Friday, August 8, 2003

a Tasmanian blog! (I feel homesick now) PLACE-ORIENTED BLOGS. You may have noticed that I (sometimes unfairly) group blogs in my blogroll into artistic, business/scientific, environmental, news, and political categories, with Salon blogs listed separately because...well, because they're my community. Recently I've discovered another type of blog that is primarily geographical in nature. These have been self-styled as 'place-oriented blogs' or 'blogs of place'. Although most of us write from time to time about what's happening in our physical community, place-oriented bloggers write almost exclusively about the history, geography, and current events (often with photos) of their community. They're actually very entertaining (and sometimes educational) to read. Here are some of the best of the breed I've found: London and the North - London & Yorkshire, UK Faultline / Creek Running North - California Lifescapes - Texas Bowen Island Journal - British Columbia Laughing Knees - Japan Life at the Edge - Tasmania (whence the photo above) Ecotone - A wiki with more Bloggers of Place, and more about them Some of our Salon bloggers write more about their physical location than others, especially those living outside the country as ex-pats. What do you think -- is your blog a 'blog of place' or do you just write about home when there's nothing more urgent to write about? Is this a legitimate new genre of blog? I have occasionally posted about my home on the Oak Ridges Moraine in Ontario, but not with any geographic thoroughness. Should I write more about place? [How to Save the World] 5:55:58 AM

another one year anniversary - Salon blogs Scott Rosenberg reflects on one year of Salon blogs. I appreciate his candour. 5:37:41 AM

Movable Type introduces TypePad New Blogging Service Rolls Out.. If you want to set up your own blog you might want to check out TypePad (which is from the well-established folks at Movable Type).  A shining example of the power of this new blog tool is the PVR Blog, which is a great resource for information on devices like TiVo and ReplayTV and digital recording devices in general. There are 3 levels of service for TypePad, the lowest priced one is $5.00 a month, which includes hosting and a bunch of features (i.e. the ability to publish picture albums etc).  Worth checking out. [Ernie the Attorney] Hmm, looks very interesting ... 5:27:30 AM