Comments on: Is blogging arrogant? http://natalieshell.com/2005/10/29/is-blogging-arrogant/ small bites to think talk & walk Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:45:21 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Anthony http://natalieshell.com/2005/10/29/is-blogging-arrogant/#comment-42 Anthony Sat, 29 Oct 2005 04:43:09 +0000 http://natalieshell.com/2005/10/29/is-blogging-arrogant/#comment-42 You might find Sherry Turkle interesting. First an interview, then her research group's web site: * http://web.mit.edu/sturkle/www/nytimes.html * http://web.mit.edu/sturkle/techself/ Blogs distress me somewhat because of their consolidating tendency. Information (posts and comments) are consolidated in one place under one user's name. One is encouraged by the meritocracy and ownership structure of the blogosphere to horde good ideas on one's own blog rather than comment on another's. I read a stat somewhere or another recently that the post-to-comment ratio is on the order of 100-to-1 (meaning for every comment the typical blogger makes on another's blog, they make/receive 100 posts and comments to their own; may be an overestimate, but clearly there's a skew). Not to say all blogs or bloggers behave in this manner, but the structure encourages it. I grew up on USENET, where information was filed under a special interest group rather than a person's name. Everyone's comments had equal place in the group. Unfortunately, that setup encouraged excessive posting to drown out others' contrary opinions (flame wars). Frankly, I have yet to see an online information exchange technology which doesn't suffer from some serious shortcoming or another. Nevertheless, certain USENET groups populated by engaged, caring people worked very well. I think the same people could have used blogs, or wikis, or whatever to the same effect. As with so many things, it's more about the people than the facilitating gadgets. If anything's arrogant it's the person behind the blog, not the act of blogging itself. And who would ever say you're arrogant, Nat? You might find Sherry Turkle interesting. First an interview, then her research group’s web site:

* http://web.mit.edu/sturkle/www/nytimes.html
* http://web.mit.edu/sturkle/techself/

Blogs distress me somewhat because of their consolidating tendency. Information (posts and comments) are consolidated in one place under one user’s name. One is encouraged by the meritocracy and ownership structure of the blogosphere to horde good ideas on one’s own blog rather than comment on another’s. I read a stat somewhere or another recently that the post-to-comment ratio is on the order of 100-to-1 (meaning for every comment the typical blogger makes on another’s blog, they make/receive 100 posts and comments to their own; may be an overestimate, but clearly there’s a skew). Not to say all blogs or bloggers behave in this manner, but the structure encourages it.

I grew up on USENET, where information was filed under a special interest group rather than a person’s name. Everyone’s comments had equal place in the group. Unfortunately, that setup encouraged excessive posting to drown out others’ contrary opinions (flame wars).

Frankly, I have yet to see an online information exchange technology which doesn’t suffer from some serious shortcoming or another. Nevertheless, certain USENET groups populated by engaged, caring people worked very well. I think the same people could have used blogs, or wikis, or whatever to the same effect. As with so many things, it’s more about the people than the facilitating gadgets. If anything’s arrogant it’s the person behind the blog, not the act of blogging itself. And who would ever say you’re arrogant, Nat?

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