Room Name? (edited)

[SouthernFriedJulie]

Ok, so the die part is a joke, but I think those of us who questioned the blogging aspect should apologize.

1. Mac took the time to make us a new place to call our own.
2. Messing with threads and forums takes time.
3. Doesn't matter what ya call it, it's home.

So, without further ado...I'm sorry and love having a new section for freelancing and blog networks. Great for networking!

[princessvessna]

I'm sorry, it's easier to find my web writing info I want here now, so thanks!

[MacAllister]

You guys don't need to apologize, SFJ -- seriously.

What I'm sort of appalled, insulted by, and freaked out about is the snotty attitude about blogging. And dammit, if you guys would cross-network and THINK like the bloggers you most assuredly are, you'd do better both at building traffic and a subscriber base.

But everyone's so busy running around saying, "oh, we're NOT blogging! We write articles!" Which, by implication, suggests that paid blogging is somehow inferior to other web writing. If you guys want to think that way, fine -- but you're absolutely cuffing one arm behind your back, then, in terms of using your platforms effectively. It's like insisting that your Jeep is really a Jetta. You're going to ask that Jeep to perform in ways it's not really perfect for--even though it can certainly perform those tasks--but you're going to pretend it can't do most of the things it was designed to do.

Which is more than a little weird to watch, honestly.

[SouthernFriedJulie]

Mine was a misunderstanding of the platform/software. And yeah, I guess I was being a little snobby, especially when I think of some of my blog posts. It wasn't really anything aimed at blogging, just my perception of it.

And I do blog, comment and link, which is what I should do with Examiner. Makes sense.

[MacAllister]

Eh. I've renamed the forum. Knock yourselves out, folks. I'll go see if I have a mod willing to pick up this room.

[Perks]

It's interesting, because I write articles for AuthorScoop (a literary news blog) and short essays for my own personal blog, but I never thought to compare and contrast them as far as quality or career-weight.

Admittedly, I'm not very well-versed in what you should or shouldn't do with a blog, but these discussions have been very educational.

[Inky]

You guys don't need to apologize, SFJ -- seriously.

What I'm sort of appalled, insulted by, and freaked out about is the snotty attitude about blogging. And dammit, if you guys would cross-network and THINK like the bloggers you most assuredly are, you'd do better both at building traffic and a subscriber base.

But everyone's so busy running around saying, "oh, we're NOT blogging! We write articles!" Which, by implication, suggests that paid blogging is somehow inferior to other web writing. If you guys want to think that way, fine -- but you're absolutely cuffing one arm behind your back, then, in terms of using your platforms effectively. It's like insisting that your Jeep is really a Jetta. You're going to ask that Jeep to perform in ways it's not really perfect for--even though it can certainly perform those tasks--but you're going to pretend it can't do most of the things it was designed to do.

Which is more than a little weird to watch, honestly.
Whoa!
I sooo know what you mean!
It's like when I look at my Volvo and SWEAR it's really a Rolls Royce.
I pet it.
I polish it.
I stick my nose in the air when driving it.
I fret when birds shyte on it.
And no matter that it's black leather interior--here in Turkey (112 degrees in spring)--I act like my hiney is sitting on a cooler, versus melting into something that resembles undercooked dough...

*erupts into fits of giggles*

ACK!!
Not the cursed wand!!!

*grabs Haggis for cover*

Actually, what's this blog stuff...you mean, you've set something up here that we can blog? I've always wanted to do one of those, then I read someone elses...and they're so uber talented...not to mention I realize I've been swept away and have spent a few hours reading ALL their blog stuff...that I slink away...kick a few stones...and assume: who the bloody 'ell would wanna read any of MY shyte? 'Cause, their shyte is sooo much more interesting than my whining about military life: translation: it's HIS world & I'm along for the ride.

But I'm not bitter.
Swear.

Where the hell was I going with this?

*points at Mac*

Ye' get me everytime!

[Inky]

Eh. I've renamed the forum. Knock yourselves out, folks. I'll go see if I have a mod willing to pick up this room.
*jumps up and down...*
me
me
me
me
me
me

*looks down...*

Well, don't I resemble a bouncy ball?

*ceases jumping around*

[princessvessna]

I don't think blogging is inferior. I just like naming my work like I think it's supposed to be. I have blogs, I do Examiner, I write for other people's blogs, and I write for About...I just sincerely have never heard of About.com being called a blog network. I thought of it as a website, and I also have a blog there too. If it's really somehow a blog network..I've learned something new is all, today, I guess.

[regdog]

*jumps up and down...*
me
me
me
me
me
me

*looks down...*

Well, don't I resemble a bouncy ball?


Yes, yes you do
:Jump: Inky

[Inky]

Yes, yes you do
:Jump: Inky
:e2tongue:
talk to the hand :e2file:

[Medievalist]

who the bloody 'ell would wanna read any of MY shyte? 'Cause, their shyte is sooo much more interesting than my whining about military life: translation: it's HIS world & I'm along for the ride.

Do it. If I were you, I'd try Live Journal first; you can lock entries to make them private, or set them public so every one can read them, or allow only a few people to read what you write. See how you feel about. After a few months, if you want to keep doing it, you might think about a "public" blog at Word Press or Blogger.

[regdog]

:e2tongue:
talk to the hand :e2file:


Who me? I think I need to work on my inncoent who me face.

[Inky]

Do it. If I were you, I'd try Live Journal first; you can lock entries to make them private, or set them public so every one can read them, or allow only a few people to read what you write. See how you feel about. After a few months, if you want to keep doing it, you might think about a "public" blog at Word Press or Blogger.
Taking your suggestions and running with it. I've heard about this Live Journal, so I'll look into that first.

Who me? I think I need to work on my inncoent who me face.
Shirley Temple wannabe.

[princessvessna]

who the bloody 'ell would wanna read any of MY shyte? 'Cause, their shyte is sooo much more interesting than my whining about military life: translation: it's HIS world & I'm along for the ride.


What about other military spouses who love their spouse but aren't thrilled about the military life? It could make them feel - By gosh, I'm not the only one in the world who isn't gung ho about the military lifestyle?

There's one audience. Sure there's more. In fact, doesn't have to be people in the military to understand about loving someone but not the life that comes along with being with them....

[Inky]

*ideas begin bursting...*

Me thinks I'm gonna like this blogging thing...

[Medievalist]

I don't think blogging is inferior. I just like naming my work like I think it's supposed to be. I have blogs, I do Examiner, I write for other people's blogs, and I write for About...I just sincerely have never heard of About.com being called a blog network. I thought of it as a website, and I also have a blog there too. If it's really somehow a blog network..I've learned something new is all, today, I guess.

Here's the thing; it's not a content-driven genre.

The big category for all these places, About, Examiner, the Water Cooler, Live Journal, Blogger and your own Web site/domain, or Google sites, or etc. is that they are ALL Web sites. They are all created with HTML, javascript, css, and sometimes a back-end database and scripting language.

All of them use HTML; all of them run off of a Web server, all of them are readable by a Web browser.

The reverse chronological order, time and date stamps, archives, rss feeds, comments, author link, tags and categories are characteristic of Weblogs, or blogs.

eHow, Demand studios, Studio 101, Hub, Squidoo, all use content management systems, but they are not blogs--in part because some of them are work-for-hire sites, in part because they tend to be categorized based on content rather than author, in part because they don't use the reverse chronology, etc. of blogs, nor are the CMS systems they use blogging systems.

Examiner and About both specifically identify themselves as blogs in their code, aside from the other indications.

The thing I can't wrap my head around is the assumed qualitative distinction regarding writing--which . . .

I do the best I can all the time, even here.

The tone/voice/register is different here, on my personal blogs, or on my teaching blogs, or on the many paid blogs and sites and publishers I write for because my purpose and audience are different.

I do take all my writing seriously, to the point where I'm teased by some people about editing for spelling and grammar and punctuation on AW. I really can't spell, and commas seem to wander over from other people's posts and get stuck in mine [cough].

[Medievalist]

Taking your suggestions and running with it. I've heard about this Live Journal, so I'll look into that first.

Do. There are a lot of military spouses there already; I bet there's even a LiveJournal Community for them.

Start with a free account; if you like it, a paid account is 20.00/year. I think it's worth it.

[Inky]

Your level of knowledge is scaring me.
That said, I'm thinking you're one of those that I'd end up reading for hours BECAUSE of the vast knowledge.

[princessvessna]

I think I am just wanting to categorize things in my head, based on how they appear? I am trying to learn here...where in the source code for one of my articles - not my "official" blog - my articles, do I look to see that it's a blog?

I think more than anything I was just startled at the idea of About being a blog network. When I read around the web, I haven't seen it named as such. I wonder why?

And trust me, no matter where I am writing...I do my best too. It's not a matter of "This is only a blog, so I can write sloppy stuff". No way!

I think I just perceive it as a website because I have some things that a lot of blogs don't do. (Although, I suppose, many more are these days) I think of my forum, my big photo galleries, and so it. To me it *looks* like a regular old website. That's all.

Some pieces of writing are much quicker - I can whip off some topics about gardening since it's already there. I do a lot of fretting about everything I write, though, and I work on it all to be the best I can.

[inkkognito]

I'm not a blog snob by any means. I had my blog long before I did any other online work. My main worry with the name of the forum was that people looking for Examiner, About, Demand, etc. wouldn't realize they were here because they're not generally thought of as blogging in the traditional sense, i.e. a "web log." But hey, I'm just happy to be here, and Mac, you rock for giving us this space!

[KEllis]

Here's the thing; it's not a content-driven genre.

The big category for all these places, About, Examiner, the Water Cooler, Live Journal, Blogger and your own Web site/domain, or Google sites, or etc. is that they are ALL Web sites. They are all created with HTML, javascript, css, and sometimes a back-end database and scripting language.

All of them use HTML; all of them run off of a Web server, all of them are readable by a Web browser.

The reverse chronological order, time and date stamps, archives, rss feeds, comments, author link, tags and categories are characteristic of Weblogs, or blogs.

eHow, Demand studios, Studio 101, Hub, Squidoo, all use content management systems, but they are not blogs--in part because some of them are work-for-hire sites, in part because they tend to be categorized based on content rather than author, in part because they don't use the reverse chronology, etc. of blogs, nor are the CMS systems they use blogging systems.

Examiner and About both specifically identify themselves as blogs in their code, aside from the other indications.

The thing I can't wrap my head around is the assumed qualitative distinction regarding writing--which . . .

I do the best I can all the time, even here.

The tone/voice/register is different here, on my personal blogs, or on my teaching blogs, or on the many paid blogs and sites and publishers I write for because my purpose and audience are different.

I do take all my writing seriously, to the point where I'm teased by some people about editing for spelling and grammar and punctuation on AW. I really can't spell, and commas seem to wander over from other people's posts and get stuck in mine [cough].

I think people questioned "blog network" being used mainly with About.com.

The main part of writing for About.com (the articles) is in a content management system. The articles are NOT posted in reverse chronological order with date stamps, comments etc. So this part of the writing is not like blogging at all.

There is a secondary part of writing for About.com that is in WordPress--the blog portion. But that's a very small part of the overall writing on About.com.

Examiner.com is definitely in a blog-like system, even if they don't like their writers being called bloggers.

Anyway, I don't really care what this section is called but I'm glad it's split out from the freelance forum. Things were getting a little messy there and this is great organization.

Thanks to the powers that be!

-Kori

[inkkognito]

Examiner.com is definitely in a blog-like system, even if they don't like their writers being called bloggers.
For what it's worth, at least some of the major players view Examiner as blogging. When I attended a big blow-out media week at Disney World in my Examiner capacity, I was categorized as a blogger. In my mind, it's a hyrid but I'll answer to pretty much anything as long as I get paid.

[KEllis]

For what it's worth, at least some of the major players view Examiner as blogging. When I attended a big blow-out media week at Disney World in my Examiner capacity, I was categorized as a blogger. In my mind, it's a hyrid but I'll answer to pretty much anything as long as I get paid.

I hear ya! I don't care what it's called either. I'm the National Style Examiner there. I refer to it as blogging when I talk about it to my husband. However, my editor keeps telling us that we shouldn't call it that ;)

[MamaLou]

You guys don't need to apologize, SFJ -- seriously.

What I'm sort of appalled, insulted by, and freaked out about is the snotty attitude about blogging. And dammit, if you guys would cross-network and THINK like the bloggers you most assuredly are, you'd do better both at building traffic and a subscriber base.

But everyone's so busy running around saying, "oh, we're NOT blogging! We write articles!" Which, by implication, suggests that paid blogging is somehow inferior to other web writing. If you guys want to think that way, fine -- but you're absolutely cuffing one arm behind your back, then, in terms of using your platforms effectively. It's like insisting that your Jeep is really a Jetta. You're going to ask that Jeep to perform in ways it's not really perfect for--even though it can certainly perform those tasks--but you're going to pretend it can't do most of the things it was designed to do.

Which is more than a little weird to watch, honestly.

Uh, don't hold back, Mac. Tell us how you feel! ;) :)

[MamaLou]

What about other military spouses who love their spouse but aren't thrilled about the military life? It could make them feel - By gosh, I'm not the only one in the world who isn't gung ho about the military lifestyle?

There's one audience. Sure there's more. In fact, doesn't have to be people in the military to understand about loving someone but not the life that comes along with being with them....

I was one of those military wives. My husband is retired now but, believe me when I say this, I got so sick and tired of hearing, "He was wearing combat boots when you married him". That might be true, but I sure expected to see them under the bed a little more than I did.

And now, with so many losses with regard to lifetime benefits, it doesn't pay any longer to retire, with the exception of the monthly check. And, okay, the pharmacy benefits. Oh, and the Tricare that pretty much covers everything and we don't have to pay for it. And, oh, shoot, the commissary...

Forget I said it wasn't worth it to retire. But I still wanted him home more than he was. A pillow doesn't replace the man, no matter how much of his cologne you put on it.

[princessvessna]

I was one of those military wives. My husband is retired now but, believe me when I say this, I got so sick and tired of hearing, "He was wearing combat boots when you married him". That might be true, but I sure expected to see them under the bed a little more than I did.

And now, with so many losses with regard to lifetime benefits, it doesn't pay any longer to retire, with the exception of the monthly check. And, okay, the pharmacy benefits. Oh, and the Tricare that pretty much covers everything and we don't have to pay for it. And, oh, shoot, the commissary...

Forget I said it wasn't worth it to retire. But I still wanted him home more than he was. A pillow doesn't replace the man, no matter how much of his cologne you put on it.

I think that's why I couldn't be a military wife, or marry someone who had a profession that took them away for long periods, etc. If that's who it turns out to be, I will likely change my mind and adapt. I just need someone who will be there at home with me more than a military lifestyle would permit.

[SouthernFriedJulie]

I dated an ex-S.E.A.L. for 7 years. I'd have been very happy if he had re-upped. Now, my husband? I'm so lonely when he is just gone to work or something. Would be hell if he were military.

[princessvessna]

I admire those who do it. I just know for myself that I'm a homebody, fiercely loyal and devoted...and love spending lots of time, even if it's doing nothing, with the man I love. It's one thing with a "regular" job - I'm not asking to spend every waking minute with him. I don't mind a few days apart. It's just when you don't see them for months or years sometimes.

I've been apart from my best guy friend for about 5 months now. Even though I'm happy we get to talk almost daily online, I *really* need to see him in person. I hope it will only be another month or so.