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The Trouble With "Blog"

The Trouble With "Blog"

The Trouble With "Blog"

(OP)
I've been seeing the word "blog" the last few weeks, so I finally did a search because I didn't know what it means (It is short for "web log", your online diary).  I don't particularly like the term, for a couple of reasons.  First, it is yet another indicator of American laziness (is it that hard just to say "web log?")  But more importantly, I HAD TO DO A SEARCH TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IT MEANS!!!  Shouldn't a new buzzword kind of be self explanatory?
P.S., who wants to keep an online diary anyway?

DaveAtkins

RE: The Trouble With "Blog"

A huge number of people between the age of 10 to the age of 25 with internet access have blogs. And even some 40 somethings like me have them as well...You might be amazed how many people want to keep an online diary. Go to www.xanga.com and click on blogrings, and surf a few. Most are about what people had for breakfast, some are amazingly personal, and a lot of them are pretty entertaining.

I will save my comments on what blogging says about American, and actually world culture, for a more appropriate forum...

RE: The Trouble With "Blog"

Blog was Merriam-Webster's word of the year for 2004.  Altough the use of the word 'weblog' can be traced back to 1997, the word 'blog' is generally attributed to Peter Merholz who first used 'blog' in May of 1999.

It was not laziness behind this coinage, but closer to a marketing twist of a word.  The word 'weblog' was transformed, with the addition of a space, into the phrase 'we blog'.

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

RE: The Trouble With "Blog"

Oh!  Okay...
web log : we blog :: co-worker : cow-orker

Now I get it.  I couldn't understand how a word could get shortened to a pices that isn't part of natural syllabification.

The things one learns...

Hg

p.s. Why should any buzzword be self-explanatory?

Eng-Tips guidelines:  FAQ731-376

RE: The Trouble With "Blog"

I have to agree with Hg, adn add some thing:

Often buzzwords are not at all self-explanatory, in fact if you are not part of the buzz then you would have no knowledge of the new meaning.

RE: The Trouble With "Blog"

(OP)
Oh dear, not part of the buzz...but let me try:

I had a ham and cheese sandwich, a juice box, a small bag of Fritos, a small can of mixed fruit, AND a Little Debbie for lunch.

Am I blogging or what?

DaveAtkins

RE: The Trouble With "Blog"

There's a lot of sugar in that lunch for a guy named Atkins!

RE: The Trouble With "Blog"

and to tie in to another nearby thread about mistakes...
"pices" above should be "piece".  Wow, whatta mangling.

Hg

Eng-Tips guidelines:  FAQ731-376

RE: The Trouble With "Blog"


DaveAtkins:

I see you have almost 20 years expierience.  I'm sure right about 1975 the younger generation was using words like "cool", "far-out", "awesome", and the like for the first time in many contexts.

My generation's use of the words "Radical" and "Tubular!" and "Knarly!" don't make much sense now!  Man, were we idiots!

You think maybe the older, more established, and better educated folks looked at those trend and scoffed at the lack of sense those words made?  

I don't think Buzzwords have ever made much sense, esp. words nowdays like "the bomb" and "dope" and "frashizzle".  Kids are stupid, and they like the sound of it!


RE: The Trouble With "Blog"


I'm not much good at math, apparently.

2005 - 20 = 1985, not 1975.

Peachy keen.

RE: The Trouble With "Blog"

Buzzword /= slang.

Radical, knarly (or gnarly), cool, awesome = slang

Synergy, scaleable, enterprise, solutions, and just about anything in a software company's marketing literature = buzzword.

Blog could probably fall into either category.  Buzzword when used as a noun, slang when used as a verb?

For more buzzword entertainment, see www.buzzwhack.com

RE: The Trouble With "Blog"

Actually, some of the "Search Engine Gurus" recommend blogging as a means of getting free search engine exposure.
I think they include forums such as this in their definition of blogging: basically the umlimited opportunity to have your say whether about your breakfast or some anorak thing.
The H2G2 site provides this facility also.
Sure, some sites excercise more editorial/liability control than others but basically, most are not "peer reviewed" so who knows whether what you say is fact or fantasy?
However the said "gurus" do not say much about the credibility you have on blog sites.

JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com

RE: The Trouble With "Blog"

It is weird to me how here in the U.S., when something bad happens, we make something out of it and soembody starts a new trend.
We have been fighting "identity theft" for a few years now, and now everyone wants to "blog" their personal life!
I'll stick with this forum, blogs are not for me.

Chris
Sr. Mechanical Designer, CAD
SolidWorks 05 SP2.0 / PDMWorks 05
ctopher's home site

FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716

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