The last post managed to generate THREE replies, which is a record for the Lone Banana.
The first was from Jaz, who I named in the post. I should clarify that I wasn't picking on Jaz when I singled her out for saying she was often too tired to read a post that didn't grab her immediately. Although it was funny that in her reply she should say the mention of her name in the third paragraph was enough to get her attention. (I should use name-dropping more often). Anyway, for the record let it be known, Jaz Is A Lovely Lady. She brought this up:
"actually my thing about blogs is.. is there a point if no one reads it?"
My buddy Meng followed that up with
"does a tree falling in an empty forest make a sound?"
The general consensus was that each writer needs to create their own goals for their blog, just like any other creation. Oh, and that photoblogs are better. But I am Poor, and cannot afford a digital camera.
In other news, JESSICA ALBA still stalks the screens with Latina good looks and B-grade acting talent. (Can you feel the name-drop hit the floor like a dope beat from Timbaland?)
JESSICA!!!
Does a name-drop in empty cyberspace make a sound?
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Small fish in a big pond
I found out pop/blues/acoustic artist John Mayer blogs on his Myspace page. I've been thinking about the purpose of blogging a bit lately, and this latest development has me floored. (Is there anything this man can't/doesn't do?)
It's hard enough to read the newspaper these days, even online. The advent of Blogging, as with many things tied to the internet, expanded and exploded the reading choices of your average web surfer. In this age of the 2 second attention span it's almost impossible to catch someone's reading attention unless you've got a flashy animation/cool graphic or some mention of sex somewhere in there. Even that doesn't work so well anymore since any self-respecting email client will spam anything with "HUGE 36DD BREASTS PENIS ANAL" anyhow.
My friend Jaz said to me the other day that my blog had nice prose but she was just too tired to read the whole thing. Which was nice to hear, but it presents a new set of problems. We used to be taught in English class in high school that writing articles meant you needed to get 90% of your important information out in the first paragraph and a half. Which means most of you probably have opened a new browser by this point in this article, and that if you're still reading here I should send you chocolates.
That model of writing is like writing/assembling a movie trailer. You've got to get the best bits and cram them into a 30 sec spot, and to hell if you ruin the suspense or reveal the ending. It's not even like writing a pop song, where the catchy hook hits you hard about 1 minute into play. It sure isn't like writing a symphony.
My friend Shona has this neat trick she uses when sending travel emails: a short blurb and a long version that follows - a considerate and flexible format. Unfortunately it doesn't transfer so well into this blog, which is not so much about itemisation of the day-to-day events of a lowly intern. I have to work harder than that to earn your readership.
Which brings me back to John Mayer. I know many people read celebrity/gossip related blogs, but here is a blog one better - a blog *by* a celebrity. I'm guilty of a fair amount of celebrity worship, and I could probably be easily tempted into reading some mundanity that John Mayer ate Oreos for breakfast, or ties his left shoe first. But Mayer, the bastard, goes one up on that - he can actually write, with much of the humour and insight his lyrics suggest he would. His blog is pretty random, but very readable. There's a recent blog entry that posts a hypothetical response to one of those "HUGE 36DD BREASTS PENIS ANAL" spam emails.
I ask you then, what chance does a small blog like this have against a Goliath like that? Mayer already sings, plays guitar, has a swag of Grammys and now he blogs too. If he gets anywhere near a stethoscope I'm leaving and going to live on a mountain somewhere.
It's hard enough to read the newspaper these days, even online. The advent of Blogging, as with many things tied to the internet, expanded and exploded the reading choices of your average web surfer. In this age of the 2 second attention span it's almost impossible to catch someone's reading attention unless you've got a flashy animation/cool graphic or some mention of sex somewhere in there. Even that doesn't work so well anymore since any self-respecting email client will spam anything with "HUGE 36DD BREASTS PENIS ANAL" anyhow.
My friend Jaz said to me the other day that my blog had nice prose but she was just too tired to read the whole thing. Which was nice to hear, but it presents a new set of problems. We used to be taught in English class in high school that writing articles meant you needed to get 90% of your important information out in the first paragraph and a half. Which means most of you probably have opened a new browser by this point in this article, and that if you're still reading here I should send you chocolates.
That model of writing is like writing/assembling a movie trailer. You've got to get the best bits and cram them into a 30 sec spot, and to hell if you ruin the suspense or reveal the ending. It's not even like writing a pop song, where the catchy hook hits you hard about 1 minute into play. It sure isn't like writing a symphony.
My friend Shona has this neat trick she uses when sending travel emails: a short blurb and a long version that follows - a considerate and flexible format. Unfortunately it doesn't transfer so well into this blog, which is not so much about itemisation of the day-to-day events of a lowly intern. I have to work harder than that to earn your readership.
Which brings me back to John Mayer. I know many people read celebrity/gossip related blogs, but here is a blog one better - a blog *by* a celebrity. I'm guilty of a fair amount of celebrity worship, and I could probably be easily tempted into reading some mundanity that John Mayer ate Oreos for breakfast, or ties his left shoe first. But Mayer, the bastard, goes one up on that - he can actually write, with much of the humour and insight his lyrics suggest he would. His blog is pretty random, but very readable. There's a recent blog entry that posts a hypothetical response to one of those "HUGE 36DD BREASTS PENIS ANAL" spam emails.
I ask you then, what chance does a small blog like this have against a Goliath like that? Mayer already sings, plays guitar, has a swag of Grammys and now he blogs too. If he gets anywhere near a stethoscope I'm leaving and going to live on a mountain somewhere.
Bangers and mashups v3
The remix frenzy continues...I suppose it's easier to push other people's stuff together than to make new stuff of your own. *sigh*
Anyway - for your enjoyment, StudioGypsy presents:
Beyonce feat Blackstreet - Work it out (No diggity) and Beyonce and Amerie feat Jay-Z - Crazy in love - One thing (remix)
Pop music almanac: Work it out was featured on the Austin Powers 3 Soundtrack and originally produced by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo of the Neptunes. Williams and Hugo initially got their start co-writing for producer/singer Teddy Riley, the founder of Blackstreet.
Beyonce's monster hit Crazy in love was produced by Rich Harrison, the man also responsible for Amerie's One thing.
I *am* a geek.
Anyway - for your enjoyment, StudioGypsy presents:
Beyonce feat Blackstreet - Work it out (No diggity) and Beyonce and Amerie feat Jay-Z - Crazy in love - One thing (remix)
Pop music almanac: Work it out was featured on the Austin Powers 3 Soundtrack and originally produced by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo of the Neptunes. Williams and Hugo initially got their start co-writing for producer/singer Teddy Riley, the founder of Blackstreet.
Beyonce's monster hit Crazy in love was produced by Rich Harrison, the man also responsible for Amerie's One thing.
I *am* a geek.
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