The current weblog craze is, in all likelihood, a passing fad. If you visit Blogger (http://www.blogger.com), a portal site that aggregates over 1000 weblogs, you may conclude that this form of communication has already suffered the same fate that befell the Usenet. One "blogger" (short for "weblogger") recently complained:There was once a hope that the weblog could become a powerful tool for reaching out and connecting with the world. Instead, it has become a powerful tool for self-gratification and self-absorption.
In response to this, I wrote:
Excellent report, Jon.
About the weblog/Blogger point, however, I must offer a clarification, as well as a refutation.
Disclaimer: I'm the president of Pyra (makers of Blogger).
First, Blogger is not really a portal. It's a publishing tool. It links to 3,300 of the 10,000 or so (active) sites that are published with Blogger, so it has a portal-like aspect. But, primarily, it's a web application that automates posting to weblogs -- as well as "what's new" pages, journals, or any other page with a format of (usually) short, chronologically arranged posts.
Speaking of which, this *format* is really what weblogging, or blogging, is about. Despite the prevalent definition of weblogs as "links" pages, if one actually looks around at what's being published on blogs, they will find not only links and commentary, but news, diaries, photos, poetry, mini-essays, project updates, even fiction. What's consistent -- and unique to the format -- is a simple, approachable, and -- with tools such as Blogger, GrokSoup, Manila, and Pitas -- extremely convenient way to publish information to one's own web space at the "chunk" or paragraph level, versus the page, which requires much more complexity and overhead.
This low-friction method to getting thoughts onto the web has opened the floodgates to all kinds of publishing and communication that never would have happened before. And it's the reason that weblogs (in the way I'm defining them) are not, I believe, a passing fad. This format simply makes sense for certain types of content. Granted, a lot of what is suddenly being published is mediocre at best. But this is irrelevant. Actually, it's good! As with any medium, there's not likely to be great stuff without a lot of bad.
I'm surprised to see you quote an anti-weblog argument that is so obviously illogical. To imply that those who use weblogs for "self-gratification and self-absorption" reduce the ability of others to use them for "reaching out and connecting with the world" makes no more sense than saying that all the amateur pages at GeoCities spoil the potential of the web. Or, for that matter, that dime store pulp novels somehow take away from what's possible with books.
The difference that saves blogs from the fate of Usenet is that, well, this is the web -- if you don't like something, fortunately, you don't have to look at it.
Lastly, I think you're overlooking one of the most compelling uses of weblogs -- one that is directly applicable to your main topic: collaboration. Private, collaborative weblogs, where a small group can post news, links, announcements, status updates, etc. about a project, event, or other topic of mutual interest are extremely useful and simple tools for collaboration. They're not perfect for everything, but having a single, non-threaded, easy-to-update page as the focal point for communication among a small group has unique advantages over the other tools you mentioned as alternatives to email for group discussion. Many small companies and project teams are using Blogger (and probably other tools) for this purpose currently, and it's an idea that's catching on. In fact, we installed an enterprise version of Blogger inside Cisco for this purpose just yesterday.
Blogs have more potential than most people think. You should try 'em out. :)
Evan
I didn't point out that the "Spontaneous Citation" feature of Manila (Manila Express), which Jon lauds, was actually originated with Blogger's BlogThis! feature, which Dave Winer openly coveted when we came out with it and then implemented in the form of Manila Express three months later. (BTW, I don't blame Dave for this. I'd have done the same thing -- steal good ideas where you can find them. :)