What is ‘Blogging?’
Lorelle’s challenge this week is to describe blogging.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished first appeared on a Frontier server running Manila in about 2000. Looking back on those posts (you can go back to about 2003 in the archives on this version - I never backed up back then) I’m not sure you can get a clear indication of what "blogging" is by looking at this blog.
I remember in 2001 trying to explain what a "weblog" (the term "blog" hadn’t really come of age yet) was to my coworkers, and being met with the same condescending smiles you get when you passionately tell someone of your love of, say, World of Warcraft. "Wow, that’s…A really…Sad waste of time. The thought of keeping a journal that anyone could read was I think to them, a combination of creepy, egotistical and self-indulgent all at the same time. And I can’t really say that I blame them.
But it’s not a fair description. It’s more like being able to download a printing press, complete with those guys in the funny folded-newspaper hats and then playing Lou Grant (or Mrs. Pinchon), Woodward and Bernstein, Berke Brethed, or Remar Sutton (fire up Google for that one - there are LOTS of Remar Suttons on the web).
There’s also a TV station in there…Millions of hours of syndicated content available through YouTube and other video sharing sites so you don’t have to run endless episodes of the Andy Griffith Show or Gilligan’s Island (though if you want to do battle with the lawyers of Sherwood Schwartz, go for it). Hey! There’s a RADIO station in here too! Think you can do better than the hacks coming out of your FM? Go for it. Put together a daily podcast! Speaking as one of the hacks in the FM box, go for it - we could use some more competition 
But, I’ve discovered over the years that a blog is less a BRODCASTING tool, and more a NARROWCASTING tool. It’s a tribe builder that lets people who share interests and values find each other. I love blogging and a few months ago discovered WordPress, so I found tribal connections with Lorelle, Matt, and many others. I’m interested in life hacking, so I found interests in common with Leon, Leo and Craig. Sci-Fi, oddities and today’s online culture fascinate me, so I consider myself tribally connected with Cory, Xeni, David, John and Mark. Merlin is a guru for me, but I can’t keep up with him during the drumming.
In short? What is a "blog?" The tribal newsletter.
