Sunday, January 31, 2010

Grand Old Blogger

One of the first pictures I ever blogged: Tom Welling

I've been blogging since 2001. I've been on Blogger since before it was bought by Google, back in the days of Pyra Labs. You, Dear Constant Reader, have seen the ups and downs of my life throughout that time.

But behind that something has changed. When I started, blogging was niche. It was about to have it's first great leap forward with 9/11 and the spike in new blogs that occurred there after. But most blogs, even after that, were still very interesting, very personal, places full of the weird and wonderful tidbits of someone else's life. Blogs about Backstreet Boys slash fiction and The Sims and college life. All at the same time. Written by a girl. Wonderful.

Of course it's easy to get nostalgic. Looking around the blogging world now I find most people are on the make. Most companies have blogs. More and more politicians are getting them. And, the worst of all, most of the good blogs have gone as their writers have moved away from the commercialisation and use their talents elsewhere. Dead blogs are everywhere.

I look at my blog list and I have to say: not one of those blogs is in anyway similar to what a blog was when I first arrived on the blogging scene. And it makes me sad.

I wasn't about for the start of the internet revolution. But I was pleased to be about for the start of the blogging revolution. It was a time of great fun. Onwards and upwards though... I'm sure soon enough we shall have another slow burning fad appear which shall be just as wonderful and great as blogs used to be.

Why the nostalgia? Because I watched the rather awesome first part of the Open University/BBC internet retrospective The Virtual Revolution. I have to say I've been watching a lot of Open University stuff recently...

If you feel benevolent and particularly generous, this writer always appreciates things bought for him from his wishlist

2 comments:

  1. Great site. Check out www.sqdsa.com

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  2. Anonymous4:37 pm

    I think you've always managed to keep your blog interesting regardless. I think that the arrival of multiple other social networking tools has watered things down somewhat, though.

    I think I originally met you on Live Journal where I've blogged now for nearly 9 years. But everyone I knew there moved on to pastures new. Facebook, Twitter etc. I must admit there is a certain freshness and speed with the newer tools (Live Journal seems to dated and clunky these days)- but we're all fragmented. I was thinking about all the people I used to enjoy reading who I don't see around any more because we're all spread out so it makes it so difficult to keep up. I've got accounts everywhere and also RSS feeds coming out of my ears trying to keep up with people and boy..I long for the days when we were all together. I think social networking choice has actually made online relationships harder to keep up with - but the good ones survive - like you: every so often you come to mind and I hunt you down :o)

    James
    xx

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