Just wanted to give a brief greeting as I start my first blog and my first blog entry. I've lurked on Ben's blog and the other blogs that he hosts for some time now (along with a few others). So I feel like I know what I'm doing, but I am, in fact, a rookie--thankfully there's no right way or wrong way to do this.
Some of you may be blog rookies as well. I'll start off by explaining what "blog" means. The term "blog" is shortened from the term "weblog." A weblog could be explained many ways. I suppose some might describe a blog as a diary. Others might say it's a common-man's op-ed piece. Or maybe an interactive forum of sorts. Maybe it's all of these combined. Maybe it takes whatever form the "blogger" desires.
I certainly don't desire for my blog to be a personal diary for everyone to read; my open-ended goal is that this will be a new method of communicating: a way to share life's events, a friendly debate setting, a way to solicit feedback on specific topics, and so on.
I suppose that the elements that form my description of a blog could at the same time be both a strength and a weakness of this new form of communication, but that's what we'll explore.
Blogging must have some future, judging by the buzz that it has been getting lately. WORLD magazine even carries a "Blogwatch" now. They gauge socio-political factors by looking at the content of prominent blogs.
Thanks to Ben Young for letting me join his blog community. I hope my e-ink will be a positive edition. (For you other bloggers...I thought it fitting to set my e-ink in Movable Type...)
Stay tuned...(I've had tons of blog ideas as I've read others' blogs. Hopefully I won't get writer's cramp.)
Posted by JRC at July 21, 2003 10:28 AM