February 18, 2002

8:55 AM

Somebody is going to link to this Wired article about blogging, so lets get it over and done with.
posted by jedro (28 comments total)

It seems to me that articles/stories about blogging are becoming almost as prevalent as blogs themselves (well not really, but you know what I mean), and the article itself alludes to this fact.
posted by jedro at 8:59 AM on February 18, 2002

Announcing Blogarticler™, the new template system which allows you to quickly write an article about weblogs! Our unique system takes all the hard work out of writing that blog article. Buttons insert quick quotes from weblog A-listers, and the latest enhancement, BlogBackLasher™, even brings you up to speed on the newest and hippest bored, snarky comments about the decline in overall weblog quality. We're ramping up to full speed, with at least 1,400 new weblog articles this month!
posted by dhartung at 9:28 AM on February 18, 2002

the article itself alludes to this fact

Seems that bloggers aren't the only ones who feel compelled to add their two cents to subjects that everyone has already discussed.
posted by rory at 9:44 AM on February 18, 2002

I just can't believe they used "crud" instead of "crap." The quote is "90% of everything is crap." What happened to you, Wired? You used to be cool, man.
posted by mathowie at 9:53 AM on February 18, 2002

on the newest and hippest bored, snarky comments about the decline in overall weblog quality.

And I thought I was the only one./2cents
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 9:54 AM on February 18, 2002

Hey dharthung, it that free or is it a "Pro" subscription service. Very funny.
posted by cowboy at 9:55 AM on February 18, 2002

Matt I said “shit” instead of crap. You’re right; they’ve lost that loving feeling.
posted by Davezilla at 10:41 AM on February 18, 2002

Matt: Have you noticed how slim Wired has gotten? I don't think they'll be around another year.
posted by Su at 10:48 AM on February 18, 2002

Matt: If you click the link to Sturgeon's Law in the Wired article, it takes you here.
posted by jpoulos at 11:09 AM on February 18, 2002

I know, jpoulos, but I specifically used the word "crap" when I quoted it. If you're going to quote people speaking, you might as well quote them, even if it is incorrect from the original quote the quoters are quoting.
posted by mathowie at 12:22 PM on February 18, 2002

I pefer "Crud" - it makes me think of Tanner, from The Bad News Bears.

Here is a stream of an NPR story from All Things Considered about "web logs" (never referred to as "blogs")
posted by hotdoughnutsnow at 12:28 PM on February 18, 2002

I must insist that Ftrain.com is a WEBSITE, not a weblog.
posted by acridrabbit at 1:01 PM on February 18, 2002

Alongside the boom, however, there have recently been a few faint signs of backlash. As increasing hordes take on the task of trying to keep new sites looking nice, sounding original and free from banalities, more hordes just seem to fail.

And this differs from anything else under the sun how, exactly? Including Wired News articles?
posted by aaron at 1:24 PM on February 18, 2002

Wired.com is part of Lycos, Wired Magazine is owned by Conde Nast who can keep it around forever since I don't think any of their publications truly make any money. Fantastic scheme to keep them New York writers employed.
posted by owillis at 1:25 PM on February 18, 2002

dude! i am SO ready to get my blog on-line!

wait. i think i missed my chance in the spotlight. damn. DAMN!

oh well.
posted by jcterminal at 1:34 PM on February 18, 2002

dhartung, re: Blogarticler. exactly what I was thinking. errr, sounds like an idea for a meme.
posted by jedro at 2:03 PM on February 18, 2002

Out of 27 paragraphs 6 were dedicated to Dave Winer. Of 1186 words, 270 (23%) were about him or his company. Does he deserve such special attention, or has he just been taking the right people out for lunch?
posted by RobertLoch at 2:25 PM on February 18, 2002

hey...i've never been mentioned anywhere. i can get mocked all i want, but i got mentioned in wired.

crap magazine or not, that has got to be worth some cool points somewhere.
posted by amandaudoff at 2:49 PM on February 18, 2002

Does he deserve such special attention, or has he just been taking the right people out for lunch?

A little of both, I guess. He is kind of prominent in the tech community, and knows some VCs and journalists. And he is the best-looking source, on paper, if you don't know the community/phenomenon already. But I think some of what he has to say is reasonably on-target, too.
posted by mattpfeff at 3:22 PM on February 18, 2002

Somebody is going to link to this Wired article about blogging, so lets get it over and done with.

I have a feeling someone might double post this, too. Wonder if I should get that over and done with as well....
posted by mattpfeff at 3:25 PM on February 18, 2002

This doesn't appear to be a Wired magazine story, but rather a Wired NEWS story. The two are no longer connected, save for some cross-promotion agreements. Wired News is part of Lycos.
posted by aaron at 3:26 PM on February 18, 2002

i would say that i feel chronically ignored by these sorts of articles, except that i'm from the future and so these authors are most likely unaware of me.
posted by dzigavertov at 4:00 PM on February 18, 2002

From the article:

"But both Linabury and Haughey defended the genre of weblogging by invoking Sturgeon's Law, which comes from sci-fi writer Theodore Sturgeon who said, 'Sure, 90 percent of science-fiction is crud. That's because 90 percent of everything is crud.'"

Seems pretty clear to me that the author is quoting Sturgeon, not Haughey, in which case the use of "crud" is correct.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 4:04 PM on February 18, 2002

Yes, 90% of the weblogs out there may seem like crap to you, but what about to those who are friends of the weblogger involved? Could weblogs be (*gasp!*) a communications medium between friends and those with shared interests?!

I'm sorry. For most people, it matters a lot more to them what their friends have been up to lately than what Dave Winer has to say about SOAP.

If news is all you think weblogs are about, then you're living in a fishbowl and missing the real importance of weblogs as a communications medium. It's an inane concept to think that only news-oriented weblogs matter. You might as well say that only news-oriented emails matter.
posted by insomnia_lj at 10:24 PM on February 18, 2002

I pretty much love all blogs, vapid or no. I love the random peek into other people's heads. They're like magazines, only more so. They're like diaries, only more so.
Pointless as the majority may seem, it's nothing less than the evolution of print media, simply because it's given momentum to the tiny literary particles that may only have barely existed before.
posted by dong_resin at 11:36 PM on February 18, 2002

My god! I've been living in a fishbowl this whole time!

That explains the plastic castle and frogman at least.
posted by Kafkaesque at 10:00 AM on February 19, 2002

I agree with insomnia.

It isn't the growing amount of weblogs that are disturbing. It's the growing amount of articles, essays and postings that claim they are.

If you can't be bothered with X writing about Y, then don't read it. Easy.
posted by sans at 10:08 AM on February 19, 2002

Kafkaesque, please keep your sex life directed to appropriate threads, like the Miss. Cleo one.
posted by dong_resin at 1:18 PM on February 19, 2002