The Boston Globe Challenges Borderline; Proves It Really Doesn't Get Blogs
The Globe really doesn't like Borderline. I criticized the online version of the Boston Globe for calling their news-lite publishing experiment a "blog", and they huffily responded with this:
... Globe West Updates is clearly a "blog" according to the generally-accepted definition and we will continue to use the term ...The Globe further challenged Borderline to look up this alleged definition, which I did. And lo and behold, almost all of the generally accepted definitions would exclude the Globe's effort. I responded with this:
Ralph: You mention the "generally-accepted definition" of a blog. Accepted by whom? Big Media?I'll add one thing here: I don't think the Globe was lying, and attempting to bluster its way out of a jam. They just don't get blogging.
I followed up your challenge to look it up. So I did. And the generally accepted definition I found supports what I have been saying all along. When I used Google to define "blogs" almost all the results stress personal thoughts and perspectives, comments, etc. as opposed to publishing news bits.
So Ralph, and your anonymous booster, you're WRONG. The Globe blog is not a blog. If you want to have a blog, it's not hard: Simply turn down the news, crank up the personality, get comments, and get a clue.
posted by Borderline at 1/13/2007 08:32:00 AM
3 Comments:
Move on. Your curmudgeonly act is growing tired. Maybe it gained you some readers initially, but people get tired of reading stuff like this. At least be brave enough to attach your name to it. Because now you just seem like a judgmental coward.
Ah, hecklers. Borderline loves 'em! And I'm getting a lot of them lately. People really want to protect the reputation of the Globe, it seems, by attacking someone who dares to question the way they cover news and present themselves to the world.
Let's consider the following:
1) Borderline stands up to the biggest media organization in town
2) I allow that organization to criticize me on my own blog, something which they won't reciprocate
3) I let other anonymous posters throw more stones at me
4) Despite the fact that I am going against the prevailing sentiment (judging by the comments on Borderline and the Garden City blog) I continue to stand up to the Globe, and present convincing evidence to support myself
And that makes me a coward?
No one's forcing you to read Borderline, Anonymous. But seeing as that you do, and I'm giving you the chance to debate me here, lets share the love. Post the link to your own blog or website, Anonymous, and let me have my turn in your home court.
Blog stands for "web log" -- which technically would include any kind of regularly logged posting on the web. Yes, the term may have arisen from people maintaining on-line journals, but nobody "owns" the definition or has explicitly stated what the content has to be. (And there have always been folks who had news blogs.)
And I think that's as it should be -- the whole point is really that this "media for the new millennium" is more fluid and open to all contributors. It empowers people - it gives them a voice. But it wasn't set up for the sole purpose of giving your everyday Joe the ability to thumb his nose at "the Man" -- that just happens to be one of the things that garners the most media attention. It also happens to be one of the things that it does well.
The main thing is that it levels the playing field. And on that playing field, "the Man" is still allowed to have a voice, he just no longer has the power to be the loudest voice in the room or pretend that he's the only voice in the room.
And there really are no rules, although it would be nice if people remained civil to one another. But alas, gone are the days of netiquette. But we do our best.
So anyway, if they want to have their news blog, so be it. Don't get caught up with labels. In the end, it's the content that matters.
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