Blogging is not like traditional media - Part 1
(First published on IT World Canada blog)
People who read my contributions to this blog have noticed me say “Part 1″ a few times. This happens when I start a topic that I know will take more than a few pages, and I know that too many pages doesn’t work well on a blog. So I plan to break the article up.
Sometimes, however the “Part 2″ never happens. The main reason is a lack of feedback that drives interest in pursuing a given story.
The folks in This Week In Tech (episode 150) were talking about some of the differences between traditional media and new media. Feedback and that very important conversation with your reader is a critical part of it.
I’m not a journalist, and I don’t (often, hardly ever) get paid for my writing. I am motivated to write these articles with the hope that my sharing ideas will spark a dialog that we can all learn from. Being a strong proponent of modern methods of production, distribution and funding of human creativity makes me want to share why I believe in these things with other people, and for people who agree or disagree with me to share their ideas back.
When I get feedback on an article topic, I am motivated to write more on that topic. When I get no feedback at all, I feel like I should just move onward to something else.
This may seem obvious to anyone reading this that is a fellow blogger, but may not be obvious to someone who is reading this site as if it was an extension of the print publication where people are expected to passively consume. One of the things they spoke about in the TWIT episode is how media companies traditionally thought of their website as an adjunct to their print media publications. Now they think of their print media publications as an adjunct to their website.
I plan on continuing my “Copyright: locks, levies or lawsuits?” as this is something I want to get straight in my own mind. But if you want to hear more about software patents then please let me know.
I’m someone involved in the Free Software movement since the early 90’s and digital copyright and software patents since the early 00’s. If you think there is something that you would like to hear that comes from this perspective, please let me know.
P.S. There are things I agree with the TWIT panel, and things I disagree about. The hype about Audible (a sponsor) and the Apple iPhone are two things I disagree about. I don’t believe content should be locked to only be accessable on “authorized” brands of devices, and do not believe devices should ever be locked where someone other than the owner retains the keys. I will not be a customer of Audible or Apple until they move away from business models I consider to be built upon “theft”.