This is one of those decisions that I'm convinced that I will regret tomorrow. In the meantime, it is only fair to offer a plug for BlogEasy; it's free and it really is that easy. But ... The Last Refuge (Tiassa's blog). Oh, you knew it would happen eventually ... enough people have mentioned that I should that I finally did. It's amazing how much harder it turns out blogging is than this. Getting worked up at someone and firing off a few pointed or pointless lines is almost reflexive. But I'm afraid of blogging the same way I used to be afraid of my first sentence in the days when I used an electric typewriter and paper was for some reason or another scarce. :m:, Tiassa Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Quote by Tiassa: One of the problems of dwelling on the ineffable is that it's really hard to tell people what you're thinking about. I guess the shrooms are pretty potent this season yeah?Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Ok, many people talk about "blogs" nowadays. Is that what it is? An online diary? I somehow don't get it. How is it different/better than just posting whatever one wants to say on a forum for example? Do many people visit these blogs? I simply want to know what it is, what you use it for, and why it's suddenly so popular.... Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Yes, you could consider blog as an online diary. You can make your inputs either public or private, you can also form a community consisting of people of the same interests, or you can just rant about everything and nothing. It´s a form of an advanced diary, but also a nourishing soil for stalkers. edit; The sudden increase of blogging popularity goes to graphic designers. Every third artist has got their own humble blog beautified with their own graphical design. It´s a form of sophisticated ranting - nothing else.
Blogs really serve no purpose in my opinion. The only reason I have one is because the amount of coding that goes into creating an efficient blog system is impressive and I wanted to build one so I did. You can find it at http://antonk.homelinux.com/ It's nothing. It's mostly for my friends. Not all the code even works yet. The new user registration doesn't work yet and all blog comments have to be anonymous unless i've manually given you a username and password (PM me if you're really interested haha). It does help me to get my thoughts, joys, frustrations out. To know that both the ENTIRE world has access to what ive written about how i feel and to know that almost no one will ever read it. -AntonK
Blogeasy doesn't seem to be very mac-friendly though. Since I'm addicted to colours, I tried to edit the options, and that whas as a mess with text upon text...
Notes around SG-N Pretty much. It's a write-anything space. The reasons why are actually simple, for a change. - A couple of my fellow posters have encouraged me to start a blog - A few friends of mine have told me to start a blog - One friend of mine in particular, who has a poor opinion of Sciforums, wonders what my 6000+ posts would look like if I didn't stop to argue with people along the way; I have to admit that was a compelling argument. - It's free. It's relatively easy. I have no excuse not to. Tablariddim Unfortunately, I haven't the time of late for a magic ride. Soon, though. My head is feeling a little rusty. Tragenda Ain't the internet beautiful? At least we're not all gathered down on the streetcorner having a shouting match .... Spookz I'll see what I can do. Blogging may prove a long-term challenge for Google. AntonK The blogging by reporters during the Iraqi Bush Adventure was fairly weak, though the international notoriety of "Where's Raed?" seemed to do much for the blogging cause. I'm of the opinion that authors in general will find it useful to keep a blog at their website. Bebelina I think it's because it's a website. Even the freeware blogging software available online isn't particularly user-friendly in general. One of the reasons I like Sciforums is that I'm lazy; I hate tagging in general, and our format here is about as much as I can tolerate. Gotta love hex, though .... :m:, Tiassa Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
The question is though, do you really want to tell the world whatever your telling it, and have someone dig it all up five years from now to embarrass you with?
Tiassa is not the type that lets criticism get to him, i am sure. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Tiassa, i like Emma's blogs - trying to get her to take up the writing career early huh?
I've got a livejournal because I'm trendy as fuck! Check it out and leave me a comment or something. http://www.livejournal.com/users/stripthesoul/
Mac users - iBlog If you are a Mac user and you are interested in blogging, go get iBlog. I have no idea how much money I owe who yet, but I'm pretty sure the free download was legal. You can get it at Apple's site (OSX downloads, just search for it). But understand, I don't like reading instructions. I like to run software and play with it until I make it work. It didn't take me nearly as long as I thought it would, and coming soon I'll have a new stylish iBlog blog. If you have a .Mac homepage and can use it ... you can use iBlog. It's that freaking cool. Edit: Here, I'll make it easy: Apple downloads - iBlog :m:, Tiassa Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Tiassa, You have superficially answered the question, but why do you REALLY want to write a Blog? I mean 'my friends suggested I do', 'I have no excuse not to' - these aren't real reasons. Yes you have contributed a lot (!) to the forum, but that is somewhat different. It's about debate, argument, provoking thoughts - it's very much a cyber-social type of thing. A blog seems inherently narcissistic to me, but am I missing the point? Should we all take this to the next step and live docu-dramas which document every human life on digitial cameras, downloadable from the net? There are billions of humans, millions of Americans and thousands of bloggers. Now I'm not saying you're an uninteresting guy by any means, but I think you must feel you've got something to say. Why this type of outlet? Just curious.
I'll take another whack at it .... That's the point. As a writer, the internet has utterly changed what I do. Some of my best work used to be filling in gaps around information I didn't have. With the net, there's no excuse for the gap. And while computers won't replace books, I really should be writing in at least one part of my life that is not dependent on immediate audience reaction. Writing in an environment like Sciforums brings considerations into the immediate. There is less evolution of any one idea in this mode than in a more independent environment. Also, look at the way I've come to treat other posters these days. There's more people on my shit-list than ever these days, and I'm picking raging fights over small issues with people I'd probably otherwise get along with. I love you all to death, but at some point in my life I need to focus on the writing I say I'm supposed to be doing, and not the writing I'm doing just to keep myself in motion. Separating part of my work from the kind of audience I've enjoyed at Sciforums is a necessary part of that, and it would be a digression of immeasurable length to explain why I generally refuse outright leaps from one mode to another. And besides, why would I want to leave this place behind? Sciforums has immense psychological value, and I learn a tremendous amount watching people think. Artists are inherently narcissistic. Everything we do is a recitation of what we think something means. And yes, at some point life will become a docudrama, and then people will figure that part out, too. They have to go through most of it before they can figure it out. To the other, the anthropological value of that will be nothing short of indescribable for a generation afterward. I was chuckling the other day, during a network run of Star Trek: First Contact when Picard explains to ... I can't remember her name ... that money doesn't exist, and that people work to better themselves. It's still a line that brings a sarcastic grin, but can you imagine the day when humanity has the technology and wealth to make understanding what it means to be human, and understanding this wonderful Universe around us its top priorities? And hey, theorizing on the meaning of the Blog Age will provide a defense against idle hands and minds for many a university student seeking a human sciences degree. In the end, writing is what I do. It is my primary mode of communication with the world. It is the only way I know how to contribute to the world. You wouldn't want me as a doctor. Even lawyers don't like the idea of me studying law. I have to finish college before I can teach. The world is better off if I just calm down, give them pretty and pleasing art, and ask them to think about the ineffable that way. So at some point I actually have to do something about my writing. This is just the first step. Besides, with iBlog, I'm getting a better sense of the potential of these things. I admit, right now all it is to me is a soapbox. I'm also starting to get a sense that weblogs in this form are a new fad; weblogs are not in any way new. I might actually end up with a blog that includes my writing alongside that of some of my friends. And what, with a 100 mb .Mac network drive ... I don't have Slashdot ambitions or anything, but it's not entirely out of the question. However ... in addition to ego is marketing. When I (finally) write the book, get signed, whatever ... well, it has something to do with book folk, you know? If they can read my book and come to my website and read more of my words or follow development of a TV project, or maybe I'll sell a movie script ... who knows? But if you've ever listened to people sit around and talk literature, blogging has great potential for any writer. But the new internet age has left me befuddled as to wordcraft. At some point, I have to decide to figure that out. After all, Sciforums can get to be like a drug. Some of my posts cover hours of my day, and I don't even see them go by. Emma Grace has changed some of that, but more and more I think she's going to want her first computer sooner than most. And for her generation, blogging will be commonplace; hopefully, they'll find a good place for it. I think this era of expression is what my child will laugh at. :m:, Tiassa Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
And what a difference A new version of the same old: The Last Refuge. Seriously ... it was a free download. :m:, Tiassa Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
