No longer considered clever and not worth internetter’s time when Facebook is king, everybody has a YouTube channel and one
can get a quick information fix with a mere glance at a tweet or an instagram post, the blog could be on par
with the Pony Express as an entity that was spectacularly useful for a
relatively short period of time.
Today’s doses of information hit the
public with targeted squirts in real time. Even the U.S. president has
embraced social media via twitter in sending his observations directly
to Americans minus the various filters and channels that were employed
by officials in the past.
The Last Blog Post
So here it is and so shall it remain until powers that be unplug or wipe
or destroy the servers that give it a seemingly everlasting electronic
life.
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
The Last Blog Post
Labels:
blogger,
Bloggers,
Blogs,
Digital Activism,
Facebook,
Instagram,
Pop Culture,
Social Media,
Social Networking,
Twitter,
web 3.0,
YouTube
Thursday, July 18, 2019
Blogs Are Back? “For the Love of God, Please Don’t Start Another Podcast.”
"Yikes, what is the function of this blog anymore?"
~ Tavi Gevinson, 2016
"It would be nice if we could get back to the point where blogging was popular... Preferred social media methods these days leave a lot to be desired."
~ Dave Lucas, 2018
The rise of Facebook, twitter, sina-weibo, WeChat and Instagram is generally reagrded as "the beginning of the end of blogs." Not so fast! While indeed it is true that many great blogs have either disapperared*, suspended publishing or lie fallow - hibernating literary giants.
Bloggers played an important role in the early structuring and shaping of what would come to be known as social media. Bloggers were de facto newspaper or magazine editors, chronicling life not to the beat of a daily or monthly deadline, but at whim. The thrill of "instant publishing" everyone is now so familiar with began with the blog.
RELATED:
Webloggers' humble beginnings can be traced back to 1994 and Swarthmore College student Justin Hall, who for 11 years documented his life online to the tune of 4800+ pages from nearly a decade of constant writing, which he posted on his site, which is still up and active at www.links.net. The term "weblog" was coined by Jorn Barger on 17 December 1997.
Many bloggers of note (including yours truly and Xiaxue) employed Blogger, a free weblog-publishing service which began in 1999 that allows multi-user blogs with time-stamped entries. It was developed by Pyra Labs, which was purchased by Google in 2003. By December 2004, Merriam-Webster declared “blog” its “Word of the Year.” The blogosphere was studied, analyzed, dissected and scrutinized. Much ado was made regarding popular blogs and ethical blogging. Fast-forward to the age of facebook and twitter, and it no longer mattered. Poof! Just like that, the craze factor of blogging ended. Yet there are still a bunch of blogs and bloggers that press on.
~ Tavi Gevinson, 2016
"It would be nice if we could get back to the point where blogging was popular... Preferred social media methods these days leave a lot to be desired."
~ Dave Lucas, 2018
The rise of Facebook, twitter, sina-weibo, WeChat and Instagram is generally reagrded as "the beginning of the end of blogs." Not so fast! While indeed it is true that many great blogs have either disapperared*, suspended publishing or lie fallow - hibernating literary giants.
Bloggers played an important role in the early structuring and shaping of what would come to be known as social media. Bloggers were de facto newspaper or magazine editors, chronicling life not to the beat of a daily or monthly deadline, but at whim. The thrill of "instant publishing" everyone is now so familiar with began with the blog.
RELATED:
Have We Hit Peak Podcast?
If you are able to jump the paywall, The New York Times is evaluating the future of podcasts.
Read "Have We Hit Peak Podcast? If past experience (cough, blogs) is any indication, a shakeout is nigh." Here's an excerpt or two:
"...the frequency with which podcasts start (and then end, or “podfade,” as it’s coming to be known in the trade) has produced a degree of cultural exhaustion. We’re not necessarily sick of listening to interesting programs; but we’re definitely tired of hearing from every friend, relative and co-worker who thinks they’re just an iPhone recording away from creating the next 'Serial.'"
Unlike blog metrics, "...whether anybody finds that podcast or listens to it and the bounce rate — who knows?”
If you are able to jump the paywall, The New York Times is evaluating the future of podcasts.
Read "Have We Hit Peak Podcast? If past experience (cough, blogs) is any indication, a shakeout is nigh." Here's an excerpt or two:
"...the frequency with which podcasts start (and then end, or “podfade,” as it’s coming to be known in the trade) has produced a degree of cultural exhaustion. We’re not necessarily sick of listening to interesting programs; but we’re definitely tired of hearing from every friend, relative and co-worker who thinks they’re just an iPhone recording away from creating the next 'Serial.'"
Unlike blog metrics, "...whether anybody finds that podcast or listens to it and the bounce rate — who knows?”
Webloggers' humble beginnings can be traced back to 1994 and Swarthmore College student Justin Hall, who for 11 years documented his life online to the tune of 4800+ pages from nearly a decade of constant writing, which he posted on his site, which is still up and active at www.links.net. The term "weblog" was coined by Jorn Barger on 17 December 1997.
Many bloggers of note (including yours truly and Xiaxue) employed Blogger, a free weblog-publishing service which began in 1999 that allows multi-user blogs with time-stamped entries. It was developed by Pyra Labs, which was purchased by Google in 2003. By December 2004, Merriam-Webster declared “blog” its “Word of the Year.” The blogosphere was studied, analyzed, dissected and scrutinized. Much ado was made regarding popular blogs and ethical blogging. Fast-forward to the age of facebook and twitter, and it no longer mattered. Poof! Just like that, the craze factor of blogging ended. Yet there are still a bunch of blogs and bloggers that press on.
Labels:
Alternative Media,
blogger,
Bloggers,
Blogonomics,
Blogs,
iPod,
Podcasts,
Pop Culture,
Social Media
Saturday, May 04, 2019
May The 4th Be With You! "Selected Shorts" w/ Major TV Stars, Sat. 5/4 UAlbany
It’s story time… for adults!
Meet Jane Kaczmarek, a "Selected
Shorts" performer for the past 16 years, best known for her role as Lois,
Malcolm’s temperamental mother, on Malcolm in the Middle;
Anthony Rapp, who currently plays Lt. Commander Paul Stamets, Star Trek’s
first openly gay character, on Star Trek: Discovery, and star of the original cast of “Rent” on Broadway;
and
Alysia
Reiner, who
stars as interim warden Natalie “Fig” Figueroa in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black.
Public
Radio International’s wildly popular Selected
Shorts series and podcast comes to town offering a unique evening of
literature in performance at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 4, in the
UAlbany Performing Arts Center on the uptown campus, 1400 Washington Avenue,
Albany.
The event has a "Readers and
Writers" theme with a suite of stories celebrating writers and their
readers.
Selected Shorts is produced by
Symphony Space in New York City and broadcast on more than 150 stations to
about 300,000 listeners around the country. The "Selected Shorts"
podcast consistently ranks as one of the most popular podcasts on iTunes, with
more than 100,000 downloads each week.
Tickets purchased on the day of the
show (pending availability) are $20 for the general public and $15 for
students, seniors and UAlbany faculty-staff.
The box office will open at
noon on Saturday for sales at the day of show prices.
For reservations and more
information, contact the PAC Box Office: (518) 442-3997 or visit https://www.albany.edu/pac/box_office_info.shtml
The "Selected Shorts"
event is sponsored by the NYS Writers Institute and the UAlbany Performing Arts
Center and made possible with support from by the University at Albany
Foundation, University Auxiliary Services, and Residence Inn by Marriott.
Thursday, February 21, 2019
5 Instagram Strategy Tips from Bloomberg
Monday, January 14, 2019
Online Memoir Writing Class: A Few Spots Left!
If so, there’s an online class coming up that you can’t afford to
miss.
“Memoirama” will be taught by Marion Roach Smith, a
former New York Times staffer and author of four books, who has coached
hundreds of very successful writers. Marion is a friend of The New York State
Writers Institute and is offering this class as a fundraiser for us. All
proceeds will go to the NYSWI. We are grateful to Marion for offering us
this fundraising opportunity.
Friday, December 28, 2018
Consumer Advocate: AT&T promised to fix my bill. Why hasn't it?

Q: I have service from AT&T
for landline, cell phone, and DSL.
That generates three phone bills each month. I contacted
AT&T through their chat in May.
A representative told me that they could not consolidate my
cellular service into one bill, but that they could merge my
DSL and landline charges. A representative said it could take
up to two months to process the order.
AT&T continued sending me three separate bills for the next
two months.
I initiated another chat in August. This time, a representative
said all three services could be consolidated on one statement
immediately.
Also, AT&T promised a $25 credit on my account for the
inconvenience.
two months.
I initiated another chat in August. This time, a representative
said all three services could be consolidated on one statement
immediately.
Also, AT&T promised a $25 credit on my account for the
inconvenience.
Nothing has changed with my billing, and I have not seen a
$25 credit.
How can AT&T be held to account for the information
provided on their chat lines?
-- Martin Gorfinkel, Mountain View, Calif.
$25 credit.
How can AT&T be held to account for the information
provided on their chat lines?
-- Martin Gorfinkel, Mountain View, Calif.
A: If AT&T said it would merge your bills -- and send you a $25 credit --
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
How To Navigate Chinese Social Media
Here is a wonderful resource! As of November 2018, this is quite thorough!
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