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Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Discussion about the Vermont blogosphere
Bill Simmon at Candleblog has organized a blogger panel tomorrow (6:30 at the VCAM studio) and has invited me to be a part of it. I'm sharing the table with Steve Benen and Michael Wood-Lewis of Front Porch Forum.
In preparation for the event, Bill has spawned a lively comments thread from this post about Alan Turing's Big Idea, which has to do with the Internet's value in both storing and organizing information.
In thinking about the panel, I keep coming back to this observation: I feel like the "Vermont blogosphere" has contracted a bit. Or maybe it's just that I'm not as in the loop as I'd like to be? Whatever the reason, I've gotten fewer emails lately announcing new blogs, and I've noticed that a number of the blogs on my blogroll have either disappeared or been abandoned.
I have a hunch that more and more people are starting MySpace blogs, or sites they use to communicate with friends and family — Technorati says we're adding 175,000 blogs a day — but I feel like fewer and fewer people are starting up sites to communicate with the world at large. At least in our small corner of the world.
Is anyone else noticing this? Am I wrong?
November 1, 2006 at 03:10 PM in VT Blogs | Permalink
Comments
I've been meaning to e-mail you about Jeff Soyer's new blog, The Single Guy Cook. I love it.
http://www.singleguycook.com/
Blogs come and go. I have to clean up my links often. Actually, I have a few things to change right now. And I only have a little list. You are tying to keep up with the entire state!
I find new Vermont blogs all of the time. I found a new homeschooling blog through the Carnival of Homeschooling that is done by a Vermonter. Maybe people just don't realize that they need to e-mail you to keep the dream alive (the dream of a Vermont blogosphere portal).
Posted by: Charity | Nov 1, 2006 4:28:24 PM
Hey there Cathy, FBMG is still alive, just been inactive for a while. My intention for my blog was that hopefully it would collectively form the basis for a humorous book, but I can't sit still long enough to write a whole book, so the blog thing works for me. I just haven't had anything to add in a while. But I will, don't worry. I should have some juicy commentary some time around November 8th.
Posted by: The Fat Bald Married Guy | Nov 1, 2006 9:13:07 PM
Hi Cathy,
I just read your entry for November 1st, in which you wonder if the Vermont Blogosphere is shrinking.
My name is Alex, and I am a baby blogger. A few friends of mine started using a blog to talk about our childhood memories of growing up in the 70s here in the Green Mountain State. We keep that one private, but the bug bit me, and I ended up starting a personal blog entitled "Rip and Read" - you can find it at http://rip-and-read.blogspot.com/
It's interesting and I'm enjoying the discipline of writing every day...as far as "communicating with the world at large" goes, however, blogging feels more sending like a message in a bottle!
I have enjoyed discovering some of the higher profile Burlington area blogs, such as VDB, Freyneworld, and yours. However, it seems to me that the internet will eventually evolve into a marketplace like any other. Professional writers and journalists will rise to the top (but perhaps gain less readers than they would have in print) because, after all, we only have so much time to gather information during the day, and we will learn, eventually, to use that "gathering time" as efficiently as possible.
Following the euphoria of a) exploring limitless new avenues to find information; and b) learning that we, too, can put information out for the world to see, creating a product that looks very professional; I believe that most of us arrive at point c) which is the realization that just because we put it out there, doesn't mean anybody is obligated to read it...besides, of course, our friends and family...and so we end up blogging for them!
Thanks for the hard work over at Seven Days. Glad you guys are around.
Alex
Posted by: Alex | Nov 2, 2006 5:42:12 AM
Hey there - It's funny, but I've noticed the same thing in my community of bloggers over here in Manchester, UK. The flow of new blogs has slowed to a trickle over the past few months. Maybe it's just a lull? Or maybe with all the publicity YouTube and other sites have been getting, people are shifting their energies to vlogging and podcasting.
Posted by: yankunian | Nov 2, 2006 1:54:26 PM
Hmmm... that's a tough one to call. I sure know that at least, on the political side of things, the VT blogosphere has been hopping as of late. I blog anywhere from 2 to 5 times a week depending on my mood, both at my blog and sometimes in a diary on Green Mountain Daily.
Another way to look at this, if it's true is it fares well for the ones that are sticking around. It's shows that they're serious.
Posted by: JD Ryan | Nov 2, 2006 4:48:52 PM
Dear Cathy, I attended the panel discussion at VCAM last night. I am a fairly new blogger and had no idea my blog could be listed in your blogroll. I would appreciate the listing. I found the panel discussion stimulating and enlightening as I spend most of my time in shamanic ceremony and prayer it is good for this crisply crackling cackling crone to be tuned in to what you young radical prime movers are up to. Thank you for your honesty and sharing of knowledge. I also feel Bill Simmon is a kind and generous man and appreciate how willingly he shares his knowledge and expertise. Thanks again and have a beautiful day, Many Blessings, GrandMother Singing Wolf. (My blog address is http://cronewolfsinging.blogspot.com/)
Posted by: GrandMother Singing Wolf | Nov 3, 2006 12:43:33 PM
Hi Girl!!
Thought you might want to add our blog page to your list... http://houseoflemay.blog-city.com/.
For some election fun...
http://houseoflemay.blog-city.com/bibs_fisk_for_senate_06.htm
Hugs,
Amber LeMay
Posted by: Amber LeMay | Nov 6, 2006 8:34:34 PM
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