I wonder – if weeks pass when you can’t think of anything to write on your site, if you have months where the most pleasant thing you can imagine is looking at the sky, if you’re vaguely content, but time seems to pass at a tremendous rate and nothing seems to happen. Does all this mean that you’re really living your life to the full?
So Nokia have declared the practice of warchalking to be a “simply stealing” according to an article at the BBC: Wireless hitchhikers branded as thieves. I’m beginning to feel quite a lot of sympathy for Matt Jones on this one – as time passes, it’s increasingly clear that he’s the figurehead of the ‘movement’ whether he likes it or not. And the mainstream media is more often than not mischaracterising the issue at hand, scaremongering to put it bluntly, making it seem like the action of insane terrorist cracker types, rather than community-minded liberals.
A brief thanks to the crew at onlineblog for letting me know that the Guardian Best British Blog Award is to be announced this time next week…
Mac-users and weblog enthusiasts have generally been pretty stunned by how neat and useful NetNewsWire Lite is at keeping them up to date with what’s going on around the web. It’s like a combined update list and weblog reader that sits on your desktop and fills everything with light and wonder. (Of course there’s a huge battle going on behind the scenes about the future of the RSS format, but we’ll pass swiftly over that.) Recently, there’s been talk of a Pro version of the software that you’d have to pay for, and to be honest I’ve been suspicious – it’s such a nice elegant little application – it doesn’t feel like anything is missing from it at all… But having seen this list of pro features I’m drooling… Weblog editing, filters, different views… Mmmmm….
First we had The Weblog Handbook
, then We’ve Got Blog
, then We Blog (all of which I’ve read or am reading). Then there’s the O’Reilly Essential Blogging, which I haven’t read yet – and now Blogging by Biz Stone and Blog on by Todd Stauffer. Is there really a market for all of them? So far, I’m embarrassed to confess, the one I’ve enjoyed most has been Rebecca Blood’s Weblog Handbook, which actually managed to remind me what it was that drew me to weblogs in the first place. Personal and engaging with a clear and almost kindly voice… Much recommended for beginners, and worth reading for those of us who’ve been around the block a few times…
“And it’s finally official: Meg and Paul are getting married! This is of course genius news about two friends of mine that I think are wonderful and totally adore. It’s enough to inspire you with hope and cheery feelings way in excess of anything generated merely with amphetamines and alcohol. Good on you kids…”
“it’s also an event that will resonate through Blogdom, whether they like it or not (and they damn better bloody like it because I can’t stop shouting about it everywhere I go). I’ve already put in two or three begging calls to be official reporter for blogdom – but don’t expect pictures, because I think they’re going to Hello! magazine. I remain concerned that I might be called to play the role of (old) maid of honour or bridesmaid – but I take heart in the possibility that Davo may have to return to England to stand beside me in a crimplene frock.”
“But at this time of happy wonderings, ladies and gentlemen, let us not forget those who have been laxer about their nuptials. While Meg and Paul’s news warms the cockles of all our hearts, will now a world full of expectant webloggers now turn their wiggling eyebrows and pointed expressions San Francisco-wards?”
“This is Tom Coates, reporting live from Los Angeles for the Weblog Entertainment Network…”
So last night, while as glued to Forever Young as you legitimately can be, I had a long involved AIM-conversation with Ian Betteridge about whether or not iCal is a meatspace blogging tool. His argument was that the sharing of information about oneself freely on the web constituted weblog-like behaviour. But I maintain that the publishing of calendars is a very distinct creature, as separate from weblogs as a project plan is from a teenage confessional…
So the question of the moment is Are Weblogs Sexist? It’s a stunningly weird thing to argue for such a medium – where anyone can have their say and link to whatever and whomever they wish. But I suppose it’s possible to argue that the community favours, and tends to link to, posts by men – although I think it’s untrue. Someone in the same thread argues that gay webloggers are also almost invisible, but that goes directly against my personal experience, so I find it difficult to take seriously. In fact, in a discussion with Cal a while back, the suggestion was mooted that gay men particularly might be over-represented in our little community – particularly in the UK. My personal feeling is that this again is unfounded, and that it’s merely our ability to be open and visible that makes us so evident. However, if you’re really looking for a lesson to learn from all of this, then could I suggest is that we should all keep aware of how easy it is to be parochial when you’re writing about your life. Something that’s comprehensible to the widest amount of people will probably also be more interesting for them.
I don’t know if this is going to have the same impact for people who haven’t gone through it, or worried about going through it, as it has for those of us who have. But if you want a fairly accurate picture of what coming out to a parent feels like for most people, then this excerpt from a BBC TV Series ‘Diners’ will provide it. The important things to notice here are Paul’s nerves and vague mishandling of the process (he’s clearly sheepish and embarrassed), the heartfelt emotion by his mother and finally his look of confusion and worry – he’s just plain scared – at the end… It’s not hardcore, it’s not violent – it’s two people in a restaurant talking. But it’s still difficult and upsetting viewing…
Odd link of the day – Daypop is out of action at the moment – it turns out it was out of disk space. But while it’s being fixed, it turns out you can visit the archives to find out what were the most blogged-about sites from any day in the last several months. On my thirtieth birthday, for example, the daypop top 40 was obsessed with Amazon Light, the relaunched iPod and the damn Guardian Best British Blog competition. In the meantime Blogdex is mostly still up and running if you’re still suffering Daypop-withdrawal.
