Ertblog

Ertblog: an explanation

Apologies to anyone who has been frustrated by the fact I'm now moderating comments. A month ago, I noticed an increasing number of spam comments. After a couple included unacceptable language I reluctantly decided to hold comments for moderation before they appear on site.

I'm only doing this to catch spam. Any genuine comments will appear unaltered.

On a more frivolous note, I've changed my profile photo. After two years, I thought it time to give the photo of me struggling to cycle up a very steep hill in Umbria an honourable retirement. (It also reflects my shame at not getting the bike out of the garage for three months...) 

Thank you, BBC

I had a shock yesterday. The number of visitors to Ertblog sky-rocketed. When I looked at where visitors were coming from, I spotted a link from the BBC's Editors' Blog. The BBC blog featured my post about Guardian writer Emily Bell's comments about the BBC in its sidebar. It just shows how useful it is to get a link from a high profile site - and they don't get much more high profile than the BBC.

I hope any new Ertblog readers enjoy the ride!

I should add that I am a fan of Emily Bell, despite my comments on her BBC piece. She is a breath of fresh air, although I do take what she says with a pinch of salt...

Typepad problems

I've been blogging on Typepad for almost 18 months now. I like the site, although I wish it was better at displaying images. (Whatever happened to WYSIWYG - What you see is what you get?)

But Typepad has recently displayed a very irritable habit of losing posts as you post them. You try to go back, but your words of wisdom (or tedium) are lost in the ether.

I've learned to save drafts as I go along. It's a pain, but it's better than having to start over again.

Sorry I've been silent

I've found my voice again.

The last month or so, I've not had the time - or, if I'm honest, the inclination - to blog. I've never seen much point in saying something for the sake of it, to fill time and space. But I've felt sorry not to have posted. It has seemed at times like a failure for someone who communicates for a living.

But it has led me to question this whole blogging business. I started off as a sceptic. (What was the point of blogging?) Then I became an enthusiast. Now I'm somewhere in the middle.

Few of us are capable of spinning out words of wisdom day in, day out. Even natural, interesting writers have a life that leaves them silent. I still can't understand how people like Iain Dale find time to blog at length several times a day. People whose blogs I read regularly when I was starting out in the blogosphere such as Stuart Bruce seem now to be tailing off a tad now. (No doubt Stuart would say it's because he's running comms for Alan Johnson's bid to become Labour's deputy leader!)

Do you read blogs regularly? Is it something you do when you're bored at work or pretending to your partner that you're getting ready for a crucial meeting in the morning? Or are you really spending your time usefully?

Just a thought...

 

Happy birthday, Ertblog

Ertblog was a year old on New Year's Day. Sorry you didn't get invited to the party!

Regular readers may have noticed that Ertblog lost its voice in December: blame a holiday, the lurgy and Christmas. My new year's resolution is to get back into the blogging habit. It's amazing how easy it is to get out of the routine of posting. So it's hardly surprising that many bloggers run out of steam and abandoned their creations. To blog, you need time to reflect and think, as Stuart Bruce has often said.

But I was unconvinced by Gartner's view that the number of blogs will peak in 2007 because "most people who would ever start a blog had done so". Sounds a little like those predictions that the world would only need a few thousand computers! And who says everyone who might like to blog has decided to do so already? I was also surprised by Technorati's definition of an active blog as one that is updated at least every three months. I can't see much point in having a blog and not adding to it for a quarter of a year! (With apologies for my month's silence...)

Lovely evening

Just demonstrating mobile blogging to our former neighbours Ron and Jenny, who came round for dinner. And yes, they are Christmas place mats! (Must get some non festive ones...)

Testing mobile blog post

From my K800i

The Guardian's missing links

Reading Peter Preston's column in today's Guardian made me realise how much I appreciate the multiple hot links provided by most bloggers.

Preston made an obscure reference to his unnamed daughter's column in an equally unnamed newspaper. Had Preston been writing a blog post, he'd have included a link for me to read the said column. But as this was a piece in a newspaper, I was left guessing - and felt rather short-changed.

The future's far from bright for Orange blogger

Another blogger's career is at risk because of his employer has taken exception to words posted online.

Inigo Wilson is a community affairs manager at Orange, the mobile phone company. He  wrote a parody of what he saw as left-wing language on the ConservativeHome website. Some of his comments represented a mildly amusing satire on political gobbledegook. But he mocked an Islamophobic as 'someone who objects to having their transport blown up on the way to work' and described Palestinians as 'archetype victims no matter how many teenagers they murder'.

The consensus amongst PR bloggers such as Stuart Bruce and Simon Collister is that Orange has done the right thing in suspending Wilson while it investigates. I firmly believe that Orange is not threatening Wilson's freedom of speech. It has the right to insist that a community affairs manager does nothing to risk its reputation amongst the diverse communities of Britain. For example, I'd take exception to a community affairs manager who makes inflammatory remarks about the Welsh!

Wilson's comments show very poor judgment. One senses that he wants to create a reputation as a Conservative propagandist. That is his right. It is not, however, necessarily compatible with the job he holds.

Ertblog goes mobile

Thanks to Stuart Bruce (www.stuartbruce.biz) I've just noticed Typepad's new Mobile application.

This is my first mobile post from my Dell PDA - and it's a doddle. My next question is whether I can use it on my new Sony Ericsson K800i 3G phone.