Thomas Crampton wrote an excellent piece about Blogging vs. Journalism.  One point Thomas made was of great interest to me:

"Opinions: Blog postings work best with strong opinions in them. This is problematic for a journalist because we are supposed to avoid that. You can often get the same effect, however, by asking sharp questions."

With so many journalists turned bloggers, are we getting more objective reporting, or less?  When I visit a blog, I look for analysis, commentary, and reflections; not pure facts.  Does this inherently make it more subjective?  I believe so – and that's why I visit blogs.

When I read the NYT's, I find it "objective"; but on reflection, that's probably because I align with them politically.  There are millions of people who'd tell me NYT's is the most biased newspaper on the planet.  Same with blogs – If you like what you read, you'd think of them as less-biased.  Granted, of course, that the analysis is reasonable…  There are, after all, many ways to skin a cat (where does this gross idiom come from?!).  or… many roads to Rome.

Food for thought: Will the fragmentation of media lead to individuals that are more close-minded?  Now that we can pick and choose what suits us best…

To start, we had Samsung telling us to use Internet as billboards.  Consistency and frequency, the speaker said (apparently they're blasting on some 600+ sites 24/7)…  Well, that's all good if you have millions of budget to waste – Aren't we going the opposite direction with the Internet when one can get more targeted and thus smarter in posting ads?  I must have heard the word "Samsung" over a hundred time during that speech. 

There's also a panel called "Is Micromedia in Wikipedia?", where the 6 panelists agree on how the rest of the world is not getting blogs.  I'm fascinated by how self-absorbed and arrogant some of these guys are; they think they're the only ones getting blogs, and they'd like to keep it that way.  As the gentleman from BlogAds explained: they don't have the resources to bring [blog illiterate] people from A to Z.   Very well – I thought they're running a business there for a second.

The industry really needs to stop victimizing itself and blame the rest of the universe for not adopting – break from the cult and stop speaking in "wikipedia" terms!

Image Credit: http://peter-marina.com/speak_gibberish.jpg

Wow…  It has been almost a month since I last wrote!  A few observations during my brief blogging career:

1.  Blogging shouldn't be this hard!  One key aspect of blogging is that it should relate and interact with other bloggers – My site so far is more publishing than blogging.

2.  It's much easier to blog in the summer when things are slow at work

3.  Blogging about topics related to work is a bad idea; unless you're blogging as part of your job.  There are many things I can't share with the public.  Or I won't share for fear of losing my day job…

Hence, here I am, trying to figure out whether to continue blogging, or call it quit.  I'd experiment with a few things while I still have Typepad for free (on a trial run…).  Countdown = 26 more days to go.  Any comments/suggestions welcome.

Ebay's official line is as follows: 1) Skype brings in new customer base, and 2) Skype offers its existing customers a valuable resource.  On 1), it's not like eBay is an unknown brand in this day and age; and 2) so what? 

Very perplexed.  I'd have to say though, that I've always admired Meg Whitman…  She's probably seeing something I'm not.

So, it seems the Motorola ROKR (new ipod mobile… how do they name this thing?!) has been receiving a lot of bad press – yes, it's not the coolest device, and certainly a disappointment if judged by Apple's standard.  Yet, ROKR should be viewed as what it is: It is a Motorola phone equipped with iTunes functionality.  As a mobile phone, won't you agree ROKR is really not bad at all? 

I view this as a win-win-win situation… well, at least financially.

• A Win for Motorola & Cingular: Anything that creates a mini-buzz in the otherwise stagnate sector…  when was the last mobile phone innovation?
• A Win for music studios: While some still in denial, iTunes is saving their day in the digital fight
• A Win for Apple: Wise enough to keep control over distribution, this will bring in more iTunes revenue (albeit insignificant).  They also made sure the phone is bulky enough not to run in direct competition with the iPods… Sounds like free marketing -

All in all, another great move form Apple.  Watch out for brand dilution though – too many mediocre products may break its aura. 

This website blew me away – One of the best "blogs" I've seen so far; the content, organization, presentation and the writing are exemplary. So what is it?  It gathers new business ideas and innovations around the world.  Simple, yet powerful. To give you a glimpse, here are the 5 latest postings:

• Tech Toys – Sky Soldier Airplane (UK); light, indoor, remote controlled airplane
• Bitter Chocolate Toothpaste – Breath Palette toothpastes (Japan) in 32 exotic flavors]
• Super Pen – FLY Pentop Computer; allows users to do math, make music, play games and schedule activities
• Porridge - Scotsman.com (UK); Porridge as the new fast food

All of them are businesses that have been launched; Most not entirely revolutionary, but that's the real world!  Founders are junior college students from Singapore – yes… KIDS!  Check them out.

Here is Random Business Idea #2

I realize we're living in a driving nation – with crude oil breaking $70/barrel, perhaps we should pause to rethink?  It doesn't help that we have one of the worst public transportation system amongst all developed nations.  But I digress…  Let's focus on more manageable topics. 

As a first step, how about including public transportation options on digital maps?  Being a New Yorker, knowing how to get from Soho to UWS by car is really of little use – I don't own a car, and even if I do, I won't attempt the impossible.  How about a simple subway/bus map overlay?  Or better yet, interactive directions for transport within and beyond major cities – I suspect I'm not the only one who'd find this service tremendously useful.  More so than satellite maps. 

Update: My friend, Ingrid, made a great suggestion in comments.  Thought it's worthy of a quote:

"On a related note, these driving directions are perhaps more relevant when you're on the road – I can attest to the pressing need recently when returning from Vermont. A last minute change of plan led to 'uncharted territory', and an idea dawned one me: Wouldn't it be a great service for Verizon to set up some public internet booths at highway sevice areas or rural gas stations? That is, as public utilities, not unlike the ubiquitous public/pay phones. The utilitarian dimension of the internet remains to be tapped."

I absolutely agree!

Image Credit: http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/new_york/new_york1.html

I've already attempted once at discussing what blogs are in my previous post, although I never gave it a precise definition.  While I was thinking about it, I came across BlogCn.com which explained blogs using the diagram above.  Reading clockwise from top, it says: publishing, self-expression, communications. Expanding from it, I came up with the followings:

A blog is a personal website created (using a simplified template) for purpose of publishing, self-expression, sharing and communications. 

I debated as to whether using a template is a condition for blogs – after all, the lines between a blog and a personal website is increasingly blurred.  This also doesn't cover corporate blogs; although I'd like to think of corporate blogs as just another marketing/customer communications tool. 

Image Credit: www.blogcn.com