rebecca's pocket

Bloggers on Blogging: Not Martha

I'm pleased to introduce the latest in my series Bloggers on Blogging: Megan Reardon, better known to most people as Not Martha. We talk about crafting, fear of writing, frustrating photography, and the many uses of blogging.

What appealed to me in general was the personal voice of blogs at that time. They were like zines, but they made sense. And they were like being allowed to read someone's diary. At that time in my life I was discovering the post-college lack of meaningful communication with others, and weblogs as they were being written filled in where intimate conversations had been diminishing.

 / (0) Comments  / [ 04/28/06 ]

Smithsonian Museum Blog: Eye Level

Eye Level is a blog produced by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. "Using the museum’s collection as a touchstone, the conversation at Eye Level will be dedicated to American art and the ways in which the nation’s art reflects its history and culture." / (0) Comments  / [ 04/12/06 ]

Superpatron: Library patron blog

As you know, thanks to the library bookmarklet, I've fallen in love with libraries in the last year (and saved a ton of money on books!). So I was interested to find Superpatron, which calls itself "a weblog for library patrons who love their libraries, who take advantage of everything they have to offer, and are always on the lookout for great ideas from libraries around the world. It's like Friends of the Library for the net." / (0) Comments  / [ 04/06/06 ]

~C4Chaos Interviews me

In a turn of the table, ~C4Chaos has just published an email interview with me. We talk about everything from how I got into blogging, the many ways blogging has affected me, and my philosophy of life. It's part of his very interesting B-SCAN series, "a series of interviews with bloggers... are 'consciously' aware of the impact of blogging on self, culture, and nature, "integrally informed" or otherwise." / (0) Comments  / [ 04/06/06 ]

On Political Blogging

What Does it Mean to be 'Political'?

The words "politics" and "political" have been so degraded and defiled that maybe it's just as well Beebo doesn't want to call us "political" but, in my opinion, we are all political writers. Indeed every act of personal reflection (however minute) followed by the public speech act of opining to the universe is a political act. It is why freedom of speech is so fundamental (and so frightening to the fascists).

Amen. / (0) Comments  / [ 03/30/06 ]

Certes, I oghte to get outte more

All right, you English nerds: Geoffrey Chaucer hath a blog. I can almost read this. (via rw) / (3) Comments  / [ 03/29/06 ]

News-blog survey

Alastair Chivers is a fourth year student at Robert Gordon University in Scotland who is looking for respondents for his survey for creators and readers of journalistic weblogs, that is, blogs that primarily link to news articles. If you are reading this site, that is you.  [ 03/29/06 ]

It's all so Meta-tastic

Scott Rosenberg responds to Monday's post The Real Threat of Blogging. I was not clear in that post about what I thought Rosenberg got wrong (his characterization of the evening's tenor). In fact, I agree with most of his thinking in that post and in today's. I've tried to clarify my own position in comments to his post today. / (0) Comments  / [ 03/22/06 ]

10 Tips for Corporate Blogging

When I met Jeremiah Owyang last August, his company didn't have a blog, nor did they want one. Thanks to his efforts, 6 months later they did. He has put together an outstanding and very practical 10 Tips for Becoming a Corporate Blog Evangelist. If you're interested in convincing your organization to start a blog, print this out and pin it to the wall of your cubicle. And then add Jeremiah to your daily rotation. His blog is full of insight and practical advice on the emerging field of corporate blogging. / (1) Comments  / [ 03/21/06 ]

The real threat of blogging

Salon's Scott Rosenberg recently attended a Berkeley CyberSalon on the topic of elitism in media and blogging and came away with the feeling that it was a rehash of the tired blogging vs. journalism argument that has been going on since 2003. But I think he has it wrong.

The dichotomy in the argument he describes isn't "blogs vs journalism". The unspoken premise underlying this argument is that books and articles are published commercially because they represent the best writing that is available. But that's not the way the publishing business works.

Publishers are interested in printing books and articles they can sell, nothing more, nothing less. When publishers evaluate a book proposal, they don't ask if the work is true or original or insightful or well-written. First and foremost, they ask themselves if they can sell it. If they don't think they can, they pass. If they believe there is a market and that they can effectively market the work, they buy it.

Magazine editors pass on well-written articles that don't fit with the focus of their publication. Editorial boards pass on well-written book manuscripts in genres they believe they cannot sell. Conversely, there are a lot of marginally-to-poorly written books on the shelves (The DaVinci Code, The Left Behind series, some genre fiction all come to mind). The Weekly World News is not noted for its superb journalism, but it apparently sells well enough to maintain a stable of advertisers.

So that's the false dichotomy. Blogs are threatening to a certain type of writer not because they allow mediocre writing to flourish — the commercial market already does that. They are threatening because they unequivocally demonstrate that commercial publishing does not necessarily represent the best writing that is available. / (12) Comments  / [ 03/20/06 ]

How To Save the World Reading List

The How To Save The World Reading List (July 2004) is Dave Pollard's list of 56 books and articles that "forever changed my worldview, and my purpose for living." Update: April 14, 2006. Here's an updated list containing 80 books and articles. / (1) Comments  / [ 03/15/06 ]

Schneier in DaVinci Code

In reading the DaVinci Code, I was pleased to see cryptology expert and fellow blogger Bruce Schneier name-checked on page 199 (though some think in an entirely superficial way.)  [ 03/03/06 ]

Coolest. Blogroll. Ever.

I just found this page in my referrers, and it's still true: Coolest. Blogroll. Ever. / (0) Comments  / [ 02/16/06 ]

four things

Dave, you rascal.

Four Jobs I’ve Had

1. Boat builder's assistant.
2. Actress.
3. Administrative Director for a non-profit media arts center.
4. Nanny.

Four movies I can watch over and over

1. The Iron Giant
2. The Fellowship of the Ring
3. Persuasion
4. The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Four TV Shows I Love to Watch
(I don't watch very much TV.)

1. Arrested Development
2. Battlestar Galactica.
3. 1940s House. (At least, I did love it at the time.)
4. ummmm....

Four Places I’ve Been on Vacation

1. Kyoto, Japan.
2. Sydney, Australia.
3. Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
4. Black Rock City, Nevada.

Four Favorite Dishes

1. Brown Rice Risotto.
2. Red Beans and Rice.
3. Beet Borscht with Sour Corn Rye Bread.
4. Vegetarian Cassoulet.

Four Websites I Visit Daily

1. Google
2. Dangerousmeta
3. 43 Folders
4. Cool Tools

Four Places I’d Rather Be

1. Seattle.
2. Ohio.
3. Victoria.
4. With my husband.

Four Bloggers I’m Tagging

1. Jessamyn West (or here?)
2. Jesse James Garrett
3. Jorn Barger (or here?)
4. J'Alan Nelson

There are no books on this list. Why is there no reading on this list?

Four Books I Recommend

1. 1491, Charles Mann
2. The Red Tent, Anita Diamant
3. The Thurber Album, James Thurber
4. Perfection Salad, Laura Shapiro

 / (0) Comments  / [ 02/13/06 ]