Press - Blog Feedback Loop II

Joi Ito on NYU's Digital.Journalism Class Site talking blogs and journalism with the students:

Anthony, a student:

2. Joi Ito disappointed me sometimes, especially when she posed the question of what the difference was between a diary, a journal, and a blog was. It was such an interesting question, but then she copped out on the answer by just giving us links to her brand new diary that had one entry and her live journal. I would have liked to see some answer from her and not just answers from her readers.

Joi Ito responds:

I hope my comments don't appear too negative. I'm quite interested in your thoughts and believe that my blog is evolving. Please remember that it's YOU that is viewing my blog with your journalism glasses on and I'm not being paid to write for anyone other than myself. I am interested in how blogs might augment or interact with journalism, but we're inventing the form as we go. Thus the blogging about blogging.

The most important point is that there are no clear lines between the reader and the writer. When you read my blog, you're jumping into a conversation that I am having. You can critique it and I can read that critique. In my posting here, I've jumped into a conversation that you are having and I can easily share my thoughts. What does this collapsing of context mean for academia and journalism?

And he's sitting across the table, as we discuss this class, threatening to write "Blogging as War" about the art of blogging and how to be effective in constructing an argument in this medium. Okay. I'm game for it....

Posted by Mary Hodder at February 17, 2004 04:09 PM | TrackBack