[epub] Re: Blahhhgs replacing email

[Dawn Rivers Baker <editor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 10:33 PM 7/24/03 -0700, Mike Banks Valentine wrote:
> Dawn's post about Blahhhging instead of doing a regular newsletter has
> me worried that quality newsletters may give in and go the route of
> blabbing, rather than writing. I host Dawn's syndicated
> MicroEnterpriseJournal news feed at WebSite101 and would really hate to
> lose it.

Don't worry, Mike.  Ross is right.  Writing and publishing a newsletter 
(emphasis on the "news") is a very different animal from blogging and, 
having a bit of experience with both (I have a personal blog), I have to 
say that the main thing that stops me is that it just doesn't seem to me 
that blogging is quite compatible with the kind of reporting I do.

Blogging has gotten a lot of attention among online journalists, largely 
because there are a number of establishment journalists who have their own 
blogs for commentary, etc. and also because there are a few 
outside-the-news-establishment blogs that occasionally break stories (or 
just ask good questions that mainstream journalists fail to ask) before the 
Times and the Post.

Breaking news isn't really an issue for me, so that is an aspect of 
blogging that isn't an enticement.  But publishing a newsletter as a blog 
is also attractive to some because it tends to increase the frequency of 
updates.  Instead of publishing three articles once a week, one might 
publishing one new article every other day or so, giving site visitors more 
reason to visit more often.  That, in turn, improves traffic numbers which 
makes for more enticing lure for advertisers.

The question, of course, is whether making your publication more attractive 
to advertisers will come at the expense of the quality of your content.  It 
probably shouldn't, because there is no real need to write differently 
simply because the mechanics of uploading a new article changes.  But, 
there is always the temptation to go with an article before you've given 
yourself time to contact as many sources as you need to or otherwise check 
out your stories.  Blogs will not be good for online news if it causes 
reporters to get sloppy with their work.

Besides all that, Mike isn't the only site that carries my news wire.  I 
wouldn't care to break faith with the webmasters who have expressed their 
support for my work by arbitrarily yanking the feed on them.

It is possible that a blog will eventually find a place in my arsenal of 
small business information publishing, but I doubt it will ever actually 
REPLACE The MicroEnterprise Journal.  And I suspect that for most pure 
information newsletters (as opposed to marketing newsletters), that will 
turn out to be the general consensus.

Cheers!
Dawn


Dawn Rivers Baker
Editor-in-Chief

The MicroEnterprise Journal
http://www.microenterprisejournal.com
Work small. Live large. Read smart.


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