Saturday 25 October 2008

Express yourself


Zac pointed me in the direction of this great article in Wired.

I'm not sure if Paul Boutin set out to get the blogosphere talking when he wrote this piece but he certainly has.

He opens with this tirade:

"Thinking about launching your own blog? Here's some friendly advice: Don't. And if you've already got one, pull the plug."

That has my vote for opening sentence of the year. No contest.

So why is Boutin so anti blogging? Same reason that I'm tired of reading about top ten lists, followers and the Blog Council:

"Personal sites have been shoved aside by professional ones."

He backs up his point with this:

"The blogosphere, once a freshwater oasis of folksy self-expression and clever thought, has been flooded by a tsunami of paid bilge. Cut-rate journalists and underground marketing campaigns now drown out the authentic voices of amateur wordsmiths."

Couldn't have put it better myself.

But rather than shutting my blog down I'm treating Boutin's article as a rallying call.

So should you.