…and gets burned.
Blogs are becoming more and more mainstream and it`s no wonder that the newspapers are catching on. We`ve seen multiple articles about the mighty blog but the recent one, published in the slovene edition of PLAYBOY takes the cake. At least the rotten piece.
First, the good stuff. The article stretches on three pages, illuminating the world of blogs. It does mention Blogger, Si.blogs site, Carniola and the all mighty Rozina. It compiles knowledge from previous articles on blogs, from Monitor and RTV SLO and it even describes how to start blogging the simplest way possible. So far, so good.
However…
there is ample bad stuff.
First off, the author misspelles the URL of Carniola. Twice. Not every blog ends with .SI suffix. Secondly, the article composes several thoughts from bloggers, as if the author actually interviewed them. This is the famous Pečenko vs. Beebee conflict. Thirdly, the author misinterprets blogs as identity creators (a very common mistake through-out the world). Fourthly, it does not mention the legal issues of blogs (privacy, authorisation and freedom of speech vs. hate speech). Fifthly, the author says “We are close of reaching the 50 million blog mark worldwide” which is an overstatement. Right now, Technorati tracks 36.9 million blogs and with the current reproduction ratio of the blogosphere (doubling in 5 months) it`ll take at least three more months to get that number. So, technical, it`s a lie.
The bottom line is Playboy published an article that brings focus to blogs but then distorts the view by publishing flops like mentioned above. Do blogs really need that kind of publicity?
(Thanks to Aleš for bringing the article to my attention)
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Update: I wrote a letter to the slovene edition of Playboy. We`ll see their response.
It would’ve been better if it was miswritten as carniola.net or carniola.com, as both of those actually lead somewhere. (nothing exciting, unfortunately)
I haven’t seen the article yet. It’s too bad it’s not available online. Where’s BeeBee with her copyright-violating scanner when you need her?
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Ah, I need to respond to this one. Zealotry, like our dearest cookie’s when it comes to blogging, always pisses me off.
True, the article is not much, but it really does not provide false information, as your criticism explicitly states. Let’s check the points you’re making, one by one.
First, misspelling: sad, but it happens. Being a journalism student, I suppose one day you too will see the rush of a day before the printing deadline.
I would agree on the second point, but only if it’s the author really stated these thoughts as if they were expressed in an interview. However, they were explicitly quoted from another source (a blog): I believe mine is among them as well and the source of it, my blog, is explicitly stated below it! In this case, I do not see that as a problem! The others (as the author states in his reply, Oliver, Crni and Ambro) were supposedly contacted by the author and their lines were actually given in answer to the author’s questions.
Thirdly, interpreting a blog as an identity creator is not a misinterpretation. Your blog can be (almost) anything you want it to! Including (and this often is the case!) an identity creator. Blogs are much more than just another journalistic medium. Do acknowledge that, for fuck’s sake!
Regarding your fourth point: no, it doesn’t mention these topics. So what?! You could use a book, or two, or three, to write everything there is to write about blogging, spanning from technical issues to political and ethic implications. Once again, as a journalist-to-be, you’ll get a lot of make it five thousand characters long! instructions from your editor when your are assigned an article. And if you come up with a longer one, you’ll have to shorten it. If you won’t, the editor will, and if you will not allow it, the article will not be published. Hence: no bread for you, my dear cookie!
Regarding the fifth point: so, the true number of blogs is what technorati tracks?! This is equivalent to saying that the true number of people living in the world is the one we get by counting all the social security numbers… Believe me, as I am quite proficient with how things work on computer networks, that this is not the case: I believe that technorati’s count is certainly below 50% of the total count of everything that can be labeled as a blog. The exact number is impossible to determine due to (a) the inherent dynamicity of the web, and (b) poor definition of what constitutes a blog. So, technically, any number written there would be a lie. I think 50 million might acutally not be a bad estimate.
Finally, answering the question that you conclude with: yes! Any publicity is good publicity. You’ll learn that one too, eventually!
Disclaimer: even though I am… khm… romantically (and carnally) affiliated with the executive editor (michael, what’s the feminine form? editoress? 😉 ) of the said magazine, the purpose of this comment is not to defend the magazine or the article or its author. I also had nothing to do with the article’s creation. However, I severely dislike the fact that cookie wants to stuff something as playful, dynamic and diverse as blogging into a tight little box: it simply won’t do! Regarding the article: if anyone asked me, I’d never publish it anyway: I’d opt for a few more pages of nude ladies.