An interesting article in AdAge.com argues that a blogger is just a writer with a cooler name. The author writes:
And it occurred to me that there is no such thing as blogging. There is no such thing as a blogger. Blogging is just writing — writing using a particularly efficient type of publishing technology. Even though I tend to first use Microsoft Word on the way to being published, I am not, say, a Worder or Wordder.
It’s just software, people! The underlying creative/media function remains exactly the same.
In a way, this is something that I’ve argued before, with a friend, who knows of my “live from blogging” aspirations and has warned me several times about the possibility that blogging is just a fashion, and if it goes away, I’d lose all my income. My answer has always been that a blog is nothing more than a web site - and, unless the Web as we know it - indeed, the Internet as we know it - change completely, there’s no danger that people will stop being interested in blogs - because they never were! What they’re interested in is content, and it’s there whether you use WordPress, Blogspot, Dreamweaver, or edit the HTML by hand.
Any opinions?
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This is exactly what i think about the subject. “Blog” is just a dynamic site, and a blogger an online writer. Media just reinvent the words based on “weblog”.
Hi, Pedro! I should me commenting here, as I linked you from mu post on the subject…
I don’t quite agree… while bloggers and writers may share the same “underlying creative/media function”, I think their purpose may differ.
The blogger wants comments, links, etc… Basically, blogging is prompting and maintaing a discussion, not simply writing as a ‘writer’ or ‘journalist’ would do…
Then again, I do agree a blog can be a form of web site, and in fact many blogs are simply web sites done with a particular tool…
The writer and blogger differ insofar that they communicate through different media. Have I mentioned I really don’t like the word blogger? I don’t think it’s cool at all… jcm
Jope: what if a blogger disables comments? Is it still a blog? Remember that a lot of bloggers actually do that, especially the less technically inclined, who don’t know about the spam fighting plugins… or don’t even know what a plugin is.
Many blogs, when they get really popular, disable comments completely, because can’t handle the spam. Are they still blogs, after they do that?