In his book, 2005 Blogged: Dispatches from the Blogosphere, Tim Worstall collects blog posts from 2005 that cover various events that happened during the year, culling the posts from a variety of blogs of all persuasions. Although Worstall is an ardent UK blogger, he did not limit himself to UK-centric content, and several of the bloggers mentioned do not even live in the UK right now.
Worstall hosts the weekly Britblog Roundup showcase. Unlike many such carnivals, this roundup stays in one place every week, thus eliminating the need to keep track of who is hosting. So it would seem logical for such a prolific and well-known blogger to be approached for an endeavor such as a survey of the year’s noteworthy blog posts.
At first thought, publishing a book of blog posts is almost counter-intuitive. What use are most blog posts without hot links to the various ideas or stories mentioned? What will average readers make of all these names they have never heard of when they're mentioned in a post? And, furthermore, as several of my fellow bloggers have asked, who is the target audience of the book? Bloggers and online junkies can find its entire contents online without having to shell out for a book.
I think the publishers are attempting to demonstrate both the quality and diversity of writing that exists in the blogosphere. To a certain extent, 2005:Blogged does this well, and Worstall has done a good job of choosing posts that demonstrate this variety. Alas, as one would expect with such a fractious world as that of blogs, at least two of the blogs mentioned are no longer around.
It’s nice to see that Worstall has listed each blog entry's URL at the end of the piece. It would have been a good idea to list the URLs of any sites that the post linked to, as well. It does rather lack something if one doesn't know to what or whom a post is referring. Fortunately, Worstall doesn't comment much on any of the posts, allowing each post to make its own case. Worstall is the most uninvolved of editors, and that makes for a far better book.
In addition, the book is well laid out and easy to read. More importantly, Worstall didn’t just choose from among the top 20 of UK-based blogs for inclusion in the book; I had never heard of a few of the selected blogs, and I am a fairly active UK blogger. (NB: My site(s) is not one featured.)
It will be rather interesting to see if an "off-line" market exists for this type of collection of posts. The Guardian's recent sneering piece on blogging may or may not help. I'm sure many prolific bloggers will keenly follow the sales figures for this book. Those of a certain disposition are no doubt considering getting a collection of "their best" published and into the shops. Worstall’s book has either opened the floodgates or firmly slammed the door on this book idea. We shall see.
In the end, Worstall’s book has asked a very stark question: Do blog posts work in black and white? I, for one, think the jury may be still out on the question. I suspect most other bloggers would agree.
ed/pub:bhw
Article comments
1 - Bill Wallo
It sounds interesting. Certainly the intriguing aspect is the potential diversity and quality of writing in the "blogosphere." While the value of networked communications can often be found in the hyperlink, there's something to be said for simply studying the writing itself.