An modest proposal for blog improvement?


The half bakery is a sort of online community. Members suggest half-baked ideas, opening them up for discussion, encouragement, criticism, and in general, fun. There's always something enjoyable to read on the site, though on the whole it leaves you hungry for something, well ... more fully cooked.

One participant has posted a suggestion for making blogs more interesting, or at least more readable:
One problem I find with blogs however is that people get bogged down in the minute of their lives and end up communicating very little of who they are and what they actually think on any given topic. Blogs would be more effectively written in the form of a Jerry Springer style final thought, complete with that unique blend of liberal-minded complexity acknowledgement, and normative judgementalism. Of course bloggers can add to it their own personal touch.

Take for example this boring blog:

"Today I went to the supermarket and they were all out of my favourite blend of coffee. I let it go, but realised on my way out that we only have International Roast at home. I'd rather drink hot water. Man, I'll be grumpy tomorrow morning without my coffee."

becomes slightly more amusing when written thus:

"You know, there are an amazing variety of blends available in the world of coffee today. But sometimes we get caught up in our work-a-day world and forget to take advantage of and embrace this complexity. We become stuck on one particular blend and totally unable to even contemplate trying anything new. We become grumpy and unable to adapt when we don't get our coffee without any reguard for the effect this will have on our friends and family. But by the same token manufacturers and retailers need to understand that they can't just make a scrumptious and addictive product and fail to provide, no matter what the cost. There will have to come a time when we as a society stand up and take these things into consideration- caffeine withdrawl affects us all. Take care of yourselves- and each other."
Taking heed wouldn't hurt, though on the other hand, if all blogs were as he suggests, he'd probably come up with an opposite suggestion, something along the lines of "blogs should express more immediacy and the spontaneous thoughts of the blogger", instead.



Go to: An end in itself, or
Go to: The Return of the Home Page.