On Salon.com, two new articles

May 9, 2002 11:20 PM

On Salon.com, two new articles by Scott Rosenberg and Steven Johnson weigh in on, you guessed it, weblogs -- Rosenberg's on blogging itself (and how the mainstream media have reacted to it); and Johnson's on his vision of weblogs as components of an "emerging superbrain". Johnson has some interesting ideas (though who knows if he's right), and Rosenberg probably gets it as well as anyone.
posted by mattpfeff to general weblog-related at 11:20 PM (15 comments total)

I enjoyed them both, though their catchment area is a bit too traditional. I found a link to another interesting article, "Blog Nation", by good old James Wolcott. I can't remember whether it's been discussed here or not.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 1:06 AM on May 10, 2002

<cranky>
Le Kottke is the 'über-blogger'? Fair enough...

But I got yer 'undeniably compelling' emerging superbrain right here.

*grips self*
</cranky>
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:30 AM on May 10, 2002

stavros, rare are the times when I am caught speechless. There's just too much to say and I can't choose.
Show the world, boy! Show the world!
posted by ashbury at 8:17 AM on May 10, 2002

hubristhewonderchicken?

stav, tell us you meant 'self' in the 'self-policing community' (stavrosian variant) sense.

(Not that I don't find emptybottle.org compelling, mind you. But a superbrain... phew, big call.)
posted by rory at 9:28 AM on May 10, 2002

uber-indeed. this likening blogs (which is still loosely defined in my book) to newscenters? "Get ya words, get ya words" like ones selling papers, chocolate and Swan Vestas from the corner store. IMO, the Herder and Dostyo from jkottke was brill-yant. handwagging aside, Stavs, not in front of the "media" :$
posted by clavdivs at 9:32 AM on May 10, 2002

I might start paying attention to these articles if just one of them didn't compulsively mention Andrew Sullivan and/or Dave Winer, two sterling examples of everything that is bad about weblogging, i.e. the boring insular incest syndrome of obsessively linking to other weblogs and/or people that quote or otherwise stroke their massive egos.

If webloggers every really become "mainstream credible" than as far as I'm concerned it's all over. Weblogging is in no way journalism and mostly pointless blather is in no way a "superbrain".
posted by mark13 at 11:20 AM on May 10, 2002

Mark, I'm totally making out with you.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 11:26 AM on May 10, 2002

I'm still hoping to someday soon to turn on my TV and have one of those lifestyle reporters interviewing a weblogger on how blogging is the new thing. (And I'd hope the blogger is in the shadows with voice disguised.)


posted by rodz at 11:52 AM on May 10, 2002

Almost what you asked for:

posted by mathowie at 12:57 PM on May 10, 2002

Matt, is that from July of last year?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 1:46 PM on May 10, 2002

Yeah, I was on CNN talking about the Kaycee story, and how the MetaFilter folk rooted out the answers with a little investigation and google.
posted by mathowie at 2:57 PM on May 10, 2002

And he did it with Moxy!^TM
posted by owillis at 3:40 PM on May 10, 2002

I just noticed the Fray t-shirt.
posted by Zora Neale Hurston at 6:50 PM on May 10, 2002

Got video?
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:54 PM on May 10, 2002

I forgot about that one- Metafilter King of All Media. (Or is that Haughey, King of All Media?)
posted by rodz at 1:25 PM on May 11, 2002