Comments on: Can we please give the term ‘blogger’ the kiss off

By: rodaniel

rodaniel — Thu, 01 May 2008 10:16:53 +0000

I kinda like the old school “webmaster.”

Well, okay, that's not a very complete label either and it certainly has some off connotations - not the least of which is that, for me, anytime I hear that title, I think of Dungeons & Dragons. Something about the “-master” part of it.

I do prefer to say that I write posts or articles rather than blogs. Just feels more right. I think I put more effort into the actual craft of writing than the term “blog” would suggest. Maybe that's a funky perception of mine based on the sour taste that so many “pro” bloggers leave in my mouth.

(We've all encountered these folks for whom blogging is just some kind of “get rich quick” plan and their blogs clearly reflect that attitude. And why is is that there's a disproportionate share of those self-proclaimed “pro” bloggers who're like, maybe 13 years old?)

Anyway, I've sorta become comfortable with referring to my site as a “blog” - although I think it runs much deeper than that - but not so comfy with calling myself a “blogger.” “Web author” has a nice ring to it…

By: Colin Walker » If I’m not a blogger then what am I?

Colin Walker » If I’m not a blogger then what am I? — Thu, 01 May 2008 09:16:09 +0000

[...] Steven Hodson posted yesterday echoing the sentiment that blogging needs to be called something else and his post was the [...]

By: StevenHodson

StevenHodson — Thu, 01 May 2008 03:37:03 +0000

I agree that there are a lot of sterotypes to overcome and like you I am
willing to challenge on the road forward. As for us becoming the old media
we could replace some will end up like them but in the end it is our readers
that will keep us honest as long as we listen to them and if we don't then
like the old media that has been supplanted those will be replaced by
something newer.

Our biggest advantage is our readers and the willingness to take part in
conversation.

By: webomatica

webomatica — Thu, 01 May 2008 03:09:21 +0000

While I am comfortable with the term “blogger” I still feel it has odd connotations to people in the offline world who aren't immersed in all this social media stuff. I still think whenever I tell someone new about the blog, they have a vision of a super-nerd-loser typing at a computer at 3 AM in a dark room surrounded by servers with empty pizza boxes lying around (no offense if that's accurate in your case). Then if they're okay with it, the next question I inevitably get is “don't you worry about privacy issues? I wouldn't want other people reading about my life.” There are definitely some blogging stereotypes. We have a lot of work to do to over come these concepts and I'm willing to challenge them going forward.

As for bloggers becoming more mainstream and possibly replacing “old media” - I'm all for that, but as long as we don't become “old media” in the process. As in, losing our original voice or compromising values for the dollar.

By: Douglas Karr

Douglas Karr — Thu, 01 May 2008 01:19:09 +0000

I'm just starting to feel comfortable with that title. I don't mind it at all!

By: StevenHodson

StevenHodson — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:57:17 +0000

I care because I think that the labels we have been handed could be proving to be a negative for those writers who have come up through the blogging world and now want to be taken seriously. Granted many of them might say they don't care but it is my feeling that those writers that have been doing for a long time and consistently produced quality content deserve to be taken seriously regardless of the media old or new.

I also think that readers are getting smarter about this and I have seen on a few occasions where readers have left comments about the term blogger and how it is become a null term to them. For readers like this and I think the number is growing there is no difference between some-one who is writing for any of the major blogs as part of a team and a reporter or journalist working for a major newspaper.

Whether it matters in the long run I don't know - I'm just expressing my feelings on the matter more than anything else.

By: Robert Seidman

Robert Seidman — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:02:51 +0000

I see you have Google ads, but I see you're not afraid to bash google over the head with the baseball bat. While I may not always agree with your opinions of Google, there's no doubt in my mind that your use of adsense does not cause a favorable bias towards Google.

Scoble now advertises seagate on his blog. So what? If he writes about SEAGATE, I might read something into it, but outside of that, who cares? Same for Mark Cuban (who is anti-ads for bloggers) and has no advertising on his blog (I don't think he needs the adsense money!) if he writes about HDNet or the Dallas Mavericks I know he has a personal bias as he owns both entities. The whole issue is a tempest in a teapot.

I'd be more interested in knowing why you care about the terms. Do they hold you back personally in any way. Do you think it matters to your readers? If so, I'd be very interested to read why.