Rupert Goodwins' Diary
Thursday 06/04/2006
Lots of media people worry about blogs. If the readers are just going to talk among themselves, why would they bother to consume all this expensive journalist-sourced copy? Who's going to pay the bills if the advertisers just go straight to the most popular bloggers?
It's not that blogs aren't a worry, but that the wrong people are worrying. It's not the publishers who should be losing sleep – it's the soap opera people. Witness the delightful little spat between Microsoft's semi-pro blogger Robert Scoble and his doubtless charming wife, Maryam Ghaemmaghami Scoble – who also has a blog.
Young Mr Scoble, you see, finally caved in and bought an Xbox 360 "for his son". He took the opportunity to mention that the 'Box is still in huge demand, which isn't quite the way it looks from this side of the Atlantic – not only did a pal have no problem buying one off the shelf in London last week, he had no trouble taking it back in disappointment. And Microsoft "http:="" news.cnet.co.uk="" gamesgear="" 0,39029682,49258537,00.htm"="" target="_blank" title="CNET.co.uk: Microsoft boosts Xbox 360 distribution">missed its sales targets by over a million units. But still, the joy of blogging is that you can share your thoughts and experiences with people who may have different takes on your conclusions.
Alas, poor Robert. One of those people was Maryam. She picked up on that particular entry and decided to post some musings of her own on her blog. You get the idea: "When you said we would discuss major expenses before making the purchase did you mean that we should discuss it publicly on the blog and after making the purchase? I just found out you bought an Xbox. Congrats! Now let's take it back." There's more toe-curling stuff about trips to Italy and the taxman, but you'll have to go look for yourself.
There are reasons I don't have a personal blog: that sort of thing is by no means the least of them. My own domestic ineptitudes are legion, but really — you don't need to know them. Honestly.