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the weblog handbook
When Perseus Publishing asked me to write a book on weblogs, I laughed. A book about weblogs? Everything you need to know is on the web!
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much I've learned since I started my site in 1999 — some of which is so obvious to experienced online denizens it doesn't seem worth explaining, but that as a newcomer I wouldn't have known to ask. Thus the weblog handbook was born.
I arranged the book in roughly the order I expect most people approach the subject, first explaining what weblogs are and why anyone would want to read or maintain one, and then moving through more practical considerations: how to choose a tool to update your site, how to make your weblog stand out, and how to attract an audience. I answer commonly asked questions about weblog etiquette, explain what you need to know about living online, and give you some suggestions for dealing with burn-out. In short, I've done my best to get everything I know about maintaining a weblog — any kind of weblog — onto the page so that you can benefit from my experience.
“ This book almost rivals Strunk and White's Elements of Style in eloquence and utility. ” — Herkimer- Perkins
I also tried to place weblogs into a larger cultural and media context. In doing so, I explore the weblog's relationship to journalism, discuss the cultural context from which weblogs emerged, and examine the ways in which the community defined itself. I start the book with an explanation of the form and end with an examination of the emergence of the early weblog community in relation to pre-existing online culture, the ways in which old-media paradigms have informed perceptions and practitioners of the form, and the state of the Weblog Nation in 2002.
advance praise:
Douglas Rushkoff — “The weblog represents the Internet at its best: thousands of authors on a single network, sharing their experiences of the world we all live in. This passionate guide to the joy of weblogging got me off my duff and writing my own. May it do the same for you.”
Jon Katz — “The weblog has enormous consequences for media, marketing, community, and what we used to call journalism. In her readable and useful handbook, Rebecca Blood has written one of the first—and by far the best—explanations of why we should care about this vibrant, organic and fiercely individualistic community. Whether you want to start one, join one, or understand the many profound implications of the blog, this book is the best place to start.”
David Weinberger — “From one of the original webloggers comes not just a How-To but also a What-to, Why-to and a So-what that focuses not on the mechanics but on helping you become a valued member of this important new global community.”
