A rose by any other name ....

 

The recent flurry of posts on "the death of blogging" or blogging versus twitter versus [insert latest cool tool here] are mute. It is the motivation behind the effort that is interesting - our human [and business need ] for connection and expression and the impact that micro-connections have on our memory, analysis and objectivity.  There is a big difference between living in the moment and stepping back and analyzing an event, business or feeling.

There is benefit to both - and they are not interchangeable.  Living & communicating in the moment serves one purpose and so does thoughtful analysis.   More varied media creation adds layers and multiple facets to our experiences and personalities.   The important distinction is when personal crosses into professional without full disclosure - i.e the impact on journalism, promotion, PR and marketing.  This is not about whether it is a blog or "an official newspaper" - it is knowing the role of the individual communicating and understanding whether the 'content' is analysis or spur of the moment observation. 

As blogging and social media grow up, tools as labels are less important. 

Am I a "phoner" because I use the phone?  No.  A phone can be used for an interview with a journalist, to order cable service to phone sex.  It is the role I play in each, who I am communicating with and the objective of the call that makes the difference.

The same holds true for blogs or tweets or videos - the tools is simply that a tool.

Related posts [in case you missed em]: 

Fred on real time blogging - well said - the distinction between sharing experiences later versus during. Just compare the difference between sharing your recent vacation with non-connected friends and family to the ones who follow your flickr or twitter stream - BIG difference - not better or worse- just different.

Scoble on Tech blogging:  What Robert taps into here is the blurring of the lines. He got into blogging to learn cool stuff and share his experience then he got an audience and then somehow the lines got blurred and is he now journalist, PR shill? There is a value in both professional formal analysis and observational discussion - we just need to know the role the communicator is playing.

Comments

[Ryan Jones]

Deb,

Just discovered your blog! Very insightful points here...it is indeed fascinating to watch all the discussion around projected winners/losers in the Web 2.0.

Looking forward to reading more from you.

--Ryan Jones

[Deb]

Thanks Ryan - i try. Winners/Losers - I always look at stuff from the poin t of view of the user, the person - US! Cuz heck we are often the ones lost in the battles...;)

Thanks for stoppping by! Off top check out your blog

[Ethan Bauley]

Since prehistoric times technology persistently changes how we interface with nature (shovel v. hand), each other (talking vs. smoke signal), and our own bodies (Kleenex vx. 23andme).

All en route to The Singularity, right?

;-)

As you say, seems like the broader context is that different tools fit for particular circumstances.

Fred made a similar point in a different post recently but he was speaking in terms of "market share of different web services"; there's room for lots of competing/complementary services that let people do different things.