A Blog by Any Other Name

I would call myself a general connoisseur of what the web has to offer, and more often then not its one giant talk radio station. One thing that gets me is what is and is not a blog. Most people don't care, and that's fine. They read op-ed pieces on the internet, in the paper, a blog is just the format for said op-ed. Sometimes its the author's (or author group's) personal opinion about something current on the web, usually technology. Sometimes its just writing for the sake of detox. And I don't have a problem with any of that. What I do have a problem with is when people create a blog with their namesake, and not the only writer. Anderson Cooper and John C. Dvorak are the best examples of this. I love both of their work, great writers and have a lot to say. But when you have other op-ed writers making posts just for the sake of being current, when do you lose your identity?

I almost hate reading their column not because I don't like reading whats written, but sometimes I read a full article only to discover in the by-line its not even them! This is probably is something in the realm of stuff-only-Justin-cares-about but it's frustrating all the same. Don't sacrifice identity to keep your page fresh.

Abbreviated Monday

I realized I never really talked about what this blog is about, but hopefully I'll just use the slow news day to kind of introduce myself and my blog.

First off, I'd like to say what this blog isn't, then what it strives to be and eventually some info about the creator and ideas for the blog itself.

Screaming in Rockets isn't a personal blog. While it may have things about me personally that would be interesting to me only or things that I personally think should recieve more attention, the story will never be about me. As alpha as this blog is, the direction doesn't seem obvious. Hopefully though, it will seem obvious later on with (somewhat consistant) updating and some cool free features available on the web (hello Digg tools), will bring something to the web. Or in the case of the "blogosphere" just my tiny voice amongst the other opinions.

Screaming in Rockets isn't an op-ed page. I'm not going to be doing any investigative reporting, but I'm not going to just be throwing links up with no reason or no take. I admit, trying to keep things from getting too derivative or opinionated will be hard to do, and to be quite honest I guess I'm kinda not sure on this statement, time will tell I suppose what voice I take.


Now to the more positive part of the one way discussion and thats what I want to be. Kotaku and Game Politics are great examples of journalism in blog format. I read those extensively but also Luke Smith's bantering on 1up isn't terrible either. I suppose I just want to shy away from being just another ranting crazyman. Wait, I mean this guy is the lunatic. No one cares what you say. Well, actually Mark Cuban has always been entertaintaining, Calacanis is just a dick. I think what I want to be the most is as close to a webzine as a blog can get. Something visually aesthetic and informative. Something to look forward to on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

So thats what Screaming in Rockets is about (Maybe?). I'll try to keep my deadlines and give you something to look forward to. All I ask is for some feedback to know if what I'm doing is right or wrong. §

Welcome (again)

I've always been a fan of the internet. From its inception, creating a website, hosting a few pictures, and some paragraphs about ones self, seemed to be more then enough to establish a presence on the web. Now, with server space so abundant and bandwidth costs going down, the internet is now fueling a group of amateur writers who want to share their own experiences to the world. Unfortunately this creates an unnecessary buzzing sound, somehow, in the form of text where people who are just like you and me but may have their own good ideas and observations of the world, that before would have gone unnoticed.

Like most everything on the internet, things flare up then die out as soon as they are created. But if anything is becoming more constant, it is the fact that the technology just keeps on getting better. Back when Hotmail wasn’t owned by Microsoft, the big thing to do was create crappy websites on Geocities or Angelfire. While some of them are good, and filled a certain niche, it wasn’t enough. For someone to post up some pictures they found, let alone a video, they had to conjure up some server space and then some bandwidth to be able to share to the world. Now there are startup companies who will definitely make it their mission to accommodate this digital form of self-expression.

Then Myspace happened. While this medium, in inception, isn’t terribly impressive…the ease of use and interconnectivity is where its power lies. Imagine all of those crappy Geocities pages had a friend list, incorporate a friends list, blogging like Livejournal and a virtual blank wall people can come up and scribble graffiti on…then you have a behemoth.

While I like Myspace and what it has to offer, I’ve always maintained my own space on the web of stuff I’ve found interesting, and come to realize it was a blog all along, sometimes even dated. With Flickr to replace my photo album and links to previous blog posts as websites, hopefully this site will become something more then my old website could ever hope to be, and its ease of use to contribute to it keeping fresh. §

About the Blog

An attempt at informal journalism that is completely derivative and opinionated in nature, exercising free speech, and the through the means of current web technologies that culminate into a virtual log by a passer-by observer of the news, culture, and events of the world.

This has gone through many revisions through the years and only recently been able to get a proper domain name for it. This is my stake on the web, my keepsake and legacy. If people want to find out the most about me, here is where to find it. If people want to digitally stalk me, this would be your launch pad.

In the giant world of the blogosphere, my voice is just a scream in a rocket blast.