Jay Rosen’s Ten Things Radical about the Weblog Form in Journalism is an instant classic that pithily pulls together the many disparate things that have been said in the last year or so about weblogs, as well as adding some original thoughts of his own.
One of the points I particularly appreciate is number six: “A weblog can ‘work’ journalistically — it can be sustainable, enjoyable, meaningful, valuable, worth doing, and worth it to other people — if it reaches 50 or 100 or 160 souls who like it, use it, and communicate through it. Whereas in journalism the traditional way, such a small response would be seen as a failure, in journalism the weblog way the intensity of a small response can spell success.”
My high school‘s motto, by the way, was “not the biggest, but the best” (although I see it’s now been changed to the worthy but ludicrous “To commit minds to inquiry, hearts to compassion, and lives to the service of mankind”).
On weblogs, Russell Beattie has found his prediction that potential employers will read your weblog before they hire you has come true. “Even though I just showed up today, the interview definitely had a second-stage type feel to it. A lot about me was already known.”
Even after all these years, I can’t believe what happened to the Cubs.