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The Death of Blogging

When the “is blogging dead?” debate broke out, I thought: I am sure I read about this elsewhere, and it wasn’t on Wired. Ah, here it was: I read about it on Manchizzle blog, on 27 August, the title being precisely “Is blogging dead?” Only it had more to do with the low-down in meetings of Manchester bloggers, rather than the state of entire blogosphere.

Now, the Wired argument was such that today blogosphere has become a marsh, and every sane non-blogger will not start a blog, while every sane blogger will stop blogging. Furthermore, the article claimed that blogging is being submersed by Twitter and Facebook and various Social Media and Networking sites, whereby it is terribly hard for an amateur (and even professional) blogger to rise to the top.

The question is: precisely what kind of “blogging” is claimed to have died? With platforms like WordPress and Typepad allowing the users to have not only posts but pages, too, blogging is as useful as ever. Maybe in a couple of years I will be a web developer, building my own sites, but at the moment I take some pride in that immense technical learning curve that blogging has offered to me. So, blogging as a platform, when it allows the user to custom-build their own web site, seems to be quite lively.

Blogging as a form of online activity – this is a different matter, yet again, it depends on the point of view (and as we know, this point can be a major obstacle to seeing things). Ultimately, though – and this is what I have just written elsewhere – it is the purpose to which the blogs are written that is either dying or waning:

And here is the rub, and it is actually printed on the front page of WordPress.com: you are urged to start a blog “to express yourself”. This is true even for a business blog, for in the end a business that ventures into blogging is expressing something, be it their policy, product, or expertise. Well, what happens if someone expresses their “self” better than you? Or if the whole process of “self-expression” is too much of a labour? The beginning of a blog may be a technical question, but the blog’s sustainability rests entirely in one’s personal resources. And by that I don’t mean money or even the time you have to spare on your blogging efforts. What you know, what you remember, and how you use this, are the cornerstones of a successful blogging venture.

We are to discuss this tomorrow, 11th of November, at 6pm at the first Social Media Cafe in The Northern. There will be a panel of speakers, precisely on the subject, chaired by Sarah Hartley of The M.E.N., and, of course, there will be blogging afterwards (so again, what is dying?).

In the meantime, let me update you on the state of Los Cuadernos. I added the translation button, so please feel free to traslate the site into your native language. In fact, I’d really love you to do this and let me know if the quality is acceptable.

The email subscription to Los Cuadernos is now also available.

Now, back in August I said that I was thinking of adding categories to the blog, but wasn’t sure how this would work. If you now follow down the sidebar, you will see the result of my thinking. The ‘tags’ are assembled into categories by subject, and there are many of them, starting with Literature, Cinema, Music, Photography, and including Events Coverage and Special Projects, Renaissance, Art, as well as History and Fashion.

The MEN opens the doors to Manchester bloggers

I have previously been to three print publications (all in Russia), and in England I spent two years at the BBC Manchester newsroom. The impression of the vibe has not effaced, but in comparison to all four The MEN newsroom is living at neck breaking speed. First established in 1868, the paper has now got several formats, including online edition, and works closely with Manchester’s own TV station, Channel M.

Thanks to Sarah Hartley of The MEN, on the evening of September 17th 2008 a group of Manchester bloggers got the chance to visit the site of Manchester’s main print pub lication. The tour of the newsroom included quick stops by design editor Peter Devine, assistant news editor Paul Gallagher, the chief sub Paul Coates, before we all migrated to an auditorium for teas&biscuits and a Q&A with deputy editor Maria McGeoghan. Throughout the two hours of brainstorming the modern news environment (in all applicable senses) we were guided by the wonderful Helen Read. After that we went to The Old Grapes and spent another two hours debating all things online, though not forgetting of the crossover of the new and traditional media.

Sarah has already posted about bloggers coming in to The M.E.N., and Jon Clements made interesting observations about the brave news world for The MEN. Both posts contain some pictures, so absolutely visit them, and also keep an eye on The Mancunian Way for a round-up of posts and pics from the night. Also, for all who reads this, may I reiterate what Sarah has said about Flickr tagging: whatever tags you use, do include “menblogmeet”, or even create a special set for your pictures from the night, to email to Sarah as a link. That way the task of collating all the effort will be easier.

I thought of how best to describe my impressions and decided I best blog about the pictures I took at The MEN. You can find them all, some with my comments, in the MEN Blogmeet September 2008 set on Flickr.

The new environment.

The MEN in Scott Place stands just behind the glass Royal Bank o f Scotland building, which also houses Wagamama on the ground floor. Although the building itself boasts the fashionable glassy look, its very location is a curious indicator of the position the newspaper occupies vis-a-vis Time. If you face the building, behind it you will see Spinningfields, an uber-contemporary business-cum-residential site in Manchester. But if you are approaching Scott Place from John Dalton St/Deansgate, you are walking past the original John Rylands Library and many old edifices. Turn your back on Scott Place, and in the distance you will see the pseudo-Gothic spire of the Town Hall. The nearest Quay St is again the place for many old buildings, not to mention The Old Grapes pub which nicely reminds one of the Victorian Manchester. The story of being a crossing point for different timelines continues inside, where through the window of a light and vibrant newsroom one can see the brick walls of an old building. The past and present never separate, and The MEN is bridging the two, extending the path into the future. And so for 140 years.

How do you read your MEN?

If you are observant of how people read newspapers, you will have learnt by now that they usually read it either from the first (editorials) or from the last (sport) page. Gender and age don’t really matter, although for men the paper often tends to begin from the end. The sports desk is therefore an extremely important corner of the MEN newsroom, with the majority of coverage naturally focusing on Manchester’s two competing teams: Manchester City and Manchester United. And this was what Helen Read was explaining, before adding that, when joining the desk, one has to declare their “religion”. The question from one of the bloggers followed: “Is it true, would you say, that The MEN is more biased towards the City team?” As you can sense from the picture on the left, the question was very daring, if not outrageous.

However, reports, stories and features are obviously printed before the sports section. Peter Devine, design editor, related a few examples of mashing up the front page design in no time, which topic was later elaborated by both Paul Gallagher (left) and Paul Coates (right). The decision about the story’s focus and length is greatly dictated by the crossover of media and the story’s better suitability to the print, online, or TV format. Last but not least, headlines are the Tantalus labour, and writing them is just one part of the story. Sometimes a mock headline is produced in order to design the page, and so the other part of the story is not to forget to put in the correct headline.

Saving the news.

“Old news is no news” we are told, but the librarians who work on storing the paper archives would certainly refute this. And not only because, by accumulating the archive of paper clippings and microfilms, the paper’s history is thus being created and preserved. Surprisingly, it is easier to refresh the memory of the story by going through the clippings rather than by browsing articles online. The three “outstanding” sections of the MEN library are dedicated to the Moors murders, the Yorkshire Ripper, and the Harold Shipman case.

The library also holds a selection of front pages, and I snapped the monochrome one, from the Wednesday, March 26, 1980 edition. I had only just beginning my life in my mother’s womb. But it was not this that captivated me. It was a front page note of His Royal Highness Prince Philip not going to attend the Olympic Games in Moscow. Somehow the tour of the newsroom turned out to be practically all about sport for me.

Your Comments, Please!

Everyone would agree that the biggest achievement of the online collaboratory media happened to be in the opportunity for the readers to voice their opinion. Voxpop is no longer just a talk to a lonely passer-by on a rainy Friday afternoon. Today it often presents itself in the guise of a reader’s comment on an article, and during the Q&A with deputy editor Maria McGeoghan the pluses and minuses of opening up the comments were discussed. What has just been called “the biggest achievement” can deal a duff hand to the paper, as well as to the journalist, if the two ignore the basic rules of conduct. But readers’ comments can also shed more light on the story, or be the stories in themselves. Even the critical comments are the blessings in disguise, for they keep the paper and reporter in check for errors and, if anything, can drive the excellent results.

P.S.

I wholeheartedly agree with Sarah that the next blogmeet should happen soon. In fact, the closest one will be the Manchester Blog Awards. In the meantime, thanks a lot to all who responded and attended. It was great to see you all, be that new or old faces. Thanks also to The MEN, Sarah Hartley, and all journalists who volunteered their time to meet with what now seems to be “the sixth power”. And the best to all of us!

The Second Blogiversary

Indeed, it’s been two years that I’ve been writing the blog. It may be strange that I wanted to mark the occasion with a blog post, or at least I never really looked at how often other bloggers celebrate the anniversaries of their blogs. Perhaps, I’ll skip the next two and then write the 5th jubilee post.

A month ago I thought I would list some blogging tips, but then I changed my mind. In part, this was because I realised that those tips would amalgamate my experience as a blogger with the industry knowledge. On the other hand, ideally I would need to call the post something SE-friendly, to make sure that my knowledge-sharing efforts don’t sink in without a trace in the SERPs. And your blog is like your child or beloved, providing you put a lot of effort and love into it. Naturally, you want the celebrations to be fairly intimate and to mark the nature of your entreprise.

Therefore, the celebration of Los Cuadernos de Julia 2nd blogiversary will happen as me updating you on the recent changes to the blog. First, the title: it now displays the painting “Vanitas” by anonymous Russian artist of the first half of the 18th c. I tried to use a more personal image of my own notebooks, but it didn’t work, and possibly for the better.

Another change is that a lovely picture of a bookshelf in the side bar (another 18th c. Russian painting, “The Books” by the artist BogomOlov) takes you to what I called Los Cuadernos Bookshelves, and yes, they are on Amazon. Some posts have previously had links to Amazon pages, but I am planning to create a kind of catalogue of books I read and films I saw, with short reviews. For which purpose (and for which reason) I started the Bookshelves blog on TypePad. I should be quick to point out, though, that as I am writing this post, that blog is still a tabula rasa, but it won’t stay that way for too long.

And finally, I spent today’s afternoon adding more labels to the blog (while listening to the Manchester Pride music). The idea is quite simple: Los Cuadernos de Julia have always been like an open book, and given the variety of subjects and themes, some sort of index was necessary. The indexing is still in process (because I’m doing this by memory of what I’ve written about in two years) and will involve creating the clustered categories by topic, for the ease of navigation. The outcome should be that, instead of being transfixed by the sheer number of index entries, the readers will be able to skip directly to the category they are interested in. Update: at present, I am transfixed by the number of categories, still thinking of how to organise them so that the almighty Google doesn’t break down trying to understand how to index the blog. For now, please browse the full list of labels, and hopefully I figure out the solution soon.

Blog Action Day 2008 – Bloggers Against Poverty

Last year saw the first ever Blog Action Day rolling out on October 15th; the subject matter was Environment, and the bloggers, podcasters and videocasters were invited to join the gBlogger: Notebooks – Los Cuadernos de Julia – Edit Post “Blog Action Day 2008 – Poverty”lobal discussion on the topic. In my post “Nature and Memory” I looked at my school lessons in Naturology, my first (and the only) herbarium, and at how children could be taught to empathise with Nature.

This year Blog Action Day is back, and the subject matter is even more serious – Poverty. As the organisers state, there are many systemic reasons for poverty, whereby it has become one of the biggest problems in today’s world. The aim of the B.A.D. 2008 is therefore to generate the global discussion on what and how can be done by individuals, as well as by organisations, to tackle the issue.

As before, online publishers can support the B.A.D. in many ways, including donating one day’s earnings from the blog (that is, if you sell advertisement or products). If this is a publisher’s choice, then Blog Action Day 2008 officially supports The Global Fund who are particularly involved in combatting the AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as some of the biggest hindrances in the fight against poverty. Another charity involved in the event is Kiva, which is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending site, allowing individuals to offer financial help directly to an entrepreneur in one of the developing countries. Of course, the publisher can donate the day’s earnings to another charity, in which case they are welcome to send the receipt to the B.A.D. organisers who will tally it to the total sum of the Blog Action Day donations.

Blog Action Day was started by Collis Ta’eed whose passion for the Internet combined with the Bahai ideal of “Unity in Diversity” led him to join forces with a few colleagues and co-thinkers to start the initiative of holding a global discussion on a certain subjest throughout one day. The previous B.A.D. saw the support of the United Nations Environment Programme, the EU Minister Stavros Dimas, Google, and more than 20 millions of blogs. This year is set to see another EU Minister and many organisations joining forces to discuss and debate what can be done to alleviate the conditions of the poor and to rise the well-being of affected people and communities.

There are many ways in which to support the Blog Action Day, and I have used two of these: I added the banner, and I contributed the Russian translation of the website (overall, it seems the site will be available in nearly 30 languages). I have not decided yet exactly what I will write in my blog post on October 15th, but the organisers stipulate that the post on poverty should relate to the general topic of the blog. There are some Resources available to help you start thinking about the problem or how it is being solved elsewhere, or you can read the FAQs, for some tips on what your post or podcast can be about. And if you decide to take part, head over to the B.A.D. site to register and mark October 15th in your calendar as Blog Action Day!

And the Bloggers Meet-Up Is Happening….

…at The MEN bulding in Scott Place on Wednesday, September 17, at 6pm.

I must admit that when I wrote the original Manchester Bloggers Meet-Up post I could barely think that just a fortnight later it would garner such a result. I am immensely thankful to all those who started Manchester bloggers’ meetings (otherwise there’d be nothing to call for), to the two people who were very enthusiastic about the present call, to The MEN for becoming the host (following the BBC’s initiative, this is the sign of a continuous recognition of the Manchester blogging community), to all who broadcast my call, and to everyone who sent the emails and left comments.

Thanks to this collective effort, the meeting is now happening at The MEN and will include “a look at our multi-media newsroom and the chance to put any burning questions to one of the senior editors here“, Sarah Hartley explains on The Mancunian Way.

Due to space and security issues the numbers are restricted, and all those who did not reply to my call will now need to hurry up and email Sarah with their name and the name of their blog, if they want to join us (please put “Meet-Up” in the subject line). The spaces are allocated on the first-come-first-served basis. Everyone who emailed me or left a comment asking to be put on the list don’t need to re-send the details.

Last but not least, previously we’d usually gather in a place where the drinks would be in the walking distance from our seats. Naturally, this will not be the case with The MEN, so after the meet-up the Manchester bloggers will need to retreat somewhere else. And here’s the twist: the choice of a pub is yours. Sarah has put together a pub poll, so head over to The Mancunian Way to cast your vote.

Any more news or updates to the meet-up will be posted as the updates to this post. Otherwise, see you all on the 17th of September at 6pm at The MEN!

Update on the date and venue: please note that as of 28th of August, the sign-up is complete. Stay tuned to the pub poll, where the voting is currently is pretty much in favour of Dukes 92, one of Castlefield’s meeting hotspots. For all who signed up, check out the Google Map in the side bar for The MEN address, and I will add the pub landmark once it is known.

Where Have All The Manc Bloggers Gone?

For those of you who recognised a paraphrased line from “Holding Out For A Hero” by Bonnie Tyler I can only confirm that, yes, “I need a meet-up“. With other Manc bloggers, that is. May it sound very weird, but I have just found this video on YouTube, produced by Ian @ Spinneyhead.co.uk back in 2006, and, by George, did it bring some good memories!

manc-bloggers-meetup — Manc bloggers meet-up at BBC used to migrate to the more informal Lass O’Gowry

Understandably, with the dissolution of the BBC Manchester Blog and all the recent excitement in the Manchizzle‘s family (congratulations, Kate!!), the most regular Manc bloggers meet-up that I know about and attend (as well as a few friends, notably Craig) is the Manchester Digital monthly gatherings, faithfully organised and posted about on Facebook by David Bird. My feeling, however, is that we should try and organise a similar monthly/bi-monthly meeting for Manchester bloggers – and I even volunteer to send the meeting reminders on Facebook, as and when necessary.

Anyway, watch the video and see some of Manchester bloggers, journalists, PR-people, etc. Sink in the atmosphere of the bygone days. Hope we get back on track some time soon. And just in case you decide to get together, may I kindly ask to do this in early September – I am hoping to be out of the cast by then. 🙂

Final Update: in case if you did not check the latest posts in Los Cuadernos de Julia, here are the final details of September meet-up.

Update:

This is the appeal on The Mancunian Way for Manchester Internet stars to come forward with their online hubs, be they blogs, sites, new service or groups. The weekly nominations will be subsequently reviewed by Sarah Hartley and Paul Robinson, will appear on The Mancunian Way and on the Saturday e-view page of Manchester Evening News, and the only criteria is that your site or blog should have something to do with Manchester.

And a huge thank you to Craig who – I know – has been very helpful, thoughtful, and full of brilliant ideas (as always). Stay tuned in for the news about the date, time, and venue.

Update on the date and venue: please note that as of 28th of August, the sign-up is complete. Stay tuned to the pub poll, where the voting is currently pretty much in favour of Dukes 92, one of Castlefield’s meeting hotspots.

Break a Leg And Have a Break Using Google

I never thought that I would use the phrases “break a leg” and “have a break” to play on words, but here it goes. Just to let you know from the start, a series of pre-written posts will be appearing on my blog for some time in the future. As you might know, Blogger now allows you to schedule your posts, which I used a few times previously to test that the feature worked well. It did, and now I have no choice but to commit myself to it for a period of time – while I’m nursing my broken ankle.

Yes, playing on words. We use “break a leg!” when wishing luck to a person. (If I’m not mistaken, in German language they actually wish to “break a neck“). I suppose this is what my friends wished me when I left for Beck’s Canvas – and I did really well, as you may have read, seen and heard. Of course, they didn’t know that on my return, on my way into work, I’d actually break my ankle. I still cannot get my head around the fact that I did it, while wearing trainers and walking (not running) on the road that was perfectly plain (although it was a drizzly day). Then, of course, since this happened, I’ve been told at least three stories of really horrific accidents, one of which occurred in the kitchen. Also, in the news there was a story a couple of months ago of a Mexican donkey, who for whatever reason bit one man and kicked another, breaking the latter’s leg. The donkey was put into prison for misbehaviour; I suppose I could become the (wo)man who sued God, but that’s going to take too much of my energy. So, I console myself with the fact that my flat is not on the sunny side, it’s relatively shady here, and I am trying not to feel extremely gutted at how many things I am going to miss in 5 weeks of being off sick and in cast.

As I have to keep my leg up in the air all the time, and as I don’t use a Blackberry or suchlike for blogging, I thought I would be unable to blog. But, thankfully, I remembered about scheduling in Blogger, and was able to pre-write a few posts, to avoid disappearing for too long without a word.

Also, Google has recently rolled out their Knol: A Unit of Knowledge. I posted about Knol a year ago on the Russian blog, and I know a few readers there were interested in the financial opportunities of Knol (because, yes, you are going to be able to earn some money, provided you consent to the advertisement in your article). Back in 2007, Knol looked like an onslaught on Wikipedia. Indeed, all Knol articles have to be written under your real name, which is a welcome departure from a collectively (and not always well) edited people’s encyclopaedia. Having said so, one look at the Knol’s current home page makes you wonder if the whole feature may become an ex catedra space for medical professionals. Not that I don’t want to seek and find medical advice online… Thankfully, there are some reassuring Knols, e.g. Music in Capoeira by Johan Mengesha.

Yet the fact that Google allows advertising on Knols makes a prospective onslaught on Squidoo more plausible. You can use your Squidoo lenses to earn money for yourself or a charitable cause close to your heart, but now you can also do that through Google.

In short, in addition to diverse and sundry things from the past you can now use Google to: 1) pre-write and schedule your posts for future publishing; 2) write an authoritative article and earn money with it. I’m not sure how far Google has gone with Comments on the News feature they reported on planning to have back in August 2007, but surely there will be more Google-y things to come, anyway. May I suggest a personalised forecast for prospective leg-breakers, please?

Beck’s Canvas 2008 at the RCA in London

Last year Los Cuadernos de Julia collaborated with Stella Artois, – and this year I was invited to Beck’s Canvas 2008 event in London. Like Illycaffe and Chateau Mouton Rothschild, so Beck’s have been supportng young artists for over 20 years by letting them use the Beck’s label as the canvas for their artwork. This year, however, is unique in that it saw Beck’s partnering with the Royal College of Arts to exhibit the work of the four RCA graduates.

As we are told,

2008 sees a landmark for the Beck’s art programme, with the launch of Canvas. For this very special project, we needed a very special partner. The Royal College of Art is a particular kind of ideas factory unlike any other. As the world’s only wholly postgraduate university institution of art and design, the college boasts a global reputation for artistic excellence and an unrivalled creative environment. College alumni and internationally admired artists Tracey Emin, Tim Noble and the Chapman Brothers all created Beck’s labels during the 1990s. Then, as now, Beck’s was striving to support those determined to express themselves creatively. A partnership with the College presents a great opportunity to achieve this goal.

I attended the event on 16 July at the Royal College of Art in Kensington, next to the Royal Albert Hall (see the image at the top of the post). The preparation, however, started already in June when I was contacted by OnlineFire PR who found me via Technorati.

Below is a short video I put together using promotional images supplied by OnlineFire, as well as the examples of art work by the winning artists. You can also check Beck’s Canvas 2008 photoset on Flickr. An interview with Simon Cunningham will be coming up shortly, that will include some transcribed excerpts.

I would like to thank OnlineFire for the invitation, and particularly James Fell, who has been a great help in providing information about the event and artists, setting up an interview with Simon, and supplying me with images.

Last but not least, congratulations to the artists!

Links and further information on the artists:

Riitta Ikonen

Originally from Finland, Riitta believes the Beck’s Canvas project resonates with her own belief of taking art out of the gallery for people to see in a wider context. In her mind individualism is a little space inside your head reserved just for you, like a private restaurant table that serves you anything you think to want.

Riitta takes inspiration from ‘the performance of images, through photography and costume design. Certain things, usually small and insignificant, excite me to the point that I have to wear them and then document that process.’

Key achievements for Ritta include featuring on the cover of a ‘mail art’ book published by Lawrence King Publishing and compiled by Flat 33 (RCA Alumni). She has also been interviewed by WWF for her ‘Snowflake’ project, which was funded by the RCA and addressed climate change in the Baltic. In November 2007, Riitta was commissioned by the Tate to produce an interactive costume experience and has most recently been shortlisted for the Adobe Creative Futures 2008.

Riitta is currently still working on producing a herring costume for a dive in the Baltic Sea – another attempt at raising the awareness of climate change in the area. She is also contributing to a campaign to encourage commuters in London to interact on the underground, as well as working with the Tate’s events programme. Plans for the future include travelling around the world to create artwork that highlights local issues for charitable use, “I’d love to take my work to Japan; go to Mongolia to work hard; go to Cuba for the amazing colours and people; learn new skills and share ideas with unique people.”

Tom Price

Tom Price, 26 is an alumni of Sculpture (2006). Subsequent to this, he received a First Class BA (Hons) Sculpture from Chelsea College of Art in 2004 and currently works from his South London studio, in Brixton.

In April 2008, Price exhibited a solo presentation of his art at the NEXT Art Fair, Chicago and will also be showing work at the ‘Personal Freedom Centre’ in October during Freeze Week at the Hales Gallery. Other awards include receiving the Sir John’s Cass Bursary, which allowed him to study at the Royal College of Arts.

Price is now working on new sculptures and continues to explore different materials and formats.

Simon Cunningham (his profile at RCA)

Simon Cunningham is an alumni of the MA Fine Art, photography course (2007) Cunningham lives and works in London.

Cunningham has sold more work than he has been able to exhibit mainly through his group shows and to private collectors. Cunningham is currently exhibiting film and photography work in Fragile at Espai Uba in Barcelona and also in Italy as part of ‘In our world’ at Galleria Civica de Modena.

Charlotte Bracegirdle

Charlotte Bracegirdle, 34, is an alumni of the Masters degree in painting (2006). Originally from Broardhembury, Devon, Charlotte spent seven years applying to art schools across the UK before accepting a place at the RCA.

Charlotte has previously been awarded the Davis Langdon award (2006) and was shortlisted for 2007’s New Contemporaries.

Plans for Charlotte’s future are to continue painting and exhibiting her work, she is currently working towards an exhibition for the Madame Lillies Gallery, Stoke Newington, running from 10 September 2008. Bracegirdle dreams to be an artist in residence at the National Gallery, she loves all the history in there and dreams to spend all her days painting.