction is that klogs will eventually mutate into blogs and then be divided according to the content of content.

I received an interesting question regarding the technical requirements or options for Rss generated queries against a database, generating RSS for alerts and updates to the database. Sounds a little advanced for such a seemingly modest community, however, it's demands like this that make technology go the distance, so that a realistic view can grow into widespread use of a service or method. I liked that.

Treachery in Yahoo! Blogging Groups.

It has been a crazy week of posts and ridicule. Although for a change it was not something I did.
As far as I know under no circumstances will BloggerDev Groups tolerate another non blogger related technical support question.

My advice to would be posters and queries regarding technical support, sadly blogger gives little to none and probably never will, according to some cynics and critics for the record that seekers should try their luck at Blogger_user_support@yahoogroups.com.

Books on Blog:



"We Blog:Publishing online with web logs" by: Baush

"The web log Handbook" by: Rebecca Blood

"Essential Blogging" by: Shelley Powers

"Blogging" by: Biz Stone

"Maybe I'll live my whole life, just getting by. Maybe I'll be discovered, maybe I'll be colonized.."


I think this is a good way to start off a new post.

I am really happy that most of my feedback as been healthy and encouraging. Some wasn't. Purist in the blogging community don't like me because, I work in web services. Somehow this makes me a capitalist, perhaps this lingering loathing that one should hope to some day profit from their labour makes you a socialist. Either way, I welcome visitors here.

This blog is about discussing blogging and blog technology and approaches to the creative innovation that must exist to further its potential. My background in web services is my platform but not my inspiration.

I have pissed off a number of folks hanging out in the blogging community as pioneers and purists alike. Others that have taken the time to actually read my content, find my thoughts interesting, refreshing, inspiring, and at the very least worthwhile.

I have altered my blog recently to accommodate some new tools, free at that to help me further my code placing as well as make my blog less "bloggish". These new additions include:

1.A site monitor from Sitemeter
2.A subscribe tool courtesy of Bloglet
3.An ad placed for my registration at Blogsnob

These tools allow me to get an idea if my efforts to get visitors is working, while promoting free enhancement tools, allows me to interact with people who want to read my posts, perhaps even respond, and promote my blog and everyone else in the blogsnob community.

I am happy to do this. I have learned some new tricks regarding code placement utilizing standard html and javascript on a standard template.

I located a discussion forum hosted by inforworld Magazine. Rebecca Blood, whose name is synonymous with Blogging these days hosted her own forum regarding Blogging; fads, business applications, klogs, etc.. I have talked to her personally. I pissed her off immediately. I found it interesting that just days after I approached her with some ideas which she quickly PMS'd on me for thinking such blasphemy, that she would then host a forum in a non purist location like Infoworld, to discuss the very nature of the thoughts I had wanted to go over with her. She's a closet purist, as her need to capitalize on the blog phenomenon is only limited to book sales and groupies. It's a power thing with her, no matter.

The forum is located at Infoworld Forums by now, a whole week later it has been archived from the homepage. Still, there was a lot of response to her forum, many participants, and sign ups for these forums may be held by anyone in addition to newsletter subscriptions. Pretty powerful tool and well sponsored.

I have been surfing in directories and new groups for blogging, looking for new information, new friends, new ideas, and new links.

As a side note this is my first post using the w.bloggar 3.0 download. This gives me ProBlogger tools without the fee. So, I am keeping my fingers crossed that this all goes well.

"..you can try to train me like a pet, you can try to teach me to behave, I tell you if I haven't learned it yet, I ain't gonna sit, I ain't gonna stayyy.."



Cheers!

Once Bitten Twice Shy:

I have good news to report. The site that I mentioned as a newsletter resource, included their button on the previous entry, has responded to my request for blog related content. They are interested, I have already emailed them what I have and I encourage everyone to do the same. I am a Public Relations Manager in the IT industry so blogging/publishing/news content managing are my thing.

As I am new to blogging, having only been a practicing blogger for a few weeks now. I am going at it everyday. Learning, asking, publishing my heart out and loving every minute of it.

I have found a new resource, notice how I like to keep 'em coming?? This one was sent in from another blogging group I joined also hosted at Yahoo! Groups. The tool is w.bloggar. I believe its located at BLoggar. I found it from the digest sent from The services group at Yahoo that I just mentioned, which of course, I found out about from my participation at BlogDev Groups.

Anyway, this is a good one, esp. for my wish list needs and blogger upgrading issues. Earlier I talked about preferring Blogger.com but wishing there were better editing tools. I researched and found that most of what I wanted was only available with the upgraded content. Which means I would have to pay for it. Not that I mind paying for it, eventually at this point in my learning process, however, free is better. I probably don't have to explain, I am certain I am not alone in this revelation.

W.Bloggar, is a free download that provides desktop publishing functionality for use with blog sites including blogger.com that do not offer these tools with standard service. I took the bait, downloaded, used the set up wizard and got it ready, I have tested it and it works, I now can update my blog without logging in to blogger. I may now use tools like font changes, layout options, font colors, spell check, and more. Best of all the look and feel is modeled after Windows XP, so the tool bar is in color and the interface is seemless. It's like having the advantanced blogging package without the fee.

I realize from working in the IT / Web Service industry, that if blogging continues to become the rage many will begin charging. Hopefully, by then we will all be fluent in the language of blogs and have content worthy of fee based publishing. For now I am grateful for the dress rehearsal opportunity.

As a side note:

To the right of this page I have three links I want to just go over them so that they makes sense:

The news link will take you to the search page of my article database, there you may view by title and or topic articles / news that I have written and published to get some more information on where I am coming from, IT related interests etc.

feedback link will take you to a poll I created for basic feedback on the basic issue of utilizing advanced tools for more business blogging.

Finally, the contact link, a couple of you have already put this link to use, you click on this link and you are taken to a page where your name and email may be added to my database for contacting.

I realize that I could have done this differently, but I wanted my visitors to experience options that database functionality can bring to a blog, meanwhile, I wanted to provide content that otherwise would not have worked within the backbone of this template. Of course, I appreciate all visitors and participation. I will notabuse the contact information you give me. I will reply to you and contact you on the basis of discussion. This information is secure and can not be retrieved by anyone except me and unlike the article database there is no public searching option only data entry.

Meanwhile, I am going to do what I do best and keep learning and posting. I look forward to visitors and feedback so keep it coming.

Thanks!

Hey,

I am back. I have found some new terms with regard to web service enabled publishing. KLOGS and Wilki, I have run a Yahoo! search just to make certain they were real. I haven't followed up on my research beyond that point. I have asked members of my blogger groups to come and visit my blog and give me feedback on their thoughts.

I want to thank those that did so far and I am looking forward to those that will. I am learning as I go. I have found some interesting commentaries through blogging groups.

Bugs are a weekly scare. Typically, everyone wants to blame themselves. I have gotten a lot of email from my groups where technical issues are concerned. Most of the time, the host has to fix it. The rest of the time its got something to do with the template being used or the codes being used.

I have found that blogger has editing and publishing limitations that other blog hosts don't but I use blogger.com just because I like that fact that there is actually some socializing that goes on within the user base. Its got a cozier, familiar / familial feel that isn't common in general.

Blogs lack controversey, in and of themselves, so the stimulus must come from the user, content, or comment on some varient of the two.

I am rounding out my blogging pages. I have found that many of these templates offered aren't worth the time. No offense to the designers out there. I am a free tool freak so, nothing against providers. I have just read a lot of reactions to code publishing issues. I have had them myself, but since I have a basic knowledge on how to place code. I find that when I have difficulty its usually a fault not of my own. I finally changed to this template because it gave me more content opportunities but still there are things I would like to do to this page that I cannot do.

I am not all together certain if the upgraded versions of blogger have look and feel customization tools. I usually compromise and add content from the edit boad rather than the template because I rationalize that this template wasn't really generated to be altered much. Though, it's a step up from others I have played with and two what won't work on the template will typically fit nicely on the post size wise and I don't have to worry about updating the look and feel as often. Which is another perk to blogging over other web page publishing.

Editing content is more versatile, user friendly, and non-commital. So changes, which are natural and unavoidable, are made with greater efficiency. It's a rationalization. I think it would be nice if blogger enhanced the templates so that there existed greater flexibility. I need to visit more blogs and see what others have come up with before I put a conclusion on this topic. Still its something to consider.

Happy Halloween/ Dais de los muertos/all souls day!!!



New resource button, some of the tools I have mentioned so far came from this newsletter resource. btw these tags/buttons for promotion are available all over the place on line. I just collect them as I go. Post them for a day or so and move on. Another non - commital plug I was referring too earlier. This particular newsletter, I would like to see publish more blog oriented content and tool resources. I have sent them an email suggesting as much, please do the same. Blogging needs support from the media.

Blogger tool wish list:

**Spell check in the tool bar of blogger editing. They have it on web crimision so it can't be that hard to create. Given the choice, I still perfer the intimacy/community feel that blogger provides over other publishing sites. If I have to pick.

Please give me feedback, invite me to your blog, show me what I have failed to find on my own discovery missions, let me know of resources you use, would like to use, etc.