Blogs: What Are Your Opinions?

[Zexion]

I just discovered the world of online blogging, and I find it awesome. Except for the people who don't use reason, ever. But still. It's cool. And I have made a blog (http://cynicalideals.blogspot.com/2010/10/just-because-you-have-opinion-doesnt.html).
Does anyone else have a blog here? And note: this isn't supposed to be an advertisement thread, this is supposed to be a discussion thread. So discuss!

[Haruki-kun]

I like blogs. The only problem I see in them is some people use blogspot, others livejournal, and we can't follow each other as easily.

They're a VERY good place to let out some steam in private. Or in public. Or with friends.

[Lady Moreta]

I like the idea... both as a writer, and as a place to go 'ventventvent'.

I just don't have one.

When I was wedding planning I had a 'journal' on the forum I was using for help and ideas. It was basically just another section of the forum where each thread was someone's journal. Blogging without using actual blogging software. I enjoyed that, probably more than I would using an actual Blog site. Apart from the fact that I hate the word blog, I prefer to keep my internet forums/blogs/other stuff to a minimum.

[Haruki-kun]

Apart from the fact that I hate the word blog

Obligatory xkcd link. (http://xkcd.com/428/)

[Quincunx]

I used to be dead against them. I like the forum experience and the mingling of ideas. However, for conveying and preserving lesson-like chunks of information, especially by people who otherwise don't have a good grasp of formatting nicely for the 'net, they've turned out to be a darn good idea. That sort of info would get lost in the noise of a forum. ("Excuse me, has anyone seen the link to my work-in-progress post? I can't read my own RL handwriting and I can't remember the key word I used for the post title. . .") They're still too isolated on their own and could stand to be chained together by a more proactive linking system at least within their own blog host, though.

[Katana_Geldar]

I have a gaming blog that I use partly as an opinion piece and partly as a campaign journal, but haven't updated recently as I've been sick.

[Form]

I'm entirely neutral towards blogs myself. I don't use them or read them, but they don't bother me in the least either. Fun for the people who use them I suppose.

[SaintRidley]

I have one but rarely update it. I just forget about it for long stretches of time and don't have anything neat to throw on there.

So, yeah.

[valadil]

Eh, they're just another kind of site. There are some that I love and some that I hate. I keep one of my own for gaming (see sig), coding, and personal stuff. I don't expect anyone to read them, I just like to write from time to time.


They're still too isolated on their own and could stand to be chained together by a more proactive linking system at least within their own blog host, though.

That's what social news sites are for. Check out reddit (http://reddit.com) sometime. It's kinda like a forum where you can vote up articles and blog posts you find interesting. When an article gets enough votes it gets promoted to the front page so everyone can see it. Each post on reddit gets its own comments section, so you comment with the reddit community instead of with the strangers at whatever new blog you just read.

[Nameless]

I have one. But only because one of my lecturers at uni forced us all to for one of our classes.
http://metalandmashedpotatoes.blogspot.com/

[tassaron]

I run a blog with a couple of good writers I've met on the internet, but it's self-hosted. http://www.likestoramble.com

I follow a lot of blogs like mine (debate, humour, educational, etc.), but not a whole lot on Blogspot and similar sites. I think it's those blog-hosting services that kind of give the entire practice a bit of a bad name in public, because the way the network is makes people associate them with social networking, which they really aren't. At least not for me.

This is sort of the same problem that Twitter has, where the public perceives it as Facebook status updates when the good stuff is really nothing like that...

[cdrcjsn]

I like to pair my comics with a gaming related blog entry. Sometimes I just talk about something personal related to the comic, but most of the time it's gaming related stuff.

People seem to like it. I also know that I enjoy reading other people's blogs and a few of my friends that have one makes me feel like I know them better.

[Aerodynamik]

It's funny, I just got a blog (story-blog.com) and was considering starting a thread to plug it when I saw this thread.

Anyway though, I like blogs pretty well. The deciding factor for me as to whether or not I like any particular blog is how well written it is. I'm a big fan of Chocolate Hammer for that reason.

(I'm surprised no one had mentioned that one yet.)

[Dr.Epic]

Well, if it's of the music variety I'm all for it, especially if it's a sing along.:smallbiggrin:

Seriously though, if you are going to blog you should have a clear idea and discuss topics which are creative. It is a good way to possibly get noticed.

[Thufir]

I just discovered the world of online blogging,

As opposed to all that offline blogging I keep hearing about? :smalltongue:

[Ravens_cry]

Obligatory xkcd link. (http://xkcd.com/428/)
Other obligitory xkcd link. (http://xkcd.com/635/)

[Aerodynamik]

As opposed to all that offline blogging I keep hearing about? :smalltongue:

Wouldn't an offline blog be like a journal or something?

[Ravens_cry]

Wouldn't an offline blog be like a journal or something?

Yeah, maybe even stained into very thin sheets of matted bleached cellulose with a dark pigmented fluid or soft mineral/clay mix. Wow, think of the implications! It would take no power to run and absolutely no start up time. It's only real disadvantage is it's lack of an easy search function but browsing, but there may be ways around that. For example using a longish slice of matted cellulose or any other long, thin object within convenient reach could allow one to instantly return to the place you left off. And, if you for some reason don't want it any more, it is biodegradable.
I wonder what we shall call this amazing new technology?

[Mauve Shirt]

I have a blog (http://jarofbees.net/blog). I only update it when I have a project to write about, which is rare these days.
Then there's my dream log (http://dreamlogincolor.blogspot.com), which is only updated when I remember a dream.

[Zexion]

Yeah, maybe even stained into very thin sheets of matted bleached cellulose with a dark pigmented fluid or soft mineral/clay mix. Wow, think of the implications! It would take no power to run and absolutely no start up time. It's only real disadvantage is it's lack of an easy search function but browsing, but there may be ways around that. For example using a longish slice of matted cellulose or any other long, thin object within convenient reach could allow one to instantly return to the place you left off. And, if you for some reason don't want it any more, it is biodegradable.
I wonder what we shall call this amazing new technology?
I have stolen your idea, and have copyrighted it under the name "Book." :smallbiggrin:

[Knaight]

It's only real disadvantage is it's lack of an easy search function but browsing, but there may be ways around that. For example using a longish slice of matted cellulose or any other long, thin object within convenient reach could allow one to instantly return to the place you left off.

That's not really a search function. An index is closer, even then it is less convenient. Plus, copying is a huge disadvantage, actually producing another copy of a book is a bit harder than spreading a .pdf around.

[Eldonauran]

I read too much as it is. I have no time for blogs and MORE people's opinions. :smallsmile:

[Mauve Shirt]

The biggest problem with a book is the lack of ctrl+F, if I'm trying to find a specific quote.

[Ravens_cry]

I have stolen your idea, and have copyrighted it under the name "Book." :smallbiggrin:
Curse you, I was going to make millions! What a ludicrous name too.:smalltongue:

[Mauve Shirt]

Naming it after a character from Firefly, what a typical nerd thing to do. :smalltongue:

[Ravens_cry]

Naming it after a character from Firefly, what a typical nerd thing to do. :smalltongue:
What he has to do with my Cellulose Mat Mnemonic Enhancer and Narrative Storage Device is beyond this ones ken.
Why, it would be like calling my newest invention, Temporally Segmented Frequency Fluxed Sound Modulation, 'music'. Pure rubbish!

[Neko-chan]

Well, seeing as I have one, I'd say my view on them is fairly positive. It's kind of nice to post something and get random people giving you their views from time to time. Gives you a chance to see things from another angle.

[Faceist]

Blogs are fine, it's just another arena in which to flex your writing muscles. I think they get a bad rap due to the jerky, know-it-all pedants that think writing on the internet makes them some kind of frigging pioneer; but you get people like that in all walks of life. So, uh, I guess I'm saying hate the blogger, not the blogs?

[Ceric]

I have to say that I really enjoy writing my blog. Only a few close people know about it and I intend to keep it that way :smallwink: (which sometimes makes me wonder why I don't just use a Cellulose Mat Mnemonic Enhancer and Narrative Storage Device. But I'm faster at typing than writing). Definitely its primary purpose is to let out steam (which is why I don't let most people, especially some friends, see it >> ). I also like to think the near-daily writing practice is improving my writing skills.

[factotum]

I've got no particular opinion on them, but I really hate the word itself. I agree with Yahtzee, who says that "blog" sounds like a creature that lives at the bottom of a river and communicates entirely through breaking wind... :smallwink: