Blogging goes mainstream: Success of Web journals heralds an even bigger future
Jeez, and all this time I've been worried that I was part of some unwitting lunatic fringe. It appears that those of us who maintain weblogs are part of a wider trend- this year's Cabbage Patch Doll?? God, I hope not.
"Just like the Internet was 10 years ago, blogging is popular with an underground culture that is doing it for the love and passion," said Tony Perkins, who edited the recently folded Red Herring technology magazine and last month launched a business blog called Always On Network.
"Now there are people like me coming along and trying to figure out how to package it," Perkins said. "It's time to take it to the next level."
Other notables seeking to capitalize on the rise of the Web's so-called "Blogosphere" include Terra Lycos, America Online and Google.
Terra Lycos last month introduced publishing tools to help people launch their own blogs. America Online is expected to offer a similar service to its 35 million subscribers later this year. America Online is a unit of AOL Time Warner, as is CNN.com.
"We want to take what has been an underground phenomenon and introduce it to the masses," said Charles Kilby, Terra Lycos' director of product marketing.
I find it profoundly depressing that someone feels that my passion is in need of "packaging" or "marketing". Like anything else, though, if something is successful in this country, someone's going to try to make a buck off of it. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, and it could have some positive consequences for those of us who are serious. Still, the "underground media" image did have a certain cachet, didn't it?
I do this because it feeds my writing jones (and if anyone out there is looking to hire a writer, I'm listening...), but it also gives me the opportunity to voice my opinions and to learn from those who may not necessarily agree with me. To think that this could become just another commercial enterprise is a bit unsettling- not that I wouldn't jump at the opportunity to make a few bucks.
Yep; the times, they are a'changing....
