Explaining what are weblogs, part n+1

A journalist called today asking if she could interview me for a piece on blogging. I said sure. It’s been a while since I’ve last been interviewed about blogging. This time I was discovered through a media research assignment I wrote with Ville. Ville’s actually been on TV a few times talking about web journals, so I guess we’re Finnish experts.

I asked to see (and check over) the story before it’s published. She said she’d send it to me, but I have my doubts.

I’m not sure I was much help for the story. I wasn’t too impressed with her questions. I tried to answer them the best I could, pointing out what is significant in the blogging phenomenon (people’s voices, popularizing writing as a thinking exercise), and trying my best not to add to yet another hype article on the latest new thing.

I’m a little worried, though. She kept calling weblogs “diaries” even though I kept reminding her that they’re not the same thing.

When asked about what I thought about moblogging (the actual question was: “Nokia has brought out new software that allows people to move pictures to computers. What do you think about this?”), I was reminded of Dave’s question. I think I agree with Dave that moblogging should be considered a facet of blogging that “happens in the real world.” Not just thinking, but experiencing. While how you blog will certainly affect the medium (more pictures, sound, even video), the stuff that’s important about the weblog format si the same. Moblogging will tie the real world to weblogs as weblogs have tied real people to the web.

At one point, after mentioning Kallioblogi’s bathroom reviews, she suggested that weblogs could become “weapons against< companies.” At first I wondered if she was setting me up for a attention-grabbing quote (that’s what telephone interviews are all about). I said those weren’t my words. I agreed that, yeah, weblogs allow people to speak up and join together. Then again, blog-as-weapons sounds kind of cool. Me, the weblog agitator.

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