What’s a Blog?
Legend has it that Peter Merholz coined the word “blog” when he published a side note to his website in the spring of 1999. “I’ve decided to pronounce the word ‘weblog’ as ‘wee-blog.’ Or ‘blog’ for short.” Today the word blog is in the Oxford English Dictionary. ~ From “Who Let the Blogs Out” by Biz Stone
I’m still trying to explain what a blog is to the people in my life.
To my mother who doesn’t own a computer:
Me: (over the phone) Ma, if you picked up a magazine and saw an article titled “Where I’m From” by Colleen Redman, you’d gladly read it, right? Well, a blog is the same thing, only you read it on the computer. You’d be surprised how many people get their information from computers today.
She: (still confused) “I really like that “Where I’m From” poem you wrote and sent to us.”
To the Floyd librarian, as I’m checking out a book called “Who Let the Blogs Out.”
She: Have you ever read a blog?
Me: (laugh) Yes, I have one.
She: (surprised) Isn’t it tedious? There are so many.
Me: You find the ones that interest you. For example, mine’s a writer’s journal, so other writers might find it interesting… You would probably like Fred’s, Doug’s, or mine because we often write about Floyd.
Driving home I continue to explain blogs to the librarian (and even to myself), ruminating the subject over in my mind:
Me: (knowing she’s a gardener) If you pick up a gardening magazine, you’ll get your standard gardening articles. You’ll browse through and find one that’s relevant to you. And what if, after you read it, you could instantly ask the author questions? If it was written on a blog, you could do that. A good gardening blog might offer knowledge and advice, along with insight into the author and some background information, all presented in a personal way. You could share resources and gardening links and look at posted photos of end results. Before you know it, you could be communicating with a whole community of gardeners from all over the country or even the world.
When I was researching new studies and treatments for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I got the best information from message boards. I went directly to the source, the people who have CFS. Not only did they offer me support and cutting edge information, they knew who the best doctors were, what worked and what didn’t. The message board people had no vested interests to protect, and so shared information freely and without motive. Bloggers are free agents as well. Biz Stone, the author of the library book I checked out, rightly calls blogging “peer to peer publishing.” A blog is a writer’s publication that cuts out the middle men.
Me: (still explaining) Now replace the word gardening with anything else you might be interested in, home schooling, sports, technology, art, at home mothering…you name it. Type the word of your interest and the word “blog” into a search engine and see what you can find.
Post to note: “Blog” might be in the dictionary now, but my spell check hasn’t heard the news.
May 7th, 2005 10:10 am
Another great Blog post!! I think your explanation is perfect. Did Mom finally get it??
May 7th, 2005 3:20 pm
I thought I heard it made the dictionary but haven;t seen it yet in the book.
May 7th, 2005 5:07 pm
G’day Colleen,
I agree, it is hard to explain to people what a blog is but your explanation was spot on. I have had the pleasure of visitng via Michele”s M&G, have a great weekend.
May 7th, 2005 10:13 pm
I’m still trying to explain a computer to my mother so blog is out of the question. I’ve explained it to my friends. They understand what it is, they just don’t understand why it is. You either get and love it or “why bother?”
May 8th, 2005 9:51 am
My mother has a computer, so I can NEVER teach her what a blog is… ignorance is bliss! 😉
May 8th, 2005 10:37 am
I agree, unless you’re in it, it’s a difficult thing to explain. I love to read, my husband doesn’t and doesn’t understand my fascination. He considers it a waste of time. I’ve given up trying to explain it. Great post!
May 8th, 2005 7:25 pm
Yes, navigating some across that experience gap can be tricky. We tried to explain digital camera to my aunt who had gathered that pictures go onto the camera but can only come off onto a computer screen. She doesn’t really distinguish between internet and TV or how somone else would see what you’re seeing on the computer screen or how they would get to access the same pictures. She seemed to get alarmed when we took the memory card out to show her what the pictures were on that we could take for photo developing. She was afraid we’d ruined the film.
May 8th, 2005 7:28 pm
But I suppose when you have a familiar technology there are unspoken understandings. For instance, I have seen the winnowing thing and heard of wheat and chaff but never connected it to there being no mill or to a mortal and pestal and worked out the steps of what each was for except in the vaguest of ways. First hand experience makes things meaningful. Anyway, talked entirely too long, I have. Hope you had a fab mother’s day.