Apperceptions

BlogNashville Sells Out?

Again, it looks like another blogging conference is selling out.

I don't mean that a lot of people attended.  In fact, the meeting rooms didn't look too packed to me from the videos I've seen.  What I do mean is, remarks from the likes of no less than J.D. Lassica indicate that the conference seemed a bit too centered on one topic:how to make money from your blog.

Adam Shostack's seminar looks like it was popular, but not enough to warrant hanging out like a good conference usually does (in my experience as a lecturer).

It's sounds like going to a writer's conference only to find out that people are mainly interested in how to get a book or tv deal.

That's not surprising, really.

Paul Chaney, a marketing-type who could use an about page, blogs in his impressions that this conference was good for exposure to lots of media and political blogs, but that the conference was not done the way he would have done it.

Ryanne has posted some great videos she and Jay made at the conference.  Unfortunately, the videos mainly highlight the degree to which so many people just don't get "vlogs".

Even Dave Winer comes off looking like a bit of a Luddite.  I hate to admit he and I are about the same age.  Is the same thing happening to me?  Probably.  It certainly sounds like his session would have put me to sleep.

It seems to me that Northern Voice was the last great blogging conference.

Meanwhile, Tripp Millican is videoblogging his life!

Addendum: It appears that Dave Winer rubbed quite a few people the wrong way and one of the more heated encounters was recorded by people making a documentary called "BLOG".  Here is a great cartoon sketch; click it for more info.

Les Blogs or Less Blogs?

Is it just me or did the whole Les Blogs thing fizzle big time (at least to North Americans)?  Sure there's lots of news about it, but it seems like the whole thing made no real splash at all.

I think the problem is the so-called "A-listers".  Not blogging.

Lately, I have been moving more and more "A-list" bloggers into my "zzzzzzz" folder in Thunderbird.  This is where I put the ones that I used to like, but am finding less and less relevant each day.  I only check the "zzzzzzz" folder once a week or so and clean it out about once a month or so.  Everyone else, I keep up with.

Sometimes I get so fed up with a blogger that I actually enjoy booting the feed into the "zzzzzzzzzz" folder.  Take that!

I really love it when I can pull someone out of there (Paolo is the only one so far).

I keep wanting to take Joi Ito out of the "zzzzzzz" list, but can't seem to justify it.

Zawodny seems to have lost his cool back at the sky gliding camp.  Now he just bitches half the time and makes excuses for Yahoo and himself.  To the "zzzzzzz" list.

I'd take Dave Winer out if he'd just stop putting markup code in his titles.  Jeez.  What a geek! (he sent me an invite to Yahoo! 360 though - thanks Dave - I like your writting when it's legible).

Now I guess I'm bitching.  Oh well, you can always put me on your "zzzzzzz" folder or just hit delete.

I hope BlogNashville goes better (it should, there are better people there, like Jay Dedman - oops, Dave Winer is presenting at the same time) but I think the "blogging" thing is over (not writing them, just the "real" conferences).  $50 says that even the 2006 SXSW will be so "last year".  Any takers?

Addendum₁: Jeez! Some jerk weenie jerk left a trackback, linked here, misquoted this blog and then credited the wrong person.  Apparently this is the organizer for BlogNashville!  I hope he/she handles details better in the real world than they do in the blogosphere.  Trackback deleted! I'm not even gunna link to the offending page :P

Addendum₂: I changed "jerk" to "weenie" because they apologized and corrected the name, but only put quote marks over a single word I said, taken out of context.  Jeez!  I hope this guy checks out some of the journalism vs. blogging sessions.

Addendum₃: Now he's complaining that I called him a "jerk" inspite of his self-admitted lack of attention to detail.  He does have excuses though.  ("Excuses? Reasons? They are all the same to me." - General Arturo Salazar)  On the other hand, some of his other readers are also complaining about his misrepresenting their words too.  So I gues he's promoted back to "jerk" again.  I still hope it's a great conference for all who go.

Addendum₄: I'm standardizing on seven z's in "zzzzzzz-list'.  I added a new category.