The Origins of BLOGWARS, part 1

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
I got a chance on my DAILY SHOW appearance to mention when I first started working on my book, BLOGWARS. Here are more details--partly drawn from BLOGWARS itself. In my mind there were three points of origin of the book. 1. In 1996, a colleague and I conducted one of the first studies of presidential campaign Web sites. Our main finding was that they were mostly online "tackboards," posting information rather than developing content that exploited the hyperlinking and interactive qualities of the Internet. We stated, however, in the conclusions that: "It is currently possible, though no candidate has done this, to host an online talk show where the candidate fields questions from users throughout the nation." Then, as an afterthought, I began looking at "personal political Web sites" created not by the campaign apparatus—political consultants, managers, advisers, or parties—but by individuals who supported the candidate or some cause. Many were raucous and crude, but it did seem that personalized mass...
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BLOGWARS-related speaking events (update 07.10.08)

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
Some recent BLOGWARS-related speaking events: I was a keynote speaker at the iModules Software User Conference of about 250 college alumni relations officers in Kansas City. My topic was "The Powers of Blogs for Outreach." [07.09.08] I was interviewed by WILL Radio (NPR Affiliate in Urbana, IL) about blogs and politics in the 2008 campaigns. The mp3 download is at: http://will.illinois.edu/focus580/weekly/ [06.24.08] Originally posted July 10, 2008 at PolicyByBlog ...
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Blogwars & Blogthroughs

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
In my book, BLOGWARS, I talk about the "Blogthrough," a moment where blogs, due to their unique qualities, come into increased press and public attention and thus further enhance their status. Blogthroughs are often tied to big news events (The South Asian Tsunami, the Virginia Tech Bombings, "Rathergate") where blogs either incite or become part of the story. This chart, prepared with graduate students, Misti McDaniels and Nate Rodriguez, illustrates the "rise of blogs." The chart tracks over time (late 1990s to spring 2007) the number of mentions of the word "weblog" or "blog" in mainstream media (TV, radio, print). Originally posted August 18, 2008 at PolicyByBlog ...
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Perlmutter Interviewed by BlogTalkRadio

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
PbB editor David Perlmutter was interviewed by John Ciampa for his Bloggerschool Podcast on BlogTalkRadio (Saturday 09.06.08) and later (Weds., 09.10.08) for BlogtalkRadio's Alan Levy Show by Hilary Leewong & Shaun Daily. The topics: Perlmutter's book BLOGWARS and the upcoming CITIZEN JOURNALISM WORKSHOP I helped create at BLOGWORLD & NEW MEDIA EXPO 2008, Sept. 19, 2008 – 10:00AM – 4:45PM (Las Vegas Convention Ctr.) Originally posted September 13, 2008 at PolicyByBlog ...
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Perlmutter Speech at the Society for Scholarly Publishing

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
David Perlmutter gave the Keynote Speech at the Society for Scholarly Publishing Top Management Roundtable Conference, Philadelphia, PA, September 4. The topic: " How Blogging Is Changing Our World: The Lessons from Politics. Some links: http://beyondthebookcast.com/btb-61-from-ssp-a-look-at-authors-ascendant-episode-1/ http://ssptmr.wordpress.com/ Originally posted September 16, 2008 at PolicyByBlog ...
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Perlmutter Speaks about Medical Blogs to New England Journal of Medicine

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
While political blogging gets lots of attention, there are many kinds of blogging that are equally or more popular. I have posted here in the past about the types of medical blogs and even suggested a "Hippocratic Oath" for medical bloggers. I had the opportunity to twice speak on the subject for the New England Journal of Medicine. David D. Perlmutter. Featured speaker on "Medical Blogging: Challenges and Opportunities for Health Professionals," New England Journal of Medicine New Horizons Conference, Wellesley, MA, October 24-25, 2008. David D. Perlmutter. Featured speaker on "Building an Online Community for Professionals: The Lessons of Political Blogging." Massachusetts Medical Society & New England Journal of Medicine Committee on Publications, Waltham, MA, October 22, 2008.   Originally posted October 29, 2008 at PolicyByBlog ...
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A Slow (or Bright) Blog Manifesto

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
It ought also to be said that he was immensely painstaking. [When he made] Broad and powerful statements...they were no mere assertions, but the product of countless hours of research into the minutiae of the subject. Even by the usual scrupulous standards of comparative philology, Tolkien was extraordinary in this respect. His concern for accuracy cannot be overemphasized, and it was doubly valuable because it was coupled with a flair for detecting patterns and relations. 'Detecting' is a good word, for it is not too great a flight of fancy to picture him as a linguistic Sherlock Holmes, presenting himself with an apparently disconnected series of facts and deducing from them the truth about some major matter. He also demonstrated his ability to 'detect' on a simpler level, for when discussing a word or phrase with a pupil he would cite a wide range of comparable forms and expressions in other languages.* I have been thinking lately about these words written...
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