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Scott Rosenberg on blogging
September 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Lots of us are blogging these days, and many of us are not certain why we are doing it. Scott Rosenberg spoke at the last Left Coast Writers Literary Salon from his new book, Say Everything, about the history of blogging (which is ten years old, in its current form!). Reviewers call the book “elegantly accessible” and “certain to be a classic.”
Scott also provided some insight into the future of blogging. Here are some of my notes from his talk:
One of the reasons blogging is important is because writing in public—blogging—helps us develop ideas. [Blogging is a particularly good medium for that because of its immediacy and democracy.]
What defines a blog?
Generally, it’s 1) personal, it 2) has lots of outbound links, and 3) the latest post is on “top.” (No interminable internal editorial meetings to determine which story will be the lead.)
Is blogging going to go away?
No.
Is it going to change?
Blogging has stabilized; future blogging will probably be a lot more like blogging today than we think.
Can you trust bloggers?
Yes and no. Authority and integrity on the web are determined more by who links in to you than by your institutional brand.
Can bloggers “monetize” their work?
Not very well; there are plenty of people writing “well enough.”
How can we (as an industry and a society) give appropriate credit to the original author of a story or article?
Good question. That’s one of the big challenges inherent in using a medium that makes sharing so easy, and one of the “big questions” about blogging. Another of the big questions is how do we pay/compensate original authors appropriately.
Scott also spoke about the Top Ten Myths of Blogging. The list is below; head on over to Scott’s website, Wordyard, to learn more.
10: Blogging isn’t journalism.
9: Blogs will kill (or replace) journalism.
8: There is a blogosphere. [In fact, there are many.]
7: The first blogger…? [A pointless question.]
6: Bloggers are narcissists.
5: You can’t trust a blogger.
4: There are too many blogs
3: Blogs are dead.
2: Blogging is trivial
1: One final myth: Sooner or later, the web will grow up, put on a suit, and stop being so rambunctious.