Blogging is good for your health? [via] Despite all the open hatred and backlash against online journaling (not to mention an infamous study indicating that diary-keeping could be bad for your health), there may be actual merit to telling someone that they should get their own (damn) blog!
posted by Lush on Mar 13, 2005 - 4 comments

Why Girls are Weird. In the ongoing debate of weblogs versus online journals, one journal-writer just hit a major milestone: bestselling fiction. Pamela Ribon, also a recapper for Television Without Pity, attracted recent attention when she asked her readers to support the Oakland Public Library, and they responded in record numbers. Those online fans are now responding again. Ribon released her first novel, Why Girls Are Weird, on July 1st, and her Amazon Sales Rank has shot up to 212 on some days, beating out other best-sellers for sales. Pretty amazing feat, considering the book was still in pre-sales and has yet to have publicity outside of her own web presence. The story, a fictional account of a woman who creates an online journal only to find fame, fortune and romance, is loosely based on Ribon's own experiences at pamie.com. In fact, sections of the book are from her former archives. So, will history repeat itself? How many of you are planning to try and publish your archives?
posted by astruc on Jul 2, 2003 - 26 comments

Pamie returns! In an update to this old thread, Pamela Ribon is once again writing online. As some may know, Pamela's original site was named Squishy (a.k.a. Pamie's Panties), and it was part of the first generation of online journals.
posted by gd779 on Nov 26, 2002 - 5 comments

When academics rebel. A group of economists is attempting to redraw the landscape of academic research publication by injecting new electronic peer reviewed journals into the marketplace. Electronic publication of research certainly has its merits at times. Case in point: Because of the pressing medical importance of analyses of the recent anthrax cases, JAMA has published the results of two studies (one of patients who survived and one of those who did not) online in advance of the print publication in order to inform health care professionals as soon as possible. Do situations like this argue in favor of a change in the way that research is conducted and/or reported?
posted by iceberg273 on Nov 15, 2001 - 14 comments