Common Craft Blog
Not Us vs. Them -- Old vs. New
By leelefever on August 30, 2005 - 11:58am
CommentsNancy White, Alan Levine and others are having an interesting discussion about the us vs. them attitude between users of blogs and message boards. Alan’s post Conversations: Tree People and Cave Dwellers offers food for thought via the attitudes shared by users of Moodle. They make Alan wonder if we’re all using the same Internet.
My perspective is that the relatively short life of blogs is at the root of the “Us vs. Them†attitude. The idea that an individual can use a personal web site to connect and interact on a level equal to that of a discussion forum is still fresh and a little heretical in some circles.
When we hear criticisms of a blog as a viable communication/community platform, we’re hearing a lack of understanding thanks to the young life of the blog as compared to other platforms. Remember, cars used to be called “horseless carriagesâ€.
So, let the critics have their say. We bloggers are the early adopters of something different, but not necessarily better than other platforms for communicating on the web. I think we’ll find that blogging will fill a niche that is altogether different than the niche currently being filled by discussions forums and both will exists for a long time to come. The world on online communities is not either/or, it's neither, both or whatever combination works for a specific group.
Not Us vs. Them -- Old vs. New
Then there are those who think blogs are discussion forums:
http://www.7nights.com/asterisk/archives05/2005/08/harry-potter-and-the-halfblood-prince
;0)
Not Us vs. Them -- Old vs. New
lol @ above comment.
Anyway, I have tos ay I have never run across people that had that us vs. them thing.
I'm not going to read all that at the Moodle site (I have no idea what Moodle is, either), but blogs and forums are different things. As in not the same as in satisfying different needs and goals. If you want a forum, you don't want a blog. If you want a blog, you don't want a forum. If you want a blog and a forum, you want both!
So, I agree with you.