THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2002
WEB
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 7
Web logs new trend in online technology
By Kyle Ramsey
kramsey@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
An emerging Internet technology is changing the way many Web surfers express themselves online.
When the trend began gaining momentum a few years ago, the technology was called simply a Web log. It allows users to post chronologically ordered entries, similar to an online diary. Web surfers reading the logs can post feedback to each entry.
In the same way that electronic mail became e-mail, Web logs have become blogs. Now Web surfers have blogs and can be found blogging.
Nick Mucci, Winnetka, Ill., sophomore, began his blog about a year ago as a way to keep his long-distance friendships going. Mucci's blog is online at people.eecs.ku.edu/~nmucci.
"I have friends all over the country, and we like keeping in contact with each other," he said.
The public presence of his blog made it an attractive alternative to e-mail or telephone conversations. This way, friends seeking him can search online to locate his blog, and Mucci can also keep in touch with those who know where to find it.
Katie Lohrenz another KU blogger decided to blog for a different reason. "At this point there are very few things I wouldn't post."
"It was just Katie Lohrenz a way to have Wichita freshman fun and be a geek and pub- ___
lish Web sites," the Wichita freshman said. Her two-year-old blog, located at www.badpoetry.net/katie, lead to a few new friendships and an interstate journey to meet her best Web friend. She visited him last year in California.
Keeping up with the blog audience is an everyday chore, they said.
When Lohrenz forgets to update hers, the blog-reading faithful turn to her e-mail.
"After a while, it's 'are you dead?' " she said.
The trend caught Ann Brill's attention two years ago. Brill, a professor of journalism who specializes in online media, suspects blogs' popularity comes from their
WHERE TO START
Want to start a blog of your own? Here are a few sites that can help.
Blog-City http://www.blog-city.com
**blog*spot**
http://www.blogspot.com/ad_free.html
Blogger http://www.blogger.com/
CrimsonBlog http://www.crimsonblog.com/
Blog Land http://www.blogland.com/
Interactive X - Free Blog site http://ix.1sound.com/
Blog Studio http://www.blogstudio.com/
intimacy — with a little help from society's obsession with reality entertainment.
"Some of it is really fascinating stuff," she said. "Probably like watching The Osbournes on the Internet."
Blogs' future could create new uses for the medium, eventually replacing the way society interacts with online media. For example, reporters could post news snippets on their blogs as soon as the information was available, changing the way society receives news, she said.
Both Mucci and Lohrenz realize they're baring their lives and souls online for all to see, but that is part of blogs' attraction. After awhile the shyness fades, they said.
"At this point, there are very few things I wouldn't post," Lohrenz said.
Sites like xanga.com and blogger.com offer free blog publishing for personal use. After a brief registration process, a wannabe blogger could be blogging his or her life story in seconds.
For those with more advanced computer skills, blogger.com and moveabletype.org are examples of sites that offer free blog-publishing software for use on personal sites. Both packages are compatible with the free Web space provided to KU students by the University.
"I can't be a painter. I can't be a sculptor. But I can make a pretty Web site," she said. "Its a pretty powerful thing."
Lohrenz said she found blogging to be a therapeutic, creative outlet.
— Edited by Erin Ohm
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