Stephen invites Dave Winer to the front.
"I learned this about B'logs. I had basically given up on developing
software because I was promoting Mac software but the people who
controlled the flow of information believed there was no Mac software.
Even though journalists were using Macs. With the Web I could tell my
story without needing reporters. It couldn't have happened without the
web.
Q. Buzz: Did you think that Apple itself was a detriment to the growth of Mac software?
A. Yes. We had this expo' during which Apple laid off many employees
who were at the show. At dinner they were very honest. They told us
Apple strategically fought the Internet because it wasn't WYSIWYG.
We want our stars to be perfect, no blemishes. But at the same time we want to believe we're getting the truth.
We don't have a mechanism for moving things ahead now. The software industry does lose decades to stagnation.
John: I'm just getting a sense of who you are in the blogging
community. I think you have gone from torpedo to a battleship. 20-year
olds want to sink you.
Dave: I'm not a battleship. I'm a human being. I have all the traits of
a human being. They paint a target on me. I don't want to be a
battleship. I want everybody to be strong.
Here's something new. I want to change Scripting News so it's no longer a weblog.
Peter: Rob, your blog started as a consultant blog - here's interesting
article, etc. Then your mother-in-law died which opened a curtain to
your personal life. You got some flak. How can we let people be
vulnerable.
Dave: We should have a board of people who take the bullshit for us. If
somebody has a problem with us these people should filter it.
Tessa: My husband has a blog and got a lot of shit for it. I think
there's a clear line in my life between the private and the public. My
public persona is detached from my private persona.
Dave: But we don't want to separate personas.
Tessa: People do want personas. They don't want persons.
Dave: My uncle got a blog in 1996. He died recently. Can I write about
him when he's dead? To me I don't think there's a line anymore. I
thought about it for 20 minutes before concluding that I wanted to
write about it publicly.
Rob: For most people you're not Dave, you're Iconic Dave. Most people are treating you like a symbol.
Q. Do you ever not write some things?
Dave: Yes. It can be very painful to decide not to write about something, especially when others write about it.
Further discussion ensues.
