The current issue (8:6) of Library Juice has an neat essay by editor Rory Litwin, Library Juice and the “blog people”. Rory has some interesting things to say about what sets Library Juice apart from LISNews, and the rest of the blog people. He says Library Juice though not a blog, borrows some of the attributes of blogs while it can still make a claim to be a part of the world of publishing. Rory runs Libray Juice completely differently that I run things here, and lists several good reasons his work there is clearly not what we think of when we say blog. It’s also interesting to see he says his work is more like a blog than it is like a traditional serial in a number of other ways.
Interesting reading on what sets apart sites like Library Juice and Cites & Insights from sites like LISNews and Library Techtonics. Library Juice, more civilized than the blog people, more fun than the publishables!
“So, while I honestly don’t consider Library Juice a blog, I think I have to admit that I am one of the blog people.“
Being one of the blog people
That’s interesting. Although I’m starting a real blog (just four more days!), I explicitly do not consider myself a “Blog Person,” mostly because I find the term annoying. (I may be a “library person,” but beyond that I’d just as soon be difficult to slot.)
Let’s see: as compared to Library Juice, Cites & Insights is more “bloglike” in that I create almost all of the content. Otherwise, I think most of the points he makes are comparable. I may have more to say about that later–either in my semi-traditional publication or my forthcoming weblog. (Or even the soon-to-wither blog lite over on the Journals side here.)
Yeah, me too.
I’m with you, Walt. I also find the term “blog person” annoying.
More important to me, though, is that I find that the term “blog person” as defined by Michael Gorman doesn’t apply to me, but respect those who choose to sport the “Blog Person” button on their blogs, because I know where they’re coming from.
I’d say I am a blogger, but I don’t consider myself a capital “B” blogger, because that implies all sorts of formal ethical guidelines and such that I don’t subscribe to formally.
I dunno, I’m a librarian chick with a blog that showcases a festive assortment of ideas and thoughts on the profession I love, that hopefully proves that, on some level, I’m at least a little smart. 🙂
Re:Yeah, me too.
Andrea,
My cut is that you’re a blogger (and I have yet to see any ethical lapses at LibraryTechtonics)–but you’re not a “Blog Person” because you don’t choose to define yourself that way.
And, in fact, damn few of the people in the library field who’ve adopted the “blog person”/”blog people” meme as a one-finger salute to Michael Gorman strike me as what I think of as true blog people, those for whom the blog is Life Itself and Must Not Be Criticized, those who disdain editing and grammar, those who really do type faster than they think.
For sure Rory isn’t in that category.
For sure the ahem text artisan close ahem who believes she set off Michael doesn’t fall into that category. Heck, I don’t even think Steven C. really falls into that category, although he likes to give that impression.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been in this field over five (eek!) decades, but labeling bothers me more and more, even when it’s self-labeling. Maybe there’s a trace of Old Hippie in all of us who came out of Berkeley in the ’60s.
Re:Yeah, me too.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been in this field over five (eek!) decades, but labeling bothers me more and more, even when it’s self-labeling. Maybe there’s a trace of Old Hippie in all of us who came out of Berkeley in the ’60s.
It’s totally not just a hippie thing, cuz I’m there with you, and I was definitely *not* around in the 60s. 😀
I find the whole labelling thing so weird. I mean, with librarians, I can sort of understand, it’s what we do, sorting and cataloging information for retrieval. But as for people, it just seems so much easier to see people for who they are and what they offer, and not for which category they fit into for that particular person.
Eek! Philosophical moment. 😀
I hate labels…
And typically try not to use them, however, they are a cognition saver, which is why they will remain popular. It’s easy to just slot someone in a category, and thus not worry about them – you’ve got other things to think about. And in many cases, that’s all you need to do with people, becuase you’re not going to be able to interface (meaningfully) with everyone.
— Ender, Duke_of_URL