Definition of a Blogger

I just have to share this wonderful definition of a blogger. I found it in a book I was glancing through the other day with the rather pompous title of ‘Be Your Own Spin Doctor’. And to be honest it is not a very good book and not one I would recommend - it is quite simplistic and ironically I did not find it that well written.

Anyway, at the end of the book there is as usual a glossary. Some of it is quite helpful with definitions of terms used by journalists and PR professionals. But hidden in this list there is one reference (and only one reference) to new media - a definition of the word ‘blog’. I will reproduce the definition from the book in full because it made me laugh out loud:

Blog: a ‘weblog’. An online diary or running commentary, often written by cranks, egotists or obsessives, with some notable exceptions. (Page 175, Richards 2005)

Wow - my first reaction was I wonder which of these am I? I am sure I would not come under the list of notable exceptions. My second reaction was how dated this definition is and how far we have moved in how we understand the internet and social media. The book was originally published in 1998 but the text I was reading from was an updated 2005 edition.

I don’t want to leave you without a positive alternative to this. So I will recommend Chris Rose’s How to Win Campaigns as a good book on communications. On the internet, the blogs CopyBlogger and ProBlogger are good places to get up-to-date advice and inspiration for blogging.

But a word of warning - reading these and other blogs can become quite addictive. Much like checking your email every 30 seconds. So maybe Richards’ label of ‘obessive’ is not too far from the truth.