Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Blog This

There was a lot of discussion about this yesterday, and I wanted to bring it back to the top.

I am not a blog Nazi. Really, I'm not.

Zeig Heil.


Oops, that just slipped out. I don't know what it mean, really, its just part of….a song…yeah… a folk song.

The question comes down to what we want to do with this blog. What is its purpose? I created the blog after much discussion of us, as a group, pulling our creative energies into something tangible. We talked about creating a webzine of some sort, but were unsure if we could ever pull it off.

The blog, then, was started as a sort of stepping stone. It was a trial, if you will, to see if we could all actually post to something other than e-mail. To see if we were able to come up with creative stories, reviews, discussions and post them regularly.

To me, this has always been the purpose of the blog. I have tried to shape it into something resembling a webzine, or at least the more professional type blogs. Going with this idea there is a certain type of style, and content that belongs in the blog, and certain things that do not. We should spell our words correctly, and use a fair amount of proper grammar. Spacing out paragraphs makes the blog easier to read.

Creating content that is interesting is also a key factor. The discussion about not adding personal content isn't a matter of security. Certainly no one should include their social security number, home phone line, and the like to the blog. There are plenty of weirdos out there who would abuse this information.

But, what I am talking about has to do with the more mundane tid bits of information that, as friends, we pass along to each other. Posts that briefly discuss our weekend plans, or only pass along information about how we are doing, in my opinion, don't belong on the blog.

That's not to say personal stories are a total no no. I think the key is making it interesting. There is no reason to post that you bought some new socks over the weekend. However, if transvestite midget tried to steal those socks on the way out of the store, that should get posted.

Jamison was correct in that a good picture, makes a boring blog much more interesting.

I'm not griping at anyone in particular. We have all posted things, that under these guidelines, shouldn't be posted. What I am saying, is that in the future, I would prefer us to make the blog move more towards a webzine, than just clearing out our inboxes.

Look, I'm not a nazi. I'm not going to take anyone's posting privileges away if they post boring junk. I'm not going to send nasty e-mails when you post something about your weekend, even if it is boring. I'll even back down completely if we decide, as a group, that we don't care to make this "professional" and continue to add "personal" stuff.

20 comments:

JS said...

well put Brew...
Why dont we just try to take a few extra minutes when we blog to make sure things are spelled right, that it is spaced in such a way that is easy to read, then re-read it and say "Would I find this interesting if I was reading it from someone else"... if you answer YES, then ask yourself "Would this be better suited for an email or a blog?"

Our latest emails about college sports should have been a blog, but such is life...

bigsip said...

I can go either way. I love just discussing and sharing. But, if we do want to "professionalize" the blog, we need to all have a meeting and decide just what it is we're gonna do. Again, I don't think blogspot is a place for anything pro. If we're really gonna do pro, we need to get our own domain and site and really commit to making something pro.

mullinz8 said...

Brew I hear you loud and clear.

I know that your into the world of blogs and that’s wonderful.

Speaking for myself only, I’m into our groups various blogs simply because I want to hear what’s gong on in our world. I’m happy to know that Diana had a nice weekend. One collection of shared thoughts that might not be very important to you might cause a 20 plus blog posting for the rest of us.

Importance is subjective. I’ve been to DC but I wanted to hear about Jamison being bored because he was being force feed information. I like Dr. Katz but I’m not a junkie. I like a good book or movie but I sure as the world don’t have time to read and watch what you do. It’s not in me to review things like you do so well.

To me the little information may not be changing my world in one fail swoop but over time I gain a better understanding for everyone who contributes to this blog.

I had no idea until it came up that Ra was a web design geek. I love to hear that Di has passed some test because it was very important to her. Jules getting the head teller spot isn’t really important to the collective us but it’s important to her. Where Luke dumps is not a great concern to me but I love the story because I have common experiences and it’s funny to get other people take on a situation.

When you were in France I suggested that you tell us everything you’ve done that day because it’s something unique to you and only you.

Maybe I’m coming at this from the wrong perspective. I will not say that we have “weak” posts because we all post because we are trying to inform or entertain our friends but some are better than others as far as the conversation they bring.

Formatting and spelling are things that should be considered. I write all my posts in Word and F7 for spelling and such before I cut and paste into the blog.

Content is completely subjective. Just like TV, Music, Sports, faith, politics, tastes, food, and everything else.

I say post what you feel like. Because someone might get a wonderful something from someone else’s something simple.

JS said...

actually, ive seen many blogs that are done in a proffesional way and there are awards and junk for good blogs out there... heck, take a look at brews blog... it is pure art!

Mat Brewster said...

Real quick, before I have to go to work. I love hearing the personal stuff too. It's just a question of where do I want to hear it.

I don't mean to bring anyone down for telling us about you. I'm glad to hear about Dianas life, Rachels kids, and Jules upgrade. I'm just starting to ask should that information go towards a public blog, or be sent in private e-mail.

Rachels potty post was perfect for the blog. It was interesting, and funny.

My telling everyone that Amy passed her test was neither, and should have been e-mailed.

I sitll say we should keep blogspot for awhile. It can look professional and its free. Sure we're not going to make any money from it, or really get huge, but that's not my purpose at this point.

mullinz8 said...

I'm happy to not have a million emails frankly.

I know Scripps talks random walks through people computers from time to time and I've cut anything personal out of all my work email. My offshore email account is something that I don't want filled up with anything but work and personal stuff.

bigsip said...

OK, so far we seem to have a general consensus that we can blog what we like, within reason. Is that what I'm reading?

tnmommieof2 said...

my two cents is this....i love keeping up with the blog, even though i don't post that often. it actually makes me feel closer to you guys to know what's going on
in your day-to-day lives.

i don't see the real difference in whether it's an email or blog. although i find the blog format easier to read. all i know is i enjoy hearing from you guys and however i accomplish that is good for me.

bigsip said...

Mullins, I hope you don't mind me saying this.

I love you Julianna!

I would blog a thousand of Luke's potty adventures and my wife's internet pursuits and my literary failures for you, girl!

I think we should keep blogging our lives. I'm with Mrs. Mullins.

JS said...

im for maybe 20% personal, 80% stuff that would interest others... i dunno, i like the idea of this being more than an email replacement... but dont label me a bad guy or anything.

i think if a post could combine personal and a 'blog-worthy' post it would be sheer perfection in my book.

bigsip said...

yeah...i can feel you both on this one...i think we should all blog what we want to blog, but blog it well.

if we all take our time and concentrate on blogging beautifully, i think it will help.

i do love being able to keep up with everyone's goings on...of course, twould be nice if we got a little more traffic from Mr. Stubbs and Mr. McCown!

HELLO!??!?!?!?

Diana said...

I like using the blog as an email substitute but if we are going to change that then we need to all decide. This is a much better way to communicate than email because it's a lot quicker. And besides, some of us have more interesting/intelligent things to talk about than others. I don't want to be unincluded because I don't have anything to write besides what happened in school.

I'm with Mullins, we should post whatever we feel like posting. And I agree with Julianna, what does it matter? I mean if we want to create something professional why we don’t do another blog.

And something that's important to me may be different to you. I have no life recently so having ALL DAY off on Saturday is a big deal to me. And if you don’t want to read about then don’t.

I’m not mad, I’m just saying.

bigsip said...

I thought your post was ok. I didn't really have much to say in response, but that post spurred another post and brought out all kinds of comments and stuff!

I think everyone contributes. It's one thing to post something that is pretty much saying "I'm doing well" but you were telling a story. Let's keep telling our stories, folks!

I really like the fact that we keep up with each other this way! It's fun!

If we're gonna do something bigger, we shouldn't do it here anyway. This, to me, was just a way to see if we could all (or at least most of us) could keep a running dialogue and "produce" sosmething. I think we've proven we can do that in this environment.

If we're going to do something more professional, let's all figure out what it'll be and go for it.

We can still use the blog for communication on a personal level and use it to pass at least some pro info, too.

So, what's it gonna be?

Diana said...

I agree with Big Bro Sip.

mullinz8 said...

Yeah Di's posting was fun and it was a catlist for a mega posting.

If we want professional stuff I honestly think Brew, who knows us pretty well, should give us each a topic. I think you shold do this Brew because I think you have a vision for a different blog than what this one has become.

I think an assignment would be benificial because it gives us focus and a goal. We're all posting on this in the middle of some form of working or schooling and killing time with it. This means that we're not focusing on a task which means that we've got no motivation to do this with our own free will.

Professionals need a goal or outcome to strive for. All of our individual thougths are (I know this is not going to sound right, forgive me) not good enough so we need guidance.

Sipper I’m glad you love my wife just don’t ever try and show her…

Jamison I agree, this is FAR MORE than a substitution for email.

Mat Brewster said...

Alright, I'm done. I'm not sure how or why e-mailing is more difficult than blogging, but apparently it is.

So we can continue with what we're doing, and I'll just get over it.

Honestly, at this point in time I have no desire to do an additional site. I've got too many other things going to even attempt keeping up with assignments. I don't have the knowledge or the inclination to try to design any site either.

If someone wants to create a site and get everything going, please do. I will happily submit movie reviews and the like.

I'm not upset or anything about it, this is what the group wants and that is ok with me.

bigsip said...

Your wish is my command!

Diana said...

For me, blogging is better than email because I have dial up and it takes forever to check 100 emails in one day. Now that we do it all on the blog it takes much less time. I can view everything everyone's written about a subject in one click.

tnmommieof2 said...

ditto for me di...

Mat Brewster said...

That makes since, Diana. The old web mail dial up routine. I know how slow that can be.

Again, no offense to anyone intended. And I'm in no way upset.