BLOGGING - RETTBERG&

BLOGGING - RETTBERG  - CHAPTER 1
--part of the hx of communication and literacy
    --emblematic of a shift from uni-directional mass media to participatory media
        --viewers and readers become creators of media.
--part of hx of literature and writing
    --path traced from early autobio writing thru diary writing and memoirs up to confessional and

personal diary-style blogs of today.
--part of current changes in journalism and marketing.

--part of growth of social networks (FBook) - these have their roots in social network theory from sociologists in

60's and 70's. {{A}}{{A}}{{A}}
    --roots in network structure of Inet designed at same time.

--blogs founded upon the link
    --building connections between related issues
    --related to many diff contexts and disciplines:
    --media studies
    --hx of technology
    --sociology
    --ethnology
    --literary studies
    --marketing
    --journalism
--lens w/ which to see how all fields have developed up until today,

CHAPTER ONE - WHAT IS A BLOG?
--to understand, gotta read them. - wonderful.
--analogy - watching TV series
--cumulative process - most posts pressupose some knowledge of hx of blog and fit into larger story.

--diff between print publishing and blogs:
    --w/ print, author not in charge of way text looks or layout or anything.
    --then submitted to editor w/ staff of designers to do layout.
    --bloggers...choose template and often spend considerable time adjusting way blogs look and work
    --blog can't be read simply for its writing - will always be seen as sum of writing, layout, connections

and links and tempo.

--look at examples.
--these three:
1--personal, diary-style blog
2--political blog
3--expertise w/ personal twist

diff kinds of blogs:
1--personal blogs
2--filter blogs
3--topic-driven blogs.

--HOW TO BLOG--
-lotsa online services - set up blog for free and holst on their server
--blogger.com was first major one

--create user account
--choose name for blog and a URL
    --free sites will have fixed domain for all hosted blogs but allow you to choose the first part of URL.
--blogger.com hosts at blogspot.com
--if already have own domain mydomain.com - can set blog up to publish to that instead.
--then select template or theme for blog - can edit to make how want it.
    --more completx edits mean gotta know HTML and CSS
    --hypertext markup language
    --CSS - cascading style sheets - way of specifying how web browser should 'style' or present pages

marked up in HTML.
    --might specifiy all paragraphs have first line indented. (over-rides default of most browsers)
    --lotsa tutorials on how to tweak THML and CSS code for blog templates.

--so..have chosen template and created blog - now fill with content.
    --small box for title
    --big box for body
    --type all in and hit publish
--CAN SEE TUTORIAL NOTES FROM YOUTUBE VID--
--templates chosen show elements expected to be included in blog.
    --title of whole blog at top of page (graphic banner across top section)
    --many have taglines - subtitles or brief descriptions of blog
    --some info about blogger in an upper corner w/ photo
    --hosting sites encourage user profiles, w/ photo, bio info, links to blogs.
    --MAIN CONTENT OF BLOG - posts, ea w/ own title, in wide central column.
        --side columns w/ auto generated links to older blog posts/archives, to other blogs author

reads, to comments left.
--incorporated RSS as way of publishing
    --Really Simple Syndication - version of Web site encoded in way that allows computers to easily

manipulate content.
        -----RSS feed of blog uses codes like and (OPENING AND CLOSING

HTML TAGS!!) to mark title of individ post.
    --reader can also choose RSS feed of blog to read - can subscribe to number of blogs and reader alerts

re: new posts.
        --another advantage RSS - RSS feeds can be embedded into other Web pages.
        --if have 2 blogs, can use RSS feed from one blog in other blog and show titles of latest posts

in sidebar.  
---other RSS uses - newspapers, discussion forums, photo sharing sites.
    ----RSS feed of recent activity on FBook profile.

----WEB 2.0 --Tim O'Reilly and associates (2005) - characterize a 2nd generation of Web sites.
    --1st wave Web developers focused mostly publishing content.
    --Web 2.0 - develops services that allow users to share own content and use Web as platform.
        ------Wikipedia, YouTube, Flickr, FBook.  ----blogs are Web 2.0-----
        ----NOTE-----GUY WHO CONCEPTUALIZED WEB AIN'T LIKING THIS CONCEPT OF WEB

2.0!!!!!!

THREE BLOGS THREE BLOGS THREE BLOGS THREE BLOGS THREE BLOGS THREE BLOGS THREE BLOGS
THREE BLOGS THREE BLOGS THREE BLOGS THREE BLOGS THREE BLOGS THREE BLOGS THREE BLOGS
--REPRESENT 3 MAIN STYLES OF BLOGGING:
1-personal or diary-style blogging
2-filterblogging
3-topic-driven blogging

1--PERSONAL BLOGS:  DOOCE.COM - Dooce one of most pop personal blogs.
    --Technorati.com - ranks blogs according to how many other blogs link to them -- Dooce on list of

Tech's 100 most popular for years.
    --Dooce is title of blog and pseudonym for author, Heather B. Armstrong
    --Dooce - notoriety as one of first bloggers fired cuz what wrote in blog.
    --"dooced" - UrbanDictionary.com - 'to be fired from job cuz contents of your weblog.'
    --contains droll/satirical stories of her life.
--most blogs have small section in upper corner that explains who blogger is or what blog about
    --maybe photo and link to 'About' page - purpose and hx of blog - describes self. 
    --blog templates have features built in and will plug info in.
    --Dooce wrote stores that included people from work. 
        --makes reasonable income from ads on her blog!
--pather towards commercialization - or MONETIZATION. --Dooce introduced text ads in 04 and large/graphical

ads in 05 -- by 06, earning middle to upper-middle class income.
--posts written w/ care and wit - not secret diary - clearly edited b4 published.

--most bloggers who use blogs as personal diaries do it less publicly than Dooce
--often belong to Web rings linking diaries together
--or write on social sites like LiveJournal - set up friendlists, share sections of diaries w/ specific friends or

groups.
    --in these cases, blog is meant as way to communicate w/ close friends (pg 11-12) --{{?}}{{?}} - then why

not just communicate w/ close friends?!?!
--VEIL OF THE SCREEN - as per Viviane Serfaty - blog gives slices of life to give readers strong feeling of knowing

blogger, but blogger still has secrets.
    --says online diarists and bloggers use writing as mirror to see self more clearly and "construct

themselves as subjects in digital society," but also as a veil that will always conceal much of life from reader.
    --MY THOTS:  what the hell is "construct themselves as subjects in a digital society??"
        --why do this online???  --just keep friggin' journal!  --or see therapist??

2--FILTER BLOGS:  KOTTKE.ORG
    --filter blogs don't log offline life - record bloggers experiences/finds on Web
--Robot Wisdom - Jorn Barger - one of first examples of filter blog
    --simply list of links w/ no commentary.
    --most do have commentary w/ the linking.
--Boing Boing - news on bizarre Web finds
--Metafilter - group blog w/members posting links to interesting Web sites
--Rebecca's Pocket - personal site of Rebecca Blood
--Kottke.org - personal site of Jason Kottke
---FILTER BLOGS --"filter blogs filter the Web from blogger's pt. of view."
    ---may have dominant topics - but can shift as blogger's interests shift.
 --------
--kottke.org -- Jason Kottke - Web designer - blog since 1998.
    --'witty commentary', 'expert opinions re: cultural sides of Web development, design, new tech.
    --Web news w/ personal tone and occas persoanl story....when new dad, compares son's reflexes to

iPhone and Wii game.
    --NOTE -- HE LINKS TO INFO RE: TOPICS HE WRITES ABOUT - LINKS TO WII, ETC....
---integrates widgets into blog.
--WIDGET - pieces of code pasted into blog template to auto display ur activity on another site.  
--doesn't permit comments on posts -- too many -- too much work to reply
    ---so, readers created KottkeKomments website - pulls in posts from blog's RSS feed and displays.
        --comments are open on posts - no links from blog to website.
    --Kottke has conversations between blogs by linking to blogs in some posts - remarks on interesting

stuff by linking like this....blah, blah, blah 'via Matt' where Matt is the link to Matt's post.  

3--TOPIC-DRIVEN BLOGS:  DAILYKOS.COM
------
-Brooklyn Tweed - knitting
-Get Rich Slowly - personal finances
-Style Bytes - fashion
-GrandTextAuto - digital art and electronic literature
-techPresident - politicians' use of web
-The Quantum Pontiff - quantum theory
-LifeHack - personal productivity
--SHARE NEWLY DISCOVERED IDEAS/INFO - PROVIDE LINKS TO MORE INFO.
    --FILTER TO LARGE AMT NEWS, INFO, WEB CONVERSATIONS
--many run by individuals
--AND -- many run by group of contributors. ---OFTEN PRIORITIZE DEBATE between posters and postersvs

commentators.

---large group topic-driven is political blogs....CAN YOU SAY BLECH ---aka bitch session.
--11% blogs are political
--Daily Kos - liberal blog - Markos Moulitsas - '02

---DEFINING BLOGS----
--blog - contraction of Web and log
    --1st used word in '97.
    --basic sense of blog being some kind of log.

--log - nautical navigation  roots
    --'chronological record of events during sea journey, tracking speed, course, etc'
    --name originates - how measured speed - throw log w/ rope overboard and count how many knots

pass thru sailor's hands in 30-seconds.  
        --readings from the log then entered into logbook - now, other info entered in log book.
        --too funny.
--weblogs - chronological organization remains
    --content less oredered/systematic
--havigation metaphor fits - in 90's, talked of "navigating web" - today, we're still SURFING it.  

---things in common:
    --basic layout similar w/ 2-3 columns w/ largest for main content/posts - narrower for links, info

about blog/blogger, links, ads
    --2 types written by individ - subjective, personal style
    --other written by group - journalistic
----what's in common to make them all blogs?????

---GENRE -- –noun
1.
a class or category of artistic endeavor having a particular form, content, technique, or the like: the genre of epic

poetry; the genre of symphonic music.
2.
Fine Arts .
a.
paintings in which scenes of everyday life form the subject matter.
b.
a realistic style of painting using such subject matter.
3.
genus; kind; sort; style.
–adjective
4.
Fine Arts . of or pertaining to genre.
5.
of or pertaining to a distinctive literary type.

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--GENRE---defined by form or by content.
    ----comedies - largely defined by content and theme.  - work in which materials selected and

managed primarily in order to interest, involve and amuse - characters and struggles get pleasurable attention

instead concr. --makes feel confident that no great disaster will occur during , and action turns out happy for

lead characters.
    ----sonnet - genre defined by form ONLY. 
        --lyric poem consisting of single stanza of 14 iambic pentameter lines linked by intricate

rhyme scheme.
        ---sexual love most common prior to Donne who introduced religious themes.
        ---main defining quality of sonnet is that is constrained formally.

---BLOGS AS GENRE - lots more diverse in subject matter than either of above.
    --easy to define formally - share similarities in layout and contain many of same elements.
    --most obvious is basic unit of the post.
        --others, timestamps, post titles, blogroll, 'about' page, etc. 
    --Wikipedia - BLOGS - DEF - 28 Aug 07 - 'a Web site where entries are written in chronological order

and commonly displayed in reverse chron order.'
    --Rettberg - 'frequently updated Web site consisting of dated entries arranged in reverse chronological

order so most recent post appears first.
    ---Jesus CHRIST - medium vs. genre, blah, blah, blah....this one needs an effin' LIFE. 
    --diff between medium vs. genre more difficult on net. 
    --Internet not one medium - diff authoring software provides diff media. 
    --Flash game diff medium than video edited in iMovie for youtube
        --in this way, blogs are medium.  -- not a genre. 
    --'bloggr chooses to work w/in set of constraints and affordances ovvered by blogging software.'
        --in same way artist chooses oil paint instead watercolor. 

---then, w/in medium of blog is diff genre and sub-genre.  
    --diary style, filter, or political
    --elective limitations --filter blog has no pics of blogger's cat. 
--'hypertext' is a genre if seen as text - is a (sub)medium if seen as electronic tool for orgainzation.  

--Williams - founder of Blogger.com - 3 characteristics define blogging:
    --frequency
    --brevity
    --personality

femiliar rules for good writing:
    --clarity
    --brevity
    --sincerity --
        --"venerable Stoic theory of language"

---def blogging - "frequently updated Web site consisting of personal observations, exceprts from other sources,

etc
    --typically run by single person, and usually with hyperlinks to other sites - online journal or diary.

---one sure sign that set of conventions for a genre has been established is the existence of parodies of the genre.  
    --The Dullest Blog in the World  ....by Rettberg??
    --below are standard auto-generated list of links to comments on the post, permalink to post, and

date and timestamp.  

BRIEF HX OF WEBLOGS
--unequivocally product of the Web.  
--hx began at same time as Web born.  
    --invention of Tim Berners-Lee - first implemented at end of '90. 
    --CERN in Switzerland - inventions of web-server and web-browser (host and other to allow user to

view site) and site itself - not considered important inventions/projects.  
        --intrnet already in existnce 20-years
        --Web was seen as just another 'protocol' - browser only supported text - no pics.
        --in '91, goes publc and Mosaic released - first widely available graphical browser and first

browser allow embedded images.  

--early web sites were imagined as stable products

personal home pages can be seen as precursor to blogs.
    00envisioned as complete presentations of user's interests - not something to change daily. 

--94 - pioneers started online diaries -- JUSTIN HALL -- used hypertext to link - used Vita to tell life story.
    --use Daze to publish diary entries - both had same style - pages link to pages chronologically or by theme and is labyrinth. 
    --didn't use software until '03. 
--WEBLOG - in 90's meant something else - log of visitors that person administering web server can see.
    --showed total hits on site.  - how much data transfx.

--Jorn Barger - Dec '97 - term use differently.  
    --used as part of title "Robot Wisdom:  A weblog by Jorn Barger"
---DOES THIS LAMEASS AUTHOR RAMBLE LIKE THIS THRU THE WHOLE BOOK?? JChr - I would rather straighten every damned sock drawer in the world than read her sawdust blatherings.  

--simple lists of links vs online essays - place where author puts together essay with sites, links, etc.  
    --Merholz - first to use 'blog.'
--early bloggers hand-code sites.  or use HTML editor like Dreamweaver.  

late 98 and 99, several free tools appear to allow bloggers easily publish/update
    --templates and web-based forms so posts typed straight in  
--Oct 98 - Open Diary launched.  --by 99, hosting 2500 diaries. - all anonymous.

--early blogs - written by authors using full name - comments on other sites - not diary.
--99 - launch of Pitas - FIRST FREE WEBLOGGING TOOL -

--Metafilter - very rigid system - specific form like style of Winer / Barger.  

--software offered for blogging makes impact on genre/style/content.  

---heavy does of utopianism w/ diary blogs - people expose their lives to everyone else -- great and ideal world resuts
    --other ideal (Blogger) is 'push-button publishing for the people'
    --open up publishing. 

--Technorati.com - 03 - tracking blogs - in 03 as bit over 100,000....up to 3million by July 04. --number doubles every few months.
    --blog is word of year - most searched word on web. 
---difficult to count blogs - inactive blogs - get abandoned.
    --spam blogs - fake - foil search engines. 
    --Net distributed - no central counting house
--Technorati up to 7-million by '07.  

CHAPTER 2 FROM BARDS TO BLOGS CHAPTER 2 FROM BARDS TO BLOGS CHAPTER 2 FROM BARDS TO BLOGS CHAPTER 2 FROM BARDS TO BLOGS CHAPTER 2 FROM BARDS TO BLOGS

FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT IN HOW WE COMMUNICATE -
---media culture dominated by small no. media producers distributing to LARGE and PASSIVE audiences.
---now, is new reality - people create media and share -
---moved from domination of mass media in 1-to-many communication to PARTICIPATORY  media in many-to-many communication.  

--blogs understood in terms of diff in comparison to mass media of 20th cent.
--mass media calls blogs flawed form of journalism. ---author says, "Not."
--blogs make more sense if step back and see in larger context (and not as something developed in opposition of mass media)
    --instead - have aspects in common w/ other forms of comm of last centuries. 
--mass media new phenomenon - movable print.
---16th century and on - print becomes common - GREAT SHIFT in our understanding of what lit and info was.

ORALITY AND LITERACY -
--2 major shits in comm before broadcast media and net.
    --print w/ mass production
    --intro of writing itself. 
--transition from orality to literacy - purely oral culture to written word.
    --shift from print to electronic media is secondary orality - return to culture more like ancient greeks
        --radio and TV
--blogs similar to oral culture - blogs conversational/social
    --constantly changing
    --tone less formal
Plato - trans to writing - priveleged form discourse -- dialogues written reditions of oral conversations.
    --argues against writing
    --"written text is unresponsive" - cannot question text for clarification
        --even if text proven false, words stay same - living person could change mind.
---------HOWEVER---------
    --w/internet, no longer true of writing - blogs frequently edited. 
    --blogs allow comments
    --CAN ask question and get response.
    --closer to reciprocity of oral commun.
    --???Blogs part of secondary orality sad about radio/TV????--
--Plato - writing allows words destributed where or when writer not there.  - shouldn't cast out words all over -
    --"seeds" carefully planted in mind that's ready.