'arboring Star Tree of Blog World

I built a Star Tree of blog resources at the end of 2002. That mini-directory is somewhat out of date already; it's always real work to maintain a directory (or taxonomy or whatever else organizational resource). It seems with all the energy going into the blog world that somebody out there might be interested in partnering with me to publish out maps of content about Blogs.

Recent good reads on blogs

I surveyed a sample of Information Flow newsletter readers on their awareness of blogs. Many had heard of blogs before my running commentary, but many still appreciated the coverage. So some further pointers:

• A nice read for those in the business world that have so far seen blogging as something that happens after hours: Adapting Blog Technologies to Corporate e-Newsletters. This article nicely summarizes the hoopla and dissects blogs as a powerful new communication vehicle. Send to a marketing department, especially one that hasn't been touched by the Cluetrain.
  


• Steven Johnson, whose books I really like, has written a short article on blog space in Wired. The central point of the article is that blogs represent a way to access people rather than pages (i.e. documents or content). Yep. A blog provides a continuous window into a person's thoughts or life or whatever slice of such is revealed over time. For example, Johnson's own blog, which comments on the article, not only illustrates how an author's blog can be the site of fanship, but also a place or a connection point for further discussion with the author. Or even about the author or his thoughts (if you trust him enough).
  


• This point also applies to bookless bloggers who achieve authority or notoreity through regular and reputable blog writing. Peter Merholz, an effective blogger for years, stopped and restarted blogging. His re-entry entry, a couple of months ago, is a beautiful reflection on to blog or not to blog. (BTW, Peter is still credited, I think, with coining the word blog. The word has fans and enemies. I've gotten use to it and see the value in having a word other than weblog.)
  

Moving to MoveableType

Moving to a server-based approach and MT seemed the choice to try now. Were it only written in python, but the reality is that time is too thin to be hacking anyway.