Comments on: Better blogs through chemicals http://blogaboutyourblog.com/2007/03/13/better-blogs-through-chemicals/ Giving you your daily blog fix Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:34:45 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Lee http://blogaboutyourblog.com/2007/03/13/better-blogs-through-chemicals/comment-page-1/#comment-823 Lee Thu, 15 Mar 2007 11:37:29 +0000 http://blogaboutyourblog.com/2007/03/13/better-blogs-through-chemicals/#comment-823 All fair comments too. LOL I've spent the better part of the evening rewriting my response over and over again. Mainly because JB has written such a fair response to the post (it doesn't hurt that it's written by a writer I greatly admire either!). In a perfect world the lawyer factor wouldn't be a problem but as I illustrate by the very existence of the post anything produced by Fairfax or some other media outlet is going to get scrutinised more than your average blogger. Had Conal written the blog through blogger.com on his own I no doubt would not have even mentioned it - actually I may have encouraged him because the blog has only just started (see my article on your first post). Like I said I do wish these new blogs on the block all the best and Viva Bris Vegas is still in my feed reader so it's done something right LOL! So the question that I'm going to have to ponder and hopefully write up a half decent post is how much harder is it to write a blog when you have those constraints! Cheers JB for taking the time to respond. All fair comments too. LOL I’ve spent the better part of the evening rewriting my response over and over again. Mainly because JB has written such a fair response to the post (it doesn’t hurt that it’s written by a writer I greatly admire either!).

In a perfect world the lawyer factor wouldn’t be a problem but as I illustrate by the very existence of the post anything produced by Fairfax or some other media outlet is going to get scrutinised more than your average blogger. Had Conal written the blog through blogger.com on his own I no doubt would not have even mentioned it – actually I may have encouraged him because the blog has only just started (see my article on your first post).

Like I said I do wish these new blogs on the block all the best and Viva Bris Vegas is still in my feed reader so it’s done something right LOL!

So the question that I’m going to have to ponder and hopefully write up a half decent post is how much harder is it to write a blog when you have those constraints!

Cheers JB for taking the time to respond.

]]> By: John Birmingham http://blogaboutyourblog.com/2007/03/13/better-blogs-through-chemicals/comment-page-1/#comment-808 John Birmingham Thu, 15 Mar 2007 02:56:28 +0000 http://blogaboutyourblog.com/2007/03/13/better-blogs-through-chemicals/#comment-808 Lee, you're point about mainstream media blogs is well made, but misses an obvious point. They're mainstream media blogs. Run by multinational corporations to draw web traffic upon which they can float their ad rates. There are any number of constraints on them that don't exist for a random punter bloggin away at home. The reality of defamation law for one thing. Example. I cut a line from a recent BT blog about a Brisbane real estate firm in which I described them as Satan's Own Realtors. The sort of thing I wouldn't think twice about writing at Cheeseburger Gothic (my personal blog) but the sort of throwaway line that would lead to court when published by Fairfax, if only because they are so much tastier targets for a hungry deffo lawyer. The other issue is audience and house style. I'm foul mouthed git in person, and on my personal blog. But I can't go droppin f-bombs every second line when i'm writing for a media company. They won't print it. Never happen. They're a billion dollar business and that shit is bad for biz. I totally get your point about 'voice', however. There's one blogger in particular who has a great voice in their emails, but it leaches out in the blog. I'm gonna see what i can do about helping with that. But in the end, no mainstream publishing house is ever going to produce anything as edgy as some punter writing for themselves with no rules and nothing to lose. Doesn't mean it aint worth readin' tho. Lee, you’re point about mainstream media blogs is well made, but misses an obvious point. They’re mainstream media blogs. Run by multinational corporations to draw web traffic upon which they can float their ad rates. There are any number of constraints on them that don’t exist for a random punter bloggin away at home. The reality of defamation law for one thing. Example. I cut a line from a recent BT blog about a Brisbane real estate firm in which I described them as Satan’s Own Realtors. The sort of thing I wouldn’t think twice about writing at Cheeseburger Gothic (my personal blog) but the sort of throwaway line that would lead to court when published by Fairfax, if only because they are so much tastier targets for a hungry deffo lawyer.

The other issue is audience and house style. I’m foul mouthed git in person, and on my personal blog. But I can’t go droppin f-bombs every second line when i’m writing for a media company. They won’t print it. Never happen. They’re a billion dollar business and that shit is bad for biz.

I totally get your point about ‘voice’, however. There’s one blogger in particular who has a great voice in their emails, but it leaches out in the blog. I’m gonna see what i can do about helping with that. But in the end, no mainstream publishing house is ever going to produce anything as edgy as some punter writing for themselves with no rules and nothing to lose. Doesn’t mean it aint worth readin’ tho.

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