DISQUS

Jim Kukral · 2 years ago

In my opinion, the single most defining thing about a "blog" is that it allows interaction. So disabling comments as a policy makes it simply a website using a cms.

Yeah, these big sites aren't blog anyway, yet people still keep calling them that. Your blog is a blog. Techcrunch is a business. Etc... Big difference.

Elias Bizannes · 2 years ago

I totally agree with your comment that "the post is like a magnet that attracts different viewpoints". I realised this when I had a travel blog in 2005, and I wrote about the Baltics. What resulted, was an argument between Estonians, Lithuanians, and Russians about Russia's abuse in the region - these comments are far more valuable than my actual blog posting (see what I mean)

As for the definition of a blog - I believe it is multi-dimensional. We should be separating the technology from the medium of communication from these discussions. Having said that though, comments turn a blog from a one-to-many one way "mass medium" to a many-to-many two-way "new medium".

The Google blog - it is blog technology, it is blog language, but it is not new media. It is still old school mass media press releases, but done in an informal way. "Is Google a blog"? Well yeah - but that doesn't mean anything.

John Dowdell · 2 years ago

Maybe people are really looking at the author's acceptance and use of feedback, rather than a formal "comments" feature in itself... they're seeking interactivity, rather than just static presentation.

(I don't feel that the official Google groupblog can be readily affected by external conversation, myself.)

Mathew Ingram · 2 years ago

Thanks for the comment, John -- and for yours too, Elias.

That reminds me of something I meant to mention in the original post, which is that responding in the comments section of your blog and trying to continue the "conversation" -- the way that Blake Ross did in that debate over Google's tips, for example -- is to me almost as important as having comments in the first place.

Tamera Kremer · 2 years ago

I still stick to the original meaning of the term "blog" to define what it is. A blog is a weblog. No comments, or even text required. Just a place you log stuff online.

We may need new definitions though to be more precise as to what each type of "log" represents.

SFGary · 2 years ago

I fully agree with you. A blog becomes more interesting if the comments are not only turned on but the author responds to the comments. I think people like to connect with others online like they do in the "real world."

So sites like Boingboing and others that don't have comments enabled are more like online newsletters or 'zines. So it is now interesting that "old media" outlets like Washpost and others now have blogs where the authors sometimes have a lively discussion with their readers. I think this is a big step forward and in my opinion will make these properties more valuable.

Mathew Ingram · 2 years ago

I agree, Gary. Thanks for the comment.