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Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Pointers (12-28-05)
News from the world of blogs dominates today’s Pointers.
First up, it seems Senior citizens are taking to blogging. According to a story in Sci-Tech Today, blogging is becoming a leisure-time activity for the elderly (a state to which I am rapidly evolving). “Bloggers say their hobby keeps them up on current events, lets them befriend strangers around the globe and gives them a voice in a society often deaf to the wisdom of the elderly.”
Next, Amazon.com is introducing a blogging platform for authors. Click Z Network reports that the program has been in beta for the past month. It’s designed to increase the amount of engagement between readers and authors. “The most recent posts from an author’s blog will be featured prominently on an author’s profile page or on a book’s description page, along with a link to the author’s full blog. In addition, users will see new posts from authors of books they’ve purchased on their Amazon home page.” No comments or RSS feeds on these blogs, though, which makes you wonder about the “engagement” claim.
Finally, it seems the U.S. Army is worried about soldier blogs, particularly those written by soldiers on the front lines. Remember, the whole idea of embedding reporters in military units during the first months of the Iraqi conflict was to make sure the media only showed what the military wanted them to show. Soldiers, on the other hand, offer an unvarnished portrayal of what they see, often running counter to the military’s preferred spin. There are about 200 such blogs.
