The End Of The "Blog Revolution"
The most compelling image we've seen out of CES to date: Bill Gates sitting down for a one-on-one interview with Engadget editor Ryan Block. What's compelling? The fact that Bill Gates granted an interview with a blog -- and that it's not considered news.
Not to get too meta too early in the day here, but it occurs to us that exceptions aside, we rarely hear much these days about the "blog revolution", or how "blogs are going to take down the MSM," etc. That's because most folks have figured out what a blog is -- a publishing tool, in the same way that a hammer is a home-building tool -- and what it isn't -- some radically different communication form. It doesn't matter who's using the tool. It's what they build with it.
So if a blog, like Engadget, reaches a huge swath of the tech audience, then it makes perfect sense for the world's richest man to spend some time chatting its editor up, as he's done now for years. Conversely, every major media outlet has embraced blogs, and the smarter ones don't really draw a line between them and their "regular" offerings. For obvious reasons, we think this is a good thing. And Bill, next time you're in New York? We'd love to chat.
Not to get too meta too early in the day here, but it occurs to us that exceptions aside, we rarely hear much these days about the "blog revolution", or how "blogs are going to take down the MSM," etc. That's because most folks have figured out what a blog is -- a publishing tool, in the same way that a hammer is a home-building tool -- and what it isn't -- some radically different communication form. It doesn't matter who's using the tool. It's what they build with it.
So if a blog, like Engadget, reaches a huge swath of the tech audience, then it makes perfect sense for the world's richest man to spend some time chatting its editor up, as he's done now for years. Conversely, every major media outlet has embraced blogs, and the smarter ones don't really draw a line between them and their "regular" offerings. For obvious reasons, we think this is a good thing. And Bill, next time you're in New York? We'd love to chat.
now if only the "viva la revolucion" crowd would just hush up