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Recent Comments
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Yeah, we've both had our share of hope and disappointment in this game. Let's just hope for a good b...
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Articles: bloggers

Page 1 | Page 2

Heather Armstrong
Thursday, 2023 May 11 - 12:32 pm
Well-known pioneering blogger Heather Armstrong has died of suicide at the age of 47.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggers

The Evolution of Blogging
Sunday, 2013 October 13 - 11:21 am
Well, I've finally had enough. As of today, there'll be no more comments on this blog.

There was a time when blogging was a community conversation. We found people with common beliefs and interests, we shared information and personal stories with each other, and we had a constructive dialog via our comment sections. I made several real-life friends through this blog, and I learned to open up about myself; I don't regret any of it.

But blogging has changed as a medium. Now, really, there are basically two types of blog commenters: rabid Obama-bashing trolls, and spammers. I didn't get so much of the former category on this blog, but I did get buckets and buckets of spam. Despite all my attempts to rein it in (CAPTCHA, keyword blocking, IP address blocking, country blocking), I still got a thousand spam comments for every useful one. I'm tired of trying to ban every possible spelling and usage of "Oakley", "Gucci", and "Nike". Handling email spam is easy compared to handling comment spam.

I'm really not sure where I want to go with this blog in general. I don't write as much overall, as I'm sure you can tell. For short-form stuff, I've pretty much switched to Facebook and Twitter. I still like having this blog for longer-form writing every now and then, because I like having it under my control, and I like that my posts won't get lost in all the noise of social media sites.

I predict that someday we'll come up with something new: some kind of decentralized social media organization, one where we can connect with real people and real friends, but cut out spammers, trolls, and advertisers. Ideally it'd be a place where each person has some control over their own layout and content. The technology exists; someone just has to put it together and find a way for it to gain widespread adoption.

Maybe we'll call it "Geocities".
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Posted by Ken in: bloggerscommentarysite-business

Fired For Facebooking
Tuesday, 2010 November 9 - 10:21 pm
So, apparently getting fired for blogging about your job is sooo 2002. A Connecticut woman was recently fired for complaining about boss on her Facebook wall.

The odd and/or annoying thing is that we're rehashing the same arguments about teh Internets and privacy and free speech that we did eight years ago. Today on NPR there was an older guy who said posting on Facebook was just like publishing in a newspaper (whatever that is), and a young-ish woman who said you can make your Facebook private, JUST LIKE MY VAG. Okay, she didn't say that, but she could have, because none of her friends are old enough to listen to the radio.

In another eight years, we will all have our own Internet TV shows (in 3D) that nobody watches, except when we use them to complain about work. When that happens, you'll have to figure out the obscure privacy settings that hide your rants, or the weird video you made lip-syncing to Lady Gaga. Except that no one will know who Lady Gaga is any more, so it won't matter.

The National Labor Relations Board is suing on behalf of the woman. Stay tuned to my blog for more news on this. Except that I'm a blogger, and I'll forget to post any updates, and you can just Google "woman Facebook firing" just like everyone else.

(This is National Blog Posting Month. How's THAT for some old-school blogging? Suck it, Facebook.)
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Posted by Ken in: bloggerscommentaryfunnyhaha

NaBloPoMo 2010
Monday, 2010 November 1 - 1:14 pm
Going to try it again.

NaBloPoMo Participant 2010
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Posted by Ken in: bloggers

Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie
Tuesday, 2009 December 22 - 5:14 pm
So here's my wonderful Nablopomo prize package from Elizabeth:

Aussie treats

I've duly researched each item and I now know what a Tim Tam Slam is; I'm planning to try it tomorrow morning. The ANZAC biscuits are surprisingly tasty for what was essentially a military ration... they're like hard crunchy oatmeal cookies, though I've read that I should never call them "cookies".

And of course no Australian collection would be complete without Vegemite. On the next Australia Day, I'm going to put on the Australia temporary tattoos and make everyone at work try a bite of Vegemite on toast. Heh heh heh.

Thanks, Elizabeth! I'm greatly enjoying the prize.
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Posted by Ken in: bloggersfood

Good Times
Wednesday, 2009 December 2 - 1:26 am
So first of all, I won a prize for NaBloPoMo, which is awesome because I never win prizes ever. And to top it off, it's actually something I appreciate: food. Some of the other prizes were baby bibs and handmade jewelry... I'm sure they're lovely, but I haven't worn a baby bib in like, months.

The prize is being provided by Elizabeth of Scarlet Words, which I immediately added to my RSS feed list and my sidebar because both the blog and the blogger are cute and brilliant.

In other news, Blu-Ray (PS3) plus new flat panel TV plus digital surround sound plus Star Trek equals geekgasm. Even Amy shuddered at the awesomeness. Sunday will be movie night here... let me know if you want to come over.
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Posted by Ken in: bloggerstechwatch

Last Day of NaBloPoMo
Monday, 2009 November 30 - 3:58 pm
I was going to just fire off another short obligatory post to fulfill my NaBloPoMo requirements, until I realized it was the last day of the month. NaBloPoMo: done!



Looking back on the month, I'd say it was a fairly successful string of blogging... a little bit of everything, and no "I don't have anything to blog about today" posts.

I am tempted to give NaNoWriMo a try next year, though I fear the time commitment of having to write nearly 1700 words a day. But on the other hand, I think I'd be more likely to finish a novel that way, than if I were allowed to procrastinate and delay over the course of several years. I'll have to think about it.

I'll continue to try to post on a regular basis even though NaBloPoMo is over. I'm sure everyone says that; it's like a New Year's resolution. But really... I'll try.
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Posted by Ken in: bloggers

Word of the Day
Monday, 2009 November 2 - 9:56 am
The word of the day is "cinereal", which means "ashen" (as in "grey"), because it's so grey outside today. I would totally have thought the word had something to do with documentaries, as in "cinema + reality". But it actually comes from the Latin word cineris, meaning "of ashes".

By the way, I've signed up for NaBloPoMo this month, so expect many more posts in this vein.
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Posted by Ken in: bloggersinteresting

This Is Why Newspapers Fail
Tuesday, 2009 September 1 - 4:03 pm
If you're a Michigan football fan at all, you're probably aware of the recent hoo-hah that some folks are calling "PracticeGate". Last Friday, The Detroit Free Press published a sensationalist article accusing Coach Rich Rodriguez of violating NCAA rules concerning limits on practice time for football players.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggerscommentarysports

Circular Reasoning
Wednesday, 2009 July 29 - 5:27 pm
There's an increasing problem in the Interwebs these days. It goes something like this.
  • A blogger or small-time web site posts an unsubstantiated rumor or speculation about something (like, say, an Apple "iTablet").
  • A semi-mainstream media outlet, like CNet's news.com, picks up on the rumor, but makes the rumor sound like fact by putting a headline on it like "Apple ready to release iTablet this fall".
  • Executives from companies unrelated to the rumor (like record company execs) read these reports and speculate about the rumored product.
  • Mainstream media outlets publish these quotes as evidence that the rumored product is actually coming to market.
  • Bloggers quote the mainstream media article and now reference the rumor as certainty.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggerstechwatch

Coining phrases
Thursday, 2008 August 14 - 7:47 pm
It's occurred to me that whenever I have a high-effort blog post to write (like, say, a recap of a trip to New Zealand), I put off writing it until I have a bunch of free time. (Which is practically never.) But I also avoid writing about anything else, figuring that I should be making the big post the highest priority item. So what happens is nothing ends up getting written. I'm trying to think of a word that properly sums up this blogging gridlock phenomenon: blogridlock? intestinal bloggage? Suggestions are welcome.

It's also occurred to me that I should probably create a way to micro-blog on this site. I want something sort of like Twitter, but I want it more of a place to put up a quick link or interesting story that I've found, rather than a place to let the world know that I'm about to go take a dump or something. I'd make the feed into a daily digest of these items, so it doesn't clog up RSS feeds with a bunch of tiny items. I need a name for this too, like "ittybittyblog". (I've already registered the domain name, natch.) Maybe I'll make it a service that others can use, hmm.

Anyway... I'll get started on my New Zealand post. It won't be perfect, but I need to get it out of the way.
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Posted by Ken in: bloggerssite-business

Charity in the Blogosphere
Tuesday, 2008 January 8 - 12:22 pm
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the biggest charity contributor in the world. I shun mega-charities like the United Way, I don't tithe, and I just hate those guys who come door-to-door selling magazine subscriptions for "a good cause". The little girl from next door who came selling Girl Scout cookies? It pained me to buy my requisite two boxes, knowing that my money would be swallowed up in the giant coffers of the Girl Scouts organization, and I would never know who benefited from it.

What I do like is when I can help a specific person with a specific need, especially when that person didn't ask me for anything... and I especially like it if I can do it in a manner that demonstrates the power of the internet community.

So I present to you a series of posts on The Anchored Nomad (links here, here, and here, where the esteemed Portuguesa Nova describes the plight of a classmate trying to raise funds to take a nursing exam. I only know this blogger because I followed some link somewhere years ago. I read the blog now because (a) she lives in Ann Arbor and (b) she has this maddening way of blurring out her own face whenever she posts pictures, and I hope that one day before I die I finally get to know what she looks like.

Anyway, she put a "donate" link up on her blog, and I threw a few bucks her way, and hey look! Free publicity for my own little blog here.

It's this sort of thing that makes the Internet great, more so than Google or Yahoo or all the porn sites. It's the fact that we can build communities even when we're worlds apart, when our only connections are through a tenuous series of hyperlinks on an ephemeral set of web pages.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggers

Make Me a Millionaire
Wednesday, 2007 December 19 - 4:13 pm
In a recent article on Kottke.org, Jason prompted his readers to come up with a word that means "writing a blog comment or Twitter update, thinking better of it, and then discarding it by closing the browser tab without clicking 'Post'".

I suggested "cwop", derived from "closed without posting". Usage: "I was going to comment on that article, but I cwopped out instead."

My suggestion has received a few votes in the comment section. Please vote for me, because if it wins, I will undoubtedly receive a million dollars from the grateful Internet community.
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Posted by Ken in: bloggersinteresting

BlogHer 2006: Saturday, July 29, Part 3
Monday, 2006 August 7 - 11:10 pm
The closing keynote, and the day 2 cocktail party.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggerslife

BlogHer 2006: Saturday, July 29, Part 2
Saturday, 2006 August 5 - 11:55 pm
More of the conference, and my fabulous encounter with Dooce.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggerslife

BlogHer 2006: Saturday, July 29, Part 1
Saturday, 2006 August 5 - 10:47 am
The conference itself.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggerslife

BlogHer 2006: Friday, July 28, Part 2
Wednesday, 2006 August 2 - 11:49 pm
The Day 1 Cocktail Party.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggerslife

Four Things
Friday, 2006 February 10 - 1:21 am
I feel like I'm finally SOMEBODY.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggerslife

Set To Drink Our Faces Off
Wednesday, 2006 February 1 - 8:07 am
... at BlogHer 2006.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggerslife

BlogHer 2006
Wednesday, 2006 January 25 - 1:41 am
Oh, it's ON.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggers

BlogHer 2006
Wednesday, 2005 October 26 - 8:31 am
Oh, it's ON.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggers

Ken Needs a Hug and Some New Windchimes
Friday, 2005 October 14 - 8:02 am
A company cookbook, a sport I could really enjoy, and a list of things I need.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggerscommentaryfunnyhaha

Blog People
Wednesday, 2005 October 12 - 9:05 am
A couple of shout-outs here.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggerslife

Katrina Aid Meme Summary
Tuesday, 2005 September 13 - 9:14 am
A recap of Katrina Aid posts on realkato.com.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggerscommentarysite-business

Katrina Aid Meme Update 2
Monday, 2005 September 12 - 7:58 am
Another followup.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggerscommentarysite-business

Katrina Aid Meme Update
Friday, 2005 September 9 - 9:33 pm
You people all rock. Thanks for participating and spreading the word.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggerscommentarysite-business

The Katrina Aid Meme
Friday, 2005 September 2 - 10:10 pm
I've been trying to think of the best way to exploit the power of the blogosphere to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and I think I've got an idea. (Updated 14 September 2005, 8:23 AM EDT.)

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Posted by Ken in: bloggerscommentarysite-business

They Continue to Find Me
Friday, 2005 September 2 - 8:44 am
... and I think I like it!

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Posted by Ken in: bloggers

Linking
Tuesday, 2005 August 9 - 11:24 pm
Just in case you missed these...

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Posted by Ken in: bloggerscommentary

BlogHer Battle
Monday, 2005 August 8 - 11:05 pm
I guess not everything about BlogHer was beautiful.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggers

BlogHer Summary Post
Monday, 2005 August 1 - 5:36 pm
A meta-post with links to all my BlogHer-related entries.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggerslife

BlogHer Coverage 9: The End?
Monday, 2005 August 1 - 4:45 pm
This is about a post-conference party... and an incident where one word, left unspoken, changes everything.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggersdatinglife

BlogHer Coverage 8: Saturday Evening
Monday, 2005 August 1 - 4:44 pm
This is about the conference wrap-up session, and the cocktail party.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggers

BlogHer Coverage 7: More Saturday Afternoon
Monday, 2005 August 1 - 4:23 pm
This is about the mommyblogging breakout session.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggers

BlogHer Coverage 6: Saturday Afternoon
Monday, 2005 August 1 - 4:00 pm
This is about the "suffragette journalists" break-out session.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggers

BlogHer Coverage 5: Standing Room Only
Monday, 2005 August 1 - 3:59 pm
This is about the breakout session on identity-blogging.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggers

Blogher Coverage 4: Lunch
Monday, 2005 August 1 - 3:44 pm
This is about the working lunch session about flaming, trolls, and negative discourse in general.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggers

BlogHer Coverage 3: Saturday Late Morning
Monday, 2005 August 1 - 3:19 pm
This is about the birds-of-a-feather meet, and the political-blogging breakout session.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggers

BlogHer Coverage 2: Saturday Early Morning
Monday, 2005 August 1 - 3:17 pm
Saturday morning, I was thankful for Advil, water, and the Eastern time zone. This is about the pre-conference setup and the opening session.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggers

BlogHer Coverage 1: Friday Dinner
Monday, 2005 August 1 - 2:24 pm
A little bit more about the pre-conference dinner.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggers

OMG Part II
Saturday, 2005 July 30 - 11:20 am
Checking in briefly...

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Posted by Ken in: bloggerslifetravel

OMG
Saturday, 2005 July 30 - 2:04 am
Wow.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggerslife

Preparations
Wednesday, 2005 July 27 - 11:58 pm
Am I ready for this weekend? You betcha.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggerslife

My Personal BlogHer Agenda
Friday, 2005 July 22 - 11:19 pm
My goals for the BlogHer conference might not exactly line up with everyone else's.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggerslife

Mood Swings! Are! Fun!
Wednesday, 2005 July 20 - 12:33 am
I'm feeling better already. Really! You can tell by the exclamation points!

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Posted by Ken in: bloggerslife

Why Blogging Is Important
Tuesday, 2005 July 19 - 10:32 pm
And how it will change the world.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggers

The Drama!
Monday, 2005 July 18 - 11:22 pm
It is all over the blogosphere now: the saga of the nanny who was fired because her employer read her blog.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggers

I Blog Like a Girl
Wednesday, 2005 June 29 - 11:45 pm
At least, I hope I do.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggers

Watch Out Ladies
Monday, 2005 June 27 - 10:30 pm
I'm going to the BlogHer Conference.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggers

Well, THAT Sucks
Thursday, 2005 June 23 - 11:58 pm
No NBA championship for the good guys this year. But today wasn't all bad.

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Posted by Ken in: bloggersdatinglifesports


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