Category: blog

I’ve just learnt that today is Blogger Appreciation Day.

Now, I’ve not been giving you a lot to appreciate lately, but hopefully someone else has. The idea is to leave them a comment, thanking them for something specific that you value from their blog.

I think this is a great idea (and I bet the comments aren’t nearly as embarrassing as the cards you can get in the States for ‘clergy appreciation day.’)

Despite many of us valuing and enjoying blogs, there is still a lot of opposition out there. Just last week, someone I greatly respect said to me ‘Don’t talk to me about blogs. Blogs are evil.’ This venom was elicited simply because I suggested that one way a particular group could have private conversation without being dependant on the office computer gurus was to set up a private group blog.

The rumour is that those of us who blog and comment on blogs are continuously nasty to each other and say things that we would never dare say to people’s face. I find this hard to understand. In the SEC, we all blog under our own names. We know that anything we say might be seen, and that we therefore might be judged by it. I won’t pretend that bloggers don’t occasionally make errors of judgement, or that sometimes things come across in ways we don’t intend, but the fact that I can name quite specifically the times I think this has happened suggests it’s rather rare.

As for comments — they can be used for good or ill. Do you think the blogger has gone too far? Tell them. They may be glad you’ve pointed out the problem, and seek to rectify it. If the blogger thinks you have gone too far, the blogger can delete your comment. We don’t do this regularly — but if someone is acting destructively, it is possible to remove the offending item, and email them explaining why.

So, if you are a blog-loather who is reading this in the same spirit that makes people slow down to look at car accidents: here’s your chance. Tell us why you hate blogs.

And if you are thankful for this medium, today’s the day to tell someone why.

I’ve thought of a new gadget.

I want a heated computer keyboard.

Now that it’s Spring and the heating isn’t on all day, I am once again sitting here with fingerless gloves and white fingertips.

(If you are reading from North America, don’t even try to understand this post. Though I suppose wood cabins by Lake Michigan might provide context. )

update: Oh look. There really is one.