International Herald Tribune reporter Thomas Crampton guest blogs for A-list* blogger Joi Ito and, after 30 days of blog duty, provides these thoughts on how blogging differs from journalism. Blogging means:
- Involvement (different from the “lecturing” stance most journalists take)
- Informal tone
- Strong opinions (again discouraged in journalism unless it’s an op-ed piece)
- Length (doesn’t have to be long)
- Reporting (minimal, he says; other than quick Web searches)
- Time (not as much as he feared…)
He’s pretty much dead on. Although several of those who’ve left comments on the entry say it does take time. I agree. Read the full post plus comments from (A-lister) David Weinberger and others here.
* So what’s an A-list blogger, you ask? Good question and one I’m addressing in The Corporate Blogging Book. Among the A-listers are the original bloggers (starting in 2000 or so) who set the standards for the kind of smart writing, unswerving instinct for what’s worth writing about and sheer doggedness that we associate with good blogging. A few A-listers: Doc Searls, Denise Howell, Halley Suitt and lots lots more.