Finally, someone else saying what no one will actually believe from us: Weblogs work for net newcomers.
(Actually, Weblogs work best for intermediate users – people for whom the novelty has worn off, who are dealing with nagging, inchoate frustration with overly general Top Ten sites, and need a catalyst to explore their own highly specific interests.)
Over in the Guardian, the in-house blogger himself tells us “I believe there is one unmarketed, relatively unknown type of site that, executed right, will help to introduce the newcomer to the internet and keep them coming back. It is called a Weblog. [...] It sounds simple, and it is. Find one who shares your taste, and you have a surfing companion for life. The benefits to the new user are many. As with a conventional gateway site, you are soon offered links to other sites that cover your field of interest. But a good Weblog will contain extra qualities: topicality, an individual voice, and a simple, often Spartan, design. These combine to create user-friendliness away from the glare of the big corporations – exactly what the sceptical surfer wants from the net, and doesn’t get anywhere else.”
A smart up-and-comer hoping to compete against today’s oligopoly of interchangeable portal sites has a few options here. Which we won’t give away. Not for free, at least.
Posted on 2000-10-18