On Why This Blog Has Been Silent For So Long

Boredom with the whole blog ‘concept’, I suppose. Regurgitating half-chewed globs of ‘news’ from the msm and them adding a snide comment or two on to the beginning or end of it has lost its novelty value for me.

However, this (long) piece from The Register – an interview with Adam Curtis touches on many aspects of my disenchantment, not just with blogs, but with what they feed off, too.

At a time when there isn't anything to give you confidence beyond yourself - you live in the "empire of the self" - then it is inevitable that you will seek those like you, because it will give you a sense of collective purpose. It will give you a sense of collective security.

And that's exactly what the internet is about - "If you like this book, others before you have bought these books..." And it works to create those little circles. All those little radio stations which tell you, "If you played this, other people have played this..."

On the internet, you're constantly monitoring other people's choices to see what those people who you think are like you do, and they say, "OK I'll do that to be like that". And what that leads to, again, is Balkanisation.

And it's what advertisers rather like, because it gives them a definition.

Ok, then… well so what?

I would like to use this thing for something far more interesting – at least to me – than just a glorified linking page. I’m not sure what it will be yet, or even if it will be anything at all.

We’ll all just have to wait and see what happens.

In the meantime, I’ll use it to list my recent publications on the web and elsewhere.