Google launches yet another blog, this time for Google Talk. Philipp sums it up best:
Seriously Google, give us one masterblog to cover all your side-blogs. Blogs and RSS feeds should make it easy for people to keep track of a company, not complicated.
Interesting idea, I’ve never seen a blog with new content everytime you hit refresh, well except maybe for Perez Hilton’s
[via Philipp at Google Blogoscoped]
[UPDATE: Philipp doesn't fuck around, he just went out and did it. Go Web 2.0, it's your birthday!!!]
As the end of another year arrives, personal bloggers take stock in their lives. Unlike professional bloggers, their blogs are a labor of love. Sometimes, they begin to realize that that they have neglected their real lives in order to satisfy their blogging obsession. Their real friendships have disappeared, their marriages have broken up, they were fired from their job for blogging during work hours.
Some just need to take a break, like South Florida’s beloved Babbling Brooke.
“Today it became clear to me how much I am neglecting other aspects of my life. I have not been working out or taking care of myself. I have been staying up too late and waking up too early in order to spend more time on my computer. I have ignored phone calls from friends to write comments or posts, or even just to IM. But most of all, I have personal aspects of my life that need to be dealt with, and unfortunately I can’t deal with them here.”
Should we feel sympathy for these stressed-out bloggers?
No!
I call these personal bloggers just plain selfish. When they take a break, it makes every other blogger insecure about all the time THEY are spending doing this crazy thing that doesn’t earn them one penny.
Just as each personal blogger has his own style, each blogger gets anxious about his blog in his own unique way. For instance, Schuey, the writer of the Parisian-based Domaine Absurde, puts a European, existentialist spin on things:
“I don’t like my blog anymore. It has become a thing with a life of it’s own more and more drifting away from what it was intended for.
What was the main purpose of it?”
Like Sartre, Schuey asks the big question: “Why am I blogging?”
Of course, most bloggers overcome their blog depression. Others do not. The blogosphere is filled with bloggers who have woken up one morning — and just stopped blogging, as unimaginable as that sounds.
These events can cause shockwaves, as if a friend had died.
I still get a little teary-eyed when I read The Belligerent Intellectual’s eulogy to New York’s blog darling, Hermitude in NYC, in his own NY blog, The Daily Dump.
“It’s hard losing a friend, but it’s harder losing a friend you never knew, mostly because you don’t know how to say goodbye. Literally, you don’t know how to reach them in order to say goodbye. And even if you could reach them, you would have to say something like, “Hey, Hermitude? The Daily Dump misses you.””
Some take the term “Old blogs never die, they just fade away” completely literally. After he gave up blogging, SAC at Sacramento is the New New York actually had the text and images of his blog fading from existence, as if a corpse was turning to ashes. But some bloggers do not really want their blogs to die, despite saying so. Every time someone takes SAC off their blogroll, he seems to write JUST ONE MORE POST. Is it that hard to give up personal blogging?
Yes.
By the way, for those of us not depressed over their blog: If you’re in our Nation’s Capitol tonight, go join the DC bloggers in their Year-End Blog Bash, 7PM at the Eyebar. (thanks Brando)
Elaine Van Hoorn and one-half NelSon have the dubious honor of repeatedly guest starring on Gawker’s recently absorbed Blue States Lose and the now-defunct Tale of Two Cities.
Recently, I cyber-sat with the enigmatic duo and tried to wrap my tiny mind around what they’re about and found I had about as much success as trying to score a pair of $50 Manolos at Century 21.
Fuck me.
Anyhow, after the jump, some petits amuse-bouches to tide you over: have fun!
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Bumped into some notes from the May 2004 New York Bloggers Event.
From a panel with Jason Calacanis and Nick Denton (sadly, the note-taker edits out the “excessive use of double entendres and vulgarities by the speakers”)
Denton: group blogs don’t work
Calacanis: yes they do. (e.g., Boing boing).
Good call, Calacanis. Denton must have accepted this when he added writers to Gawker, Wonkette, and Gizmodo. (By the way, girlspoke and boyspoke are sharp and funny group blogs.)
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Blogging Baby’s giving away two beanbag chairs to anyone who can match the BB writers to their baby photos.
Nick Denton’s as good as anyone to list the resources for a start-up company.
Radosh got a NYT joke tip from “Gina.” Is Gina Trapani keeping her tips for someone other than Gawker? (Hint: No she isn’t, I just needed another liner.)
Dear Blog Herald: David Krug was joking about Google Base. Anyone can license on Google Base. It was a parody.
Shit, Dave Winer, you just discovered Rocketboom? 1. I am so young and hot and ahead of you. 2. Rocketboom.
Hossein Derakhshan (Hoder) gets banned from the US for six months when a border guard Googles him, asks political questions, and decides he’s done too much work in the US. I have Huffington Posting rights, but I don’t know shit about immigration law. Who wants to ghostwrite jokes? Seriously, I’ll put them on HuffPo tonight. E-mail nick@blogebrity.com. [via Rocketboom]
Today’s beauty: Panama Canal week-long timelapse [via dammit]
There are some personal blogging trends that just completely go over the radar of most male bloggers.
Can anyone help explain female bloggers’ obsession with baking and eating cupcakes?
I went into the blogosphere for answers. Of course, I wasn’t surprised to find out that trendy New Yorkers were an authority on the subject. Popular bloggers Rachel Kramer Bussel, Alizinha, and Nichelle run the Cupcakes take the Cake blog — “everything you ever wanted to know about cupcakes from true cupcake fans.” The blog contains gorgeous photos of all sorts of exotic cupcakes and cupcake links from around the country. Of course, many men are yawning now. But frankly, I should tell you men that many of these cupcakes reminded me of tits with nipples. But let’s keep it to ourselves.
But then again, there is a bit of sexuality in cupcakes. Maybe that’s what makes them such a sensual treat. There is something va-va-voom about a cupcake — well put-together, adorned with colorful accessories, much like a chic New York blogger dreaming of the day her sex blog helps her get a book deal. Amy Langfield at Newyorkology even says that much of the growth of cupcakedom comes from the famed Magnolia Bakery’s appearance in “Sex and the City.” It certainly didn’t surprise me that Rachel Kramer Bussel, one of the editors of “Cupcakes take the Cake,” is also a sex columnist for the Village Voice.
Ruth, a blogger from Miami, reminded me that woman also enjoy baking cupcakes, not just buying them. She also compared cupcakes to sex.
“Making cupcakes are fun and fast, like a real good quickie. Mix up the batter, pour them in the little tins, slap some frosting and maybe some sprinkles on them. You’re done!”
Blogging has given me a whole new love for the cupcake. I might even go back to that cupcake blog later rather than viewing my usual porn.
When Nick first approached me about writing for Blogebrity, my initial reaction was “who the..?, what the…? Who the hell wants to read a blog about blogs?”
But Nick flattered me (”you’re brilliant [true], classy [true], and from your writing, I can tell you’re obviously a stone cold fox”…all true!), and then I saw the light: bloggers are inherently self-absorbed, I’m a self-absorbed blogger, and here’s my golden ticket to joining the ultimate circle-jerk of cyber-narcissism. Yahoo!
Then the shoegazing pangs of high school angst bubbled up. I mean, I’ve read all the derisive critiques from the A-list and B-list bloggers and I had to think long and hard: Would writing for Blogebrity be the equivalent of social suicide?
I’ve been home-blogging for over a year. Just recently, I’ve been invited out and about to join the world of the Blogeratti, which can be broken down thusly:
Freshmen
ROTC Guys
Preps
J.V. Jocks
Asian Nerds
Cool Asians
Varsity Jocks
Unfriendly Black Hotties
Girls Who Eat Their Feelings
Girls Who Don’t Eat Anything
Desperate Wannabes
Burnouts
Sexually Active Band Geeks
Art Freaks
Plastics
My initial impression:
“Were people nice?”
“No.”
“Did you make any friends?”
“Yes.”
Children may be still dying, the polar ice caps keep melting, and the world loses an estimated 137 endangered species each day, but I’m going to do my part to change the world: I’m going to infiltrate the ranks of the Plastics, er, the Bloggeratti, and report back my findings to you.
After all, everyone loves a bad teen drama.
“I miss feeling close to God.”
“I masturbate to pictures of Civil War soldiers.”
“I ate all the blueberries (and they were delicious).”
These are the secrets in PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives. Three friends tried to steal my review copy before I took it home. That’d be grand larceny — this full-color compilation of postcards from the blog/art project PostSecret is a richly textured incarnation of the original gallery of postcards, each nearly tangible on its pages.
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Everyone loves blogs about Hollywood celebrities. And sure, you can read the same old celebrity news every day at places like Defamer and Gawker.
Brad and Jenn. Angelina and Brad. What a surprise — more about Nick and Jessica!
But only at a personal blog will you find the real behind-the-scenes story of Hollywood. And, of course, juicy gossip involving Jerry Mathers (aka “the Beaver” of “Leave it to Beaver” fame.)
Did you know that the writer of the Los Angeles-based blog “Star Effer” met his beautiful wife Ryan BECAUSE OF THE BEAVER?
“My daughters are too young to understand this right now, but I live with the knowledge that some day, they will have to know the truth.”
Star Effer’s sister met The Beaver at a play in San Diego, and they soon started dating. Star Effer was invited to attend one of the Beav’s famed birthday parties.
“So I went to the party, chatted up the Beav, bummed a smoke off Eddie Haskel (he’s a cop now in the San Fernando Valley). Jay Leno was supposed to be there, but the bastard was a no-show. By about 9:15 I had grown weary of the festivities… “
But then his eyes gazed upon the beautiful Ryan.
“…her eyes sealed the fucking deal. Deep pools of carribean blue, accented with faint green rings at the center, they bored into my soul and made me feel both at peace and wildly restless all at the same time.”
Eh, Defamer, sleep with Yahoo all you want in big money deals, but try describing Paris Hilton like that!
Fabe, the writer of Star Effer is a brand new blogger, but his amusing posts about Hollywood tell more about the reality of The Industry than most of the “celebrity” blogs. We’re looking forward to reading more from him.
Of course, let’s not forget the Beaver — one former child star who didn’t end up on drugs or a transvestite. Instead, good ol’ Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver became Yentl the Matchmaker for the Hollywood blogging set!
Look who we forgot to introduce! Neil Kramer posted about Jordan Baker yesterday, and only his readers (and people who read bylines) noticed that this mature, sensible voice had an explanation, and that explanation is a new writer.
Neil will be with us for a week, and then we’ll see what develops. He’ll be focusing on little-known bloggers, though he has a standing offer to post nekkid women for my enjoyment. Welcome to the team, Neil, and don’t spill your first-person plural on my carpet.
Neil writes the blog Citizen of the Month, where I found his secret plan for Blogebrity: to “make them change to a color scheme that doesn’t remind me of a gay birthday party — circa 1984.” He has been promptly fired and, after I ate a leftover twice-baked potato and felt better, re-hired. Please don’t tell him.
We at Blogebrity love the world of personal blogs. We love the way communities have grown where bloggers can share the special moments of their lives with each other: graduation, marriage, the birth of a child. We “kvell” when we hear of these happy occasions. But nothing makes us happier than when we hear of something really special, such as JordanBaker of Dealing with Subterfuges finally getting laid after Four Hundred and Six Days.
Jordan is a brainy resident of our nation’s capitol and hasn’t been too lucky in the U.S. Department of “Love” as of late, especially considering all the “conservatives” that run Washington. But recently she met her handsome Louisiana Lawyer. A few days ago, Jordan kindly provided us with all the thrilling details of their first kiss while sitting in his car, along with her concerns of bringing him upstairs to her new apartment.
Jordan: “First (more snogging) that I don’t really have any furniture yet, aside from my bed (more snogging). And thinking of that makes me very cognizant of the fact (more snogging) that it’s been a really long time (more snogging) since my last bikini wax (more snogging). And I really like to make a good first impression, as it were.”
Was this finally Mr. Right?
Two nights later, the answer is a big YES.
And as with any celebration, well-wishers offered their congratulations. We especially liked this comment:
“Congratulations! I hope the young man in question can still walk without assistance. “
JordanBaker, you are an inspiration to all of us still looking for a date for Saturday night!
( personal note: If it doesn’t work out with the Louisiana Lawyer, call me.)
Maui made Chris Pirillo and lovebird Ponzi meaner than ever. First, Ponzi breaks down:
Chris stinks, I don’t just mean that literally - although I do mean it literally at times. He is the only person on the planet that can go to Maui stay in a 4.5 star resort have his whole trip planned from beginning to end for him and still complain- nonstop. It’s day five and I need to vent. Since I’m completely alone on the island with the complainer I’ve decided to share with my fellow bloggers anyone else who may decide to drop by my little space on the ‘net. Here’s a taste of what I’ve heard while I’ve been here.
You know what follows; you heard it between your parents on blistering August days when everyone’s bathing suit itched them underneath their clothes. Then Chris jabs back with…OMG A LIST:
3. I don’t like flying. When I do fly, my ears go wonky - and it takes me a few days to recover. I can’t hear perfectly well, and need people to speak louder than normal. Ponzi doesn’t understand that when I ask her to repeat something, I’m not questioning what she said - but asking for a clarification. WHEN I CAN’T HEAR, I CAN’T HEAR! Mumbling into a purse doesn’t help.
4. I do believe that spas are filled with a lot of overpriced hoo-ha.
But is it all a stunt for their new–
drumroll–
Ponzi.Pirillo.com video series? Yes, gentlemen and probably one lady, you can watch 2-minute videos with conflict, featuring the daily squabbles between Ponzi and Prillo, who, I’m sure, are happy and adjusted.
Each video is
recapped in haiku, though not
always gracefully.
Comments must fit the meter as well. There you have it, pre-launch and already beautiful. Mind the meta-video [mp4].
Duncan Riley posts a petition for Denton to sell the recently shuttered gambling blog Oddjack. Below, Duncan’s mass e-mail.
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After a brief respite from new site launches, the Metroblogging posse is back with 2 new cities–the natural pairing of Vancouver, BC and Islamabad, Pakistan.
Full write-ups after the jump (complete with a new personal record for most times typing “Islamabad” in a 5-minute span).
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Open Source Media reverts its name to Pajamas Media with a super-classy scratchy X over the temporary logo. The “Pajamas Media” to the right must be a logo, cause look! Blue dots on the i’s! That took the graphics designer weeks! And no, shut up, what we said about the “Pajamas Media” joke getting old…was said while drunk! In the presence of our enemies! Shut–just shut up, Mom!
Go Flock Yourself is disappointed its “Open Sores Media” gag is obsolete. It points to Catch’s golden shower:
All of which, as it turns out, has led us to decide to look even more fucktarded than we already have. We are re-assuming our identity as Peeholes Media. (Just give us a few days to sort the technical issues out. We have an astounding five original OSM articles and Glenn Reynold’s Guide to Cutting Your Own Hair to transfer to the new domain.) In short, the whole experience of being caught with our peeholes plugged has been a bit embarrassing, but in the end, when we realized we could get our utterly ridiculous name back, we were overjoyed and very, very damp. So a warm, clammy thanks to all of you who expressed your joy with how horribly fucktarded we have been every step of the way.
I never tire of this subtle dry wit!
