Tuesday, October 01, 2002

I began updating my blogroll links today (long overdue), and I had an "aha" moment. One of the reasons blogs are so superior to discussion groups is that they depart from the long-held principle of  "...on the Internet, no one knows you're a dog...". Blogs, at least the best ones, are signed. They are not anonymous, so the authors feel the pressure (or pleasure) of having their name and identity associated with the content. Compare this with the unconstructive flame-fests common on anonymous collaboration spaces like Usenet. To be a bit anthropomorphic, perhaps this is a maturing of the Internet media. In our youth we reveled in having an anonymous, consequence-free podium. And it's still there if we need it. But higher quality discourse requires putting yourself, your true self out there for judgement. The blogosphere (still not sure I like that term) does that. comment []7:24:19 AM

Is it time to buy some Sun, or have they become irrelevant? At $2.59/share, they seem like the bargain of the century. But is there room for a non-Microsoft vertically integrated server player other than IBM? Early retirement is just a matter of getting this answer exactly right. comment []5:26:47 AM

Could this be the Crackberry for the rest of us? If teens like it, watch out. comment []5:21:50 AM

Wow. This company is definitely going back to its roots. comment []5:18:51 AM

© Copyright 2002 Jeff Nichols.