The concept of blogging, to me, is much like the debate over public art or graffiti: either it’s meaningless vandalism from no-hopers with an urge to scribble or paint over other people’s property, or it’s a valid form of creative expression, using public spaces as a canvas.
I tend to go with the idea, generally, that it’s vandalism by no-hopers making visual pollution — unless there’s a political statement being made, in which case, I’m all for it. Spray those banks, corporate institutions and fast-food franchises.
Blogging evokes much the same frenzied and divided debate. Is it mere scribblings on digital walls, or is it part of “new media”? Formally trained journalists and editors react quite rabidly to the idea that their standard process of getting information out can be bypassed so easily.
Try these recent examples of “official” journalism in action — for instance, the recent “apart from these mistakes we made, the story we printed was accurate” statement by The Los Angeles Times, or the ultimate headline “Five out of Five Researchers Agree: Earth’s Solar System Special!”
But blogs themselves range from the happily personal to hardcore alternative journalism. Let’s show you a view of a world that doesn’t come from the decisions made by system journalists sitting around in a corporate boardroom, deciding what makes up “the news” you’re going to hear about.
Starting off simply, here’s a blog written by someone who delights in getting free stuff from companies, as well as seriously evaluating consumer goodies. See what’s available at the Goodies Blog.
Now here’s a job concept you may not have thought of — using employees’ blogs to provide a better business experience for your customers. Look over Business Blog Consulting. Or how about a huge quantity of blogs, specifically by MBA students, at the League of MBA Weblogs?
Quick burst of politics time. Over on the barricades of French protest, there’s No Pasaran!. For a plethora of United Kingdom political blogs, browse through UK Political Blog Feeds. For a selection of more than 400 different blogs from various political viewpoints, try the Political Blog Directory.
Meanwhile, read about the homeless guy who lives mostly online and sleeps upright in a chair for a few hours every night: Meet Corey and Starbucks Nerd.
There’s a major court case unfolding in the United States over a peer-to-peer file-sharing application called Grokster. Read Hollywood Profits Versus Technological Progress. Then read a media lawyer’s blog on his day in court observing the activities: My Day with the Supremes. And for a blog dealing with a range of law-related subjects, approach the bench at Legal Theory Blog.
Take a look through a daily blog by a very articulate (and apparently rather popular) UK Prostitute. (And to see how the muttering mainstream media showed their outrage and interest, look at The Web Diary, the Book Deal and the Very Happy Hooker and I Was Branded a Call-Girl Blogger.
For more adult territory of the “is it fictional homemade porn or genuine descriptions of activities”, be warned and slide into Rentboy Diaries. Or to slip into the ambiguous world of nonstandard sexual habits (as if there are any “standard” habits to start with) try Pansexual Sodomite. And to show how intensely personal some blogs can get, read Stories I Shouldn’t Tell.
Let’s dive in and out of a few different geeks’ blogs. For instance, librarian and book geeks are a catered for at the Eliterate Librarian, or for a blog devoted to digital rights management issues, try the DRMBlog. How about a roving BBC producer’s blog: Beyond Northern Iraq? Or if marketing and advertising is your thing, there’s the varied delights of Brand Autopsy.
One of my favourite gadget-fetish semi-blog sites is this one, devoted to any and all gadgets: drool over what’s being discussed at Gizmodo. If you survive the envy generated from viewing that site, pay a visit to Engadget.
For a range of blogs covering the unfolding United States invasion of the Middle East, try a girl blog from Iraq; Baghdad Burning. And partly English, partly Arabic (scroll down for English sections), here’s a Baghdad Family Blog. Read the ongoing daily musings of a journalist in Baghdad at Back to Iraq 3.0. You might also want to see what’s being said at Americablog.
For a lefty blog, there’s Beyond Corporate. If you’re interested in keeping an eye on ecological and environmental issues, explore the world and links of TreeHugger. Out of Jerusalem comes Tal G. Or for a general Africa news blog, see Africa Pundit. Then, you may not have known about a blogger quietly working away to the north of Ethiopia: Inside Somaliland.
Got booze? How about this wine geek’s blog, exploring all you ever wanted to know about wine: Vinography. Then there’s also Wine Joe.
If you’re one of those people who believe in the “God” and “faith” concepts, there’s a thousand or more assorted blogs by various Christian bloggers to choose from at Blogs4God. Muslims get covered as well, at the cutely named Think Halal. Then there’s Hindu bloggers at Prabhupada Letters and Buddhists at Luminous Emptiness. Or how about adventures in Christian retail? Try the fascinating blog of someone who works in a Christian bookstore, the blog titled They Will Know Us by Our T-Shirts.
Things become even more complex when you move into “blogs about blogs themselves”, such as Keep Trying. If you want a huge list of online blogs by professional journalists, there’s The CyberJournalist J-Blog List. And follow the links and articles off Best of the Blogs.
Got illness? Here’s a resource to a large number of blogs dealing with assorted illnesses ranging from cancer and weight loss to general mental health, at Health Diaries. He hasn’t posted in a long time, but there are interesting archives up at this family physician’s blog called Trust Me, I’m a Doctor.
For the blogs by the original “geeks” — the computer and techno geeks — here’s a brief run-through of some of the blogs to get you started: a Mac-obsessed blog called As the Apple Turns, or for the Microsoft view of things, there’s The Scobleizer or the infinitely more geeky Channel 9.
How about a blog by the makers of a search engine? Look over the nerdy but interesting Google Blog. Web design is the focus of Asterisk, whereas all things wireless is the main thrust at Wi-Fi Networking News. And hackers are bloggers too, as can be seen at the subtly named Hack the Planet!.
If you have started to become inspired from all the daily musings available for no cost, learn some skillz at How to Write a Better Blog. And then dive right in at the Mail & Guardian Online‘s own Blogspot. (My own blog of cheerful excess is here.)
Until the next time, if old-fashioned print journalists don’t get me.
Quick picks