TNBT - "The Next Big Thing" As I was wondering there would be predictions and hoopla about blogging soon and would be called the next big thing. Now don't we know what happened to the dot-coms and tech startups during the boom and safely would predict that the bubble is going to burst for anything thats been touted as the next big thing. I don't buy that thought. Each and every new thing that the world experiences can't be a bust in the future. We had new inventions in a variety of areas, better call them 'big things'. When the TV came in everyone thought this is the next big thing, from a liesure item of the riches it is now down to the necessity of a common man. Then came in computers, from the few labs at the MIT, like wise institutes to the corporate houses to the homes of a common man. Now are those a passing fad. A bubble that bursts? Agreed that we had an internet and technology boom (with unrealistic targets, impractical funding and umpteen number of venture capitalists to cash in on that boom), which eventually led to the burst. But we still have a number of dot-coms and the technology companies at work, who have been realistic and have been making money. And are bound to get a strong foot hold if they continue in the way they are doing. Blogging is now a hobby. Or for some its something more than a hobby. A daily routin for some. I presume if it's importance or need is seriously taken by the common man who is a literate, who has some interest in his personal life, soon may become a necessity. Like now I prefer to read or write blogs than watch a crapy soap or an action flick on the TV. The article that lead to this post is by John C. Dvorak at the PCMagazine site. Some of the reasons he gives why me and you blog,

Ego gratification.

Antidepersonalization.

Elimination of frustration.

Societal need to share.

Wanna-be writers.

Read it here. He also talks about how to make a perfect blog. But Anil Dashes who is the SVP for Business development at the SixApart, which is the company behind MoveableType publishing system and TypePad, comments on his article, which I found more interesting.

here are a few other ways you can have a weblog: Remind people that there are real families and emotions behind the news stories they see. *Start a literate, challenging discussion on the future of the online realm, particularly in the world of personal expression. *Share a simple, universal anecdote with the world. Remind us of our humanity. *Make me laugh. Spill the beans on what you've been up to. *Show me where the tech world that I am so interested in is going to be moving in the future. Or, you can do what some traditional journalists do, and just snipe at the easy marks in a medium full of exceptional work. Should we point out that 90% of technology journalism practiced by Dvorak and his ilk consists of "this software/hardware company put out a press release announcing a new product that's got bug fix/15% faster performance!" Trolling, even in print, is unbecoming.

Furthure more, he says,

Hell, let's keep it rolling: *Change the world. No, really. By starting a dialogue between two antagonized groups. *Document your life. Take those small vignettes that make up a whole life and open them up to the world, not out of narcissism, but because there's something universal and important to everyone's experiences, even those of us who don't have monthly columns. *Be a mentor, an elder statesman. Share the knowledge and experience you've gained to help others in your area of expertise. Let others gain from your perspective, without the pretense or intermediation of being an "expert" in a traditional forum. *Point a magnifying glass on the absurd. I don't get enough smiles in my day, and I don't read enough good writing. Am I greedy for wanting to see more? *Share your fixation. Love fonts and typography? Soup? Find the people who think that's cool. Oh, and yeah. If you just want to be a high-school kid, keeping up to date with your friends, posting lyrics to your favorite songs, bitching about your mean teacher who gave you a bad grade? That's cool too. Don't believe anybody who tells you otherwise. They're just afraid of what will happen with a generation that grows up used to expressing themselves well in a medium that is threatening to the old folks.

Quite interesting too see, how the blogging is turning out to be. I am sure there will soon be a time when print and television media will say that its the next big thing and make all the hype, then down to a burst again, if at all the tempo of the so called blogging phenomena sees an exponentiality.