I agree with the author of the Slate piece that’s getting so much play in the blogosphere, up to a point. The things that called themselves blogs that came from Denton and Calacanis are professional publications written by paid journalists that use blogging software for content management. That’s fine and I suppose you can call them blogs, but don’t get confused and think that their supposed death (which itself is arguable) has anything to do with the amateur medium that is blogging. They’re separate things, on separate paths with different futures.
To say blogging is dead is as ridiculous as saying email or IM or the telephone are dead. The blog never belonged on the cover of magazines, any more than email was a cover story (it never was) but that doesn’t mean the tool isn’t useful inside organizations as a way to communicate, and as a way for businesses to learn how the public views them and their competitors.
Blogs are where new businesses will spring from. Think of blogs as being like dorm rooms, and remember that’s where Dell Computer came from. Blogging communities are incubators. Some communities incubate negative stuff, plenty of those, but occasionally a blogging community serves as the launching pad for something good. There will be a steady stream of those, and they will be on the cover of magazines, and will belong there.
Scripting News Annex 
Posted by Dave’s Wordpress Blog » Scripting News for 2/18/2006 on February 18, 2006 at 10:25 am
[…] Essay: Blogging is a part of life. […]
Posted by The Eye on February 18, 2006 at 11:28 am
Hi, in a post from about three weeks ago I took the entirely opposite side. If you want check it out at the URL I left. It is the third installment of an essay I dubbed “Disinformation in the Digital Age.”
TheEyeBlog
Posted by TheEye on February 18, 2006 at 11:36 am
In a post from about three weeks ago I took the entirely opposite side.
If you want check it out at Disinformation in the Digital Age – Part 3
It is the third installment of an essay I wrote on the subject.
Posted by scott on February 18, 2006 at 11:50 am
I very much doubt that new businesses will “spring from” blogs. Although new businesses can benefit from having a blog that informs those of their customers interested in their activities, I am convinced that new businesses will come from new types of content and data syndication that are not seen as blogging.
Of course these ideas will be discussed in blogs as well as in email and IM. However, is there an example of a blogging community successfully incubating a new business? If there is such an example, how did that blogging community get reimbursed for their efforts so that they could continue supporting their existence? If such an ecosystem were to arise wouldn’t these bloggers be more accurately be described as marketers instead of amateur journalists?
Posted by Kent Newsome on February 18, 2006 at 1:00 pm
***Dave Winer has a post today in response to the Slate article that talks about the pending demise of blogs. The Slate article says, in a nutshell, that blogging as a business has been co-opted by the same frenzy that led to the last dot.com boom and bust, so it’s only a matter or time until those blogs crash under the weight of their over-sold worth and exaggerated influence***
Posted by Dorai’s Techlog » Blogging Communities are Incubators on February 18, 2006 at 1:53 pm
[…] From Dave Winer’s Blogging is part of life: Blogs are where new businesses will spring from. Think of blogs as being like dorm rooms, and remember that’s where Dell Computer came from. Blogging communities are incubators. […]
Posted by todd cochrane on February 18, 2006 at 4:17 pm
New business are indeed springing from blogs my two companies are living proof, and even though we are small we are doing more business than 6 people can handle and it all started from blogging.
Posted by Mashable.com/journal » on February 18, 2006 at 4:49 pm
[…] world of passionate, independent writers, it may become harder to own the bloggers themselves. Trackback from your ownsite. […]
Posted by Chrono Cr@cker on February 19, 2006 at 12:32 am
Very nice post man! Infact, blogs are dead as much as Technology is dead. As the internet continues to be the future, the prominence of blogs will continue to rise. In the future, we’ll probably be seeing blogs in the Alexa Top 100 List…
Posted by Roland Piquepaille on February 19, 2006 at 1:27 am
I agree with Dave’s comment: blogs are parts of our lives. But have they changed the global economy? Only marginally, and in a minuscule way.
Companies selling blogging tools and related services made tiny amounts of money. The advertising market grew up only slightly. And companies just added another communication tool to their arsenal. That’s about all. Blogs represent just a very small drop into the big ocean of the IT and the media worlds.
And if you’re not convinced, read this column on ZDNet ( http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=162 ).
Posted by Mickeleh on February 19, 2006 at 2:18 am
Dave’s Scripting News on Saturday, February 19, links to the epitaph of blogging. The moment that Safire chimes in with a column about the jargon of any cultural phenomenon, we know it’s on the downhill slope.
Posted by talkislam on February 19, 2006 at 7:23 am
lol, bloging isn’t dead at all, its like an unkilled joke
Posted by kp on February 19, 2006 at 8:05 am
I doubt very much that new businesses will spring from blogs. Max. few books, a couple high profile jobs and ad revenue. It is a great medium for communicating and interacting with readers (just like newsgroups).
Posted by Gerry McGarry on February 19, 2006 at 8:33 am
Funny, I actually think that blogging as a content management system has enabled people to take new directions with their online businesses.
I think the monetization aspect (ala ProBlogging) is only feasible to a select few, but the ability to spread and share ideas is still there. People have gained powerful voices through blogging. It’s certainly an interesting trip, and it’ll be fun to see where the whole area goes and what it might evolve into…
Posted by Dorai’s Techlog » Conversations on Blogging is Part of Life on February 19, 2006 at 9:03 am
[…] Interesting discussion on Blogging is Part of Life. It will be interesting to record these comments somewhere and get back to them after a couple of years. While writing/publishing a blog may not really provide income, the knowledge they spread around has a far greater impact. It is like having a million personal teachers on the internet to choose from. […]
Posted by RickMahn.com » Blog Archive » Dave Winer: “Blogging is part of life” on February 19, 2006 at 11:18 am
[…] I agree with Dave Winer’s analysis about blogging is a part of life. The notion that an enabling technology being the news is misleading – the technology is just a mechanism for each of us to communicate our thoughts and ideas, in an easier, faster cheaper way. […]
Posted by Rick on February 19, 2006 at 11:23 am
I agree Dave, blogging isn’t dead, and it is more powerful in the hands of the amatures. It just makes the “professionals” nervous and they feel the need to spin it in their favor as much as possible.
I’m sure blogging is as dead as:
– WiFi
– Bluetooth
– Apple
– Windows
– PDAs
– Palm
– you name it
Good read!
Posted by Hiren on February 19, 2006 at 5:03 pm
I cannot agree with you more. For the first time in the history of mankind, an individual has what can truly be called a democratic tool-his blog with the world at large as his audience. Being an Indian writer and a poet I have come across some self styloed intellectuals in the form of editors who reject articles thinking that they know what best works in the marketplace. Reality is that in certain ways all markets are like the stock markets- you never know what will work and what will not work until you try.
I agree with the incubator bit as well. It is but natural that the next businesses or string of businesses should spring from there. It is said that talent is more important than the tool and it is only a matter of time before genuine writing emerges and elevates the blogging platform.
Posted by Mostly Muppet Dot Com on February 19, 2006 at 11:52 pm
Blogs are made of people!
Well, maybe the Soylent Green reference is a bit of hyperbole, but at the very least blogs are made by people and that is what matters.
Believe it or not, there is still a lot of discussion within and throughout the blogosphere about what actually cons…
Posted by Running Sandwitch » links for 2006-02-21 on February 20, 2006 at 6:19 pm
[…] Dave’s WordPress Blog » Blogging is part of life Dave’s contention: Blogging is not business but life style. (tags: dave winer blogger blog life style) […]
Posted by Chrono Cr@cker on February 20, 2006 at 7:16 pm
And, The Blog Herald going for around $75,000 is ample proof of that. Amen!
Posted by swartzonmedia on March 20, 2006 at 10:03 pm
I do not know about new businesses spring up from blogging, but I know for a fact that current businesses of a variety of trades (dentists, real-estate, window companies, etc…) are integrating blogging into their companies. I know this because I took a seminar on blogging from blogosopher (http://blogosopher.com/?page_id=36)and they too were in attendance.