Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Spoke at SLAC - alleviated fear of the Blog Police
Yesterday BlogHer buddy Evelyn Rodriguez and I spoke about blogging to the Women's Interchange at SLAC (Stanford Linear Accelerator.)
Evelyn focused on the cultural phenomenon. I focused on blogs as an efficient communications tool. We made a pretty good team :)
Despite being a highly technical environment (Nobel-winning physics work goes on there) many of the folks in the room were not all that familiar with blogs. Funny how no matter the envinronment people approaching blogs do so gingerly and ask very simlar questions:
-Am I allowed to delete profane or pornographic comments?
-How much time does it take to blog?
-Do I have to post every day?
Somehow people have the impression that the blogosphere is this monolithic force...to gain entrance you must sign in blood (or perhaps forfeit your first born child) that you will have an "anything goes" attitude and devote your entire life to your blog. If you fail to do so, some horrible fate awaits you in cyberspace.
They also think of most blogs as personal, sometimes also political, endeavors...not business, academic, or interactive endeavors.
It is always good to get away from the Web 2.0 bubble world in which I live and talk to other segments of the Valley. It's not just the cliche of our "mothers" that don't get the fuss about blogging...it is also highly technical people who aren't in the Internet field.
Miles to go before we sleep.
Evelyn focused on the cultural phenomenon. I focused on blogs as an efficient communications tool. We made a pretty good team :)
Despite being a highly technical environment (Nobel-winning physics work goes on there) many of the folks in the room were not all that familiar with blogs. Funny how no matter the envinronment people approaching blogs do so gingerly and ask very simlar questions:
-Am I allowed to delete profane or pornographic comments?
-How much time does it take to blog?
-Do I have to post every day?
Somehow people have the impression that the blogosphere is this monolithic force...to gain entrance you must sign in blood (or perhaps forfeit your first born child) that you will have an "anything goes" attitude and devote your entire life to your blog. If you fail to do so, some horrible fate awaits you in cyberspace.
They also think of most blogs as personal, sometimes also political, endeavors...not business, academic, or interactive endeavors.
It is always good to get away from the Web 2.0 bubble world in which I live and talk to other segments of the Valley. It's not just the cliche of our "mothers" that don't get the fuss about blogging...it is also highly technical people who aren't in the Internet field.
Miles to go before we sleep.
// posted by ElisaC @ 5:27 PM 
