Comments on: A Very Long Post About the Future of the Blog http://www.radioopensource.org/a-very-long-post-about-the-future-of-the-blog/ Christopher Lydon in conversation on arts, ideas and politics Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:09:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Debbie Vizuete http://www.radioopensource.org/a-very-long-post-about-the-future-of-the-blog/#comment-66527 Debbie Vizuete Mon, 14 Jun 2010 06:35:24 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/a-very-long-post-about-the-future-of-the-blog/#comment-66527 This was a Fantastic blog post, I will save this in my Clipmarks account. Have a good day. This was a Fantastic blog post, I will save this in my Clipmarks account. Have a good day.

]]> By: amanda http://www.radioopensource.org/a-very-long-post-about-the-future-of-the-blog/#comment-66526 amanda Tue, 21 Nov 2006 22:45:43 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/a-very-long-post-about-the-future-of-the-blog/#comment-66526 I know I'm a good year late on this discussion, but I wanted to weigh in for the record. WordPress <i>is</i> open source software (Franz Hartle makes it sound like it isn't). So is Drupal, but ROS is most definitely eating their proverbial dogfood with WordPress. <a href="http://www.drupal.org" rel="nofollow">Drupal</a> happens to have a much better structure for community participation: threaded comments, public profiles, moderation. It probably would have been a better choice starting out, though it also requires much more active maintenance than <a href="http://wordpress.org" rel="nofollow">WordPress</a> does. (Funny how that happens, make something more complex and it needs more care and feeding ...) I know I’m a good year late on this discussion, but I wanted to weigh in for the record. WordPress is open source software (Franz Hartle makes it sound like it isn’t). So is Drupal, but ROS is most definitely eating their proverbial dogfood with WordPress.

Drupal happens to have a much better structure for community participation: threaded comments, public profiles, moderation. It probably would have been a better choice starting out, though it also requires much more active maintenance than WordPress does. (Funny how that happens, make something more complex and it needs more care and feeding …)

]]> By: Grumm http://www.radioopensource.org/a-very-long-post-about-the-future-of-the-blog/#comment-66525 Grumm Fri, 24 Feb 2006 21:13:07 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/a-very-long-post-about-the-future-of-the-blog/#comment-66525 <strong>download mp3 song </strong> Open Source » Bl... download mp3 song

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]]> By: Annika Hjelmgren http://www.radioopensource.org/a-very-long-post-about-the-future-of-the-blog/#comment-66524 Annika Hjelmgren Tue, 10 Jan 2006 10:33:28 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/a-very-long-post-about-the-future-of-the-blog/#comment-66524 <strong>buying alprazolam online </strong> Open Source » Bl... buying alprazolam online

Open Source » Bl…

]]> By: Obadiah http://www.radioopensource.org/a-very-long-post-about-the-future-of-the-blog/#comment-66523 Obadiah Wed, 09 Nov 2005 17:24:10 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/a-very-long-post-about-the-future-of-the-blog/#comment-66523 Another feature that discussions boards have that's nice is an archival bank that users can browse--and when they comment on an old discussion, that discussion is qued to prominence. This way, discussions may be sustained without being nudged to oblivion by newer entries. I think the most important improvement would be the ability to display nested comments. Another feature that discussions boards have that’s nice is an archival bank that users can browse–and when they comment on an old discussion, that discussion is qued to prominence. This way, discussions may be sustained without being nudged to oblivion by newer entries.

I think the most important improvement would be the ability to display nested comments.

]]> By: allison http://www.radioopensource.org/a-very-long-post-about-the-future-of-the-blog/#comment-66522 allison Wed, 09 Nov 2005 17:03:32 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/a-very-long-post-about-the-future-of-the-blog/#comment-66522 I think its absolutely essential to use real names. Real names lead to real dialogue. But how will you know? I think its absolutely essential to use real names. Real names lead to real dialogue. But how will you know?

]]> By: allison http://www.radioopensource.org/a-very-long-post-about-the-future-of-the-blog/#comment-66521 allison Wed, 09 Nov 2005 17:02:22 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/a-very-long-post-about-the-future-of-the-blog/#comment-66521 Hey Brendan, Haven't read it all, but two things come to my mind as I'm reading about some of the structural/functional things you're trying to tweak. To see how someone else scans and reports on the blogosphere you might check out Cursor.org - they are scanning the media, but there are a lot blogs they round up each day. Also, Salon.com has their Daou Report. As for threaded comments and getting to know other community members, there are a couple of options. Many don't like to use them, but you could put photos (not icons or graphic images) in the profiles. Not likely to be popular. But also, Salon.com, now has comments to each of their stories and their War Room. One feature is that when a person comments there is a link where you can see all comments posted by that person and in that report there are links to each of the stories that were commented upon. This may be a good way to use the comment feature on a blog, while creating a repository of each person's voice so that you can get to know a person as their input into the community increases. Good luck. I'm struggling with all of this at Circles as I debate using a Forum, or sticking with a blog format for community conversation. Hey Brendan,

Haven’t read it all, but two things come to my mind as I’m reading about some of the structural/functional things you’re trying to tweak.

To see how someone else scans and reports on the blogosphere you might check out Cursor.org – they are scanning the media, but there are a lot blogs they round up each day. Also, Salon.com has their Daou Report.

As for threaded comments and getting to know other community members, there are a couple of options. Many don’t like to use them, but you could put photos (not icons or graphic images) in the profiles. Not likely to be popular. But also, Salon.com, now has comments to each of their stories and their War Room. One feature is that when a person comments there is a link where you can see all comments posted by that person and in that report there are links to each of the stories that were commented upon. This may be a good way to use the comment feature on a blog, while creating a repository of each person’s voice so that you can get to know a person as their input into the community increases.

Good luck. I’m struggling with all of this at Circles as I debate using a Forum, or sticking with a blog format for community conversation.

]]> By: nother http://www.radioopensource.org/a-very-long-post-about-the-future-of-the-blog/#comment-66520 nother Wed, 09 Nov 2005 07:34:12 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/a-very-long-post-about-the-future-of-the-blog/#comment-66520 My initial reaction is - we all need to slow down. We are not going to change the world here; content will continue to rule. As long as we have Chris facilitating insightful conversation and inspiring brilliant people to speak brilliantly, we'll be ok. Thank you pmassari, for sticking up for us "content geeks." I don't know the difference between an IRC and OBP (on base percentage?), but I know that the "the tyranny of the single thread" enables me to bring my raw, potentially naive statements to THE table, quickly and prominently. Forums or such, might help hide my ignorant statements in some corner space; but I'm enjoying the freedom now. "Car Talk is great because the person calling and the person listening do not need to know anything about cars. How much do I really need to know about blogs. As much as I appreciate the JonGarfunkel's of the world, - and I do - you should think about the 2000 other people who have registered but do not post. The reality is, most people do not have the time to post. Concequently, the site should be geared towards the 2000 and counting members who might have something insightful to say, but not have much time to say it. Why are only 20 out of 2000 posting regularly? Maybe you could email the people from their profiles and request specific ideas on show topics. Instead of inviting the 20 of us to suggest topics, go after the 1980 people who registered, and seek, and push, and question them. It may sound like a contradiction, but you’re going to have to advertise your sincerity on this matter. Jon, Plaintext, Potter, we're all fun, but to push the limits, we must infiltrate the 2000 people who have registered. My initial reaction is – we all need to slow down. We are not going to change the world here; content will continue to rule. As long as we have Chris facilitating insightful conversation and inspiring brilliant people to speak brilliantly, we’ll be ok. Thank you pmassari, for sticking up for us “content geeks.” I don’t know the difference between an IRC and OBP (on base percentage?), but I know that the “the tyranny of the single thread” enables me to bring my raw, potentially naive statements to THE table, quickly and prominently. Forums or such, might help hide my ignorant statements in some corner space; but I’m enjoying the freedom now.

“Car Talk is great because the person calling and the person listening do not need to know anything about cars. How much do I really need to know about blogs.

As much as I appreciate the JonGarfunkel’s of the world, – and I do – you should think about the 2000 other people who have registered but do not post. The reality is, most people do not have the time to post. Concequently, the site should be geared towards the 2000 and counting members who might have something insightful to say, but not have much time to say it. Why are only 20 out of 2000 posting regularly? Maybe you could email the people from their profiles and request specific ideas on show topics. Instead of inviting the 20 of us to suggest topics, go after the 1980 people who registered, and seek, and push, and question them. It may sound like a contradiction, but you’re going to have to advertise your sincerity on this matter. Jon, Plaintext, Potter, we’re all fun, but to push the limits, we must infiltrate the 2000 people who have registered.

]]> By: Brendan http://www.radioopensource.org/a-very-long-post-about-the-future-of-the-blog/#comment-66519 Brendan Wed, 09 Nov 2005 04:21:11 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/a-very-long-post-about-the-future-of-the-blog/#comment-66519 Nah, we're not actually that intoxicated by the word "blog." The word itself is becoming rapidly less descriptive, particularly given a site like Josh Marshall's new <a href="http://www.tpmcafe" rel="nofollow">TPMCafe</a>, which pulls in as much content -- and from as traditional of a list of contributors -- as the <i>New Republic</i>. In casual conversation I've started to substitute "writes at" for "blogs at." A lot of freelance magazine writers keep blogs, so the distinction is sort of pointless. We use the word "blog," then, not out of intoxication, but out of necessity. Remember our audience; in a comment thread like this, one about the structure of new media, we can dispense with "blog," but at a wedding this August I had to explain to my aunt, who is college educated and an active news consumer, what a blog is in the first place. I was briefly on a network news feature reported this summer that had to define for its audience what a "hyperlink" is. Open Source is still a public radio show, and straddles a pretty wide demographic, from my aunt to content dorks (and I count myself among the latter). I've agreed with Jon Garfunkel over email before that blogs navigate TERRIBLY. It's an oddly arrogant form of navigation, these "last/next" links at the top of the page. They assume that, to find what I'm looking for, I want to read through everything you've written. (This is getting better as bloggers begin to tag and organize individual posts by theme.) So the challenge on this website is to construct something that implies "blog" and all the behaviors associated with it -- commenting, accessible tone, variable content lengths, permalinks -- without losing the basics of navigation and usability that shouldn't have to be reinvented. I think that <a href="http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/globalvoices/" rel="nofollow">Global Voices Online</a> finds a pretty good compromise; we just need to find OUR compromise. And thanks, KenLac, for liking the show. Development on the blog and the show follow a funny pattern; I don't know if you remember, but when we first started we had an out-of-the-box Word Press installation, and we ran up against the limits of what we could do with it pretty quickly, so I hacked together the site you see here. Now, four months later, as we figure the show out, we've run up against the limits of what that hacked site can do, and we're working with a real developer to make a whole lot of changes. We'll be doing this again in June of 2006, I suppose, though hopefully what we're working on now will be a lot more robust and upgradeable than what I built this summer. re Drupal - I see everyone's point, but we're so heavily invested in WordPress right now that if I suggest a new platform right now our development company would beat me. And I would deserve it. I'll get back to you on Drupal when Audi gives us a million dollars. As for user anonymity in the comment threads, I have a lot of thoughts on this, and I'll share them in a more formal way soon. And yes, plaintext, thanks for asking, they give me money in exchange for my services here. And thank you, everyone, for continuing to respond for free. Nah, we’re not actually that intoxicated by the word “blog.” The word itself is becoming rapidly less descriptive, particularly given a site like Josh Marshall’s new TPMCafe, which pulls in as much content — and from as traditional of a list of contributors — as the New Republic. In casual conversation I’ve started to substitute “writes at” for “blogs at.” A lot of freelance magazine writers keep blogs, so the distinction is sort of pointless.

We use the word “blog,” then, not out of intoxication, but out of necessity. Remember our audience; in a comment thread like this, one about the structure of new media, we can dispense with “blog,” but at a wedding this August I had to explain to my aunt, who is college educated and an active news consumer, what a blog is in the first place. I was briefly on a network news feature reported this summer that had to define for its audience what a “hyperlink” is. Open Source is still a public radio show, and straddles a pretty wide demographic, from my aunt to content dorks (and I count myself among the latter).

I’ve agreed with Jon Garfunkel over email before that blogs navigate TERRIBLY. It’s an oddly arrogant form of navigation, these “last/next” links at the top of the page. They assume that, to find what I’m looking for, I want to read through everything you’ve written. (This is getting better as bloggers begin to tag and organize individual posts by theme.) So the challenge on this website is to construct something that implies “blog” and all the behaviors associated with it — commenting, accessible tone, variable content lengths, permalinks — without losing the basics of navigation and usability that shouldn’t have to be reinvented.

I think that Global Voices Online finds a pretty good compromise; we just need to find OUR compromise.

And thanks, KenLac, for liking the show. Development on the blog and the show follow a funny pattern; I don’t know if you remember, but when we first started we had an out-of-the-box Word Press installation, and we ran up against the limits of what we could do with it pretty quickly, so I hacked together the site you see here. Now, four months later, as we figure the show out, we’ve run up against the limits of what that hacked site can do, and we’re working with a real developer to make a whole lot of changes. We’ll be doing this again in June of 2006, I suppose, though hopefully what we’re working on now will be a lot more robust and upgradeable than what I built this summer.

re Drupal – I see everyone’s point, but we’re so heavily invested in WordPress right now that if I suggest a new platform right now our development company would beat me. And I would deserve it. I’ll get back to you on Drupal when Audi gives us a million dollars.

As for user anonymity in the comment threads, I have a lot of thoughts on this, and I’ll share them in a more formal way soon. And yes, plaintext, thanks for asking, they give me money in exchange for my services here. And thank you, everyone, for continuing to respond for free.

]]> By: KenLac http://www.radioopensource.org/a-very-long-post-about-the-future-of-the-blog/#comment-66518 KenLac Wed, 09 Nov 2005 02:13:46 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/a-very-long-post-about-the-future-of-the-blog/#comment-66518 Wow, you folks are making great strides. I was away from my radio for a while, and I've tuned back in this week. The quality of the on-air work has settled in to a great place -- deep, fluid, on-stride, vital. Now, apparently, you've got the radio part on a very solid footing and you've got the bandwidth to turn the same kind of energies to the web component. Having skimmed all the ideas listed above (remember: Emerson said skimming was okay...) I have one comment to offer: beware the tyrany of the blog! Yes it's all the rage and intoxicating as heck, but there's no reason why this site *must* be a blog. Really, a regular old website is okay, even if it doesn't sound nearly as exciting. In the end, it doesn't really matter what you call it, nor whether it fits neatly in to a easy web category, as long as it keeps appearing on our screens, with something to offer and easy to navigate. "Blog" is a lot of fun to say, but don't get trapped by it. Wow, you folks are making great strides. I was away from my radio for a while, and I’ve tuned back in this week. The quality of the on-air work has settled in to a great place — deep, fluid, on-stride, vital. Now, apparently, you’ve got the radio part on a very solid footing and you’ve got the bandwidth to turn the same kind of energies to the web component.

Having skimmed all the ideas listed above (remember: Emerson said skimming was okay…) I have one comment to offer: beware the tyrany of the blog! Yes it’s all the rage and intoxicating as heck, but there’s no reason why this site *must* be a blog. Really, a regular old website is okay, even if it doesn’t sound nearly as exciting. In the end, it doesn’t really matter what you call it, nor whether it fits neatly in to a easy web category, as long as it keeps appearing on our screens, with something to offer and easy to navigate. “Blog” is a lot of fun to say, but don’t get trapped by it.

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