I’ve been reading the Discover Blogs (associated with pop-sci Discover Magazine) recently & fitfully, and it finally occurred to me that most of the entries don’t really read like blog entries, but more like commercial column pieces: an interesting bit of science with the requisite journalism research behind it. But opinion? I don’t see it.
Granted, blogs are not precisely defined. Andrew Sullivan’s entries often consisted of simply a toothsome quote from an entry on someone else’s blog (or more likely several, as he was trying to cover the entire blogosphere, juxtaposing various opinions on a topic); Andrew didn’t always comment. I’m less likely to cover other blogs, but rather treat this as a way to blow off steam, to share my delight in the world (usually of science), to stop muttering to my wife, and to occasionally indulge in a bit of meta-irrationalism. (Don’t ask.)
But I think I’m looking for blogs to be used creatively, much like the BBSes of old were used. To me, the Discover Blogs are just another way to deliver news to the consumer, to entice them into subscribing to the primary product. Call it NewsBytes, or something else, but I’d sure like to see a whiff of opinion, of creativity, of something – not just news under another label. I suppose it’s not harmful, but it’s a mite irritating.
