Last night's Blogging in Action conference(?) at the Polish club in London was certainly worth attending if only to hear Tom Coates analogy of blogs being a horseless carriage (you had to be there) although a more important point was the fact that a blog is 'the suit you wear online'.
I also enjoyed Neil's (of the Guardian) explanation of what their blogging was about - not quite what I thought i.e. an attempt to broaden the Brand appeal but more of an exploration of where journalism could go.
Nokia's Charlie Schick also had some interesting points to make about 'its all about content' and then you share and not where you are (a reference to mobility) although I wanted something more from him (not sure what though). Good point about rise of broadband facilitating the uploading aspects of content though (downloading generally being of less import). Still not sure why I hadn't heard of lifeblog before?
John Dale of Warwick University however was the star turn with not only an interesting story of how Warwick have set up their own blogging software and services but also how it is being used i.e. the ability to view their current blog entries in different ways (by department or by hall of residence for example) and the wide variety of uses for blogs. It was also interesting to note the self regulating effects of the community on outrageous posts.
Mr Moore was also on form (as he posts here) on the format of the evening. While the wine was certainly first rate I agree that the format needed some tweaking. The mingling at the end felt more exciting although making a key part of the event rather than a coda would have been preferable. Perhaps Alistair should get Johnnie to facilitate next time?
Good also to see James and to meet a few other people including Adriana, Sacha and Luke (albeit briefly).
Shame I didn't get to speak to Suw and tell her thanks for recommending Spaced but then I've done it here. Suw also posts a run down of the evening here. (via Lloyd who shares Johnnie's views on format)
This event cemented a number of ideas swirling in my head about blogs and their usages, which I hope to capture somewhere soon.
Of course I am about to be abducted by aliens for two weeks. When I return to planet blog maybe some sense will have emerged (knowing my track record this is unlikely).
Posted by Paul Goodison at March 25, 2005 09:46 PM | TrackBack