Will Knott

My last post has generated a lot of comments, and mails.

Some have asked why I did the transcript.

Sometimes, when I do a search there is a video clip. A stale non-functioning video clip. it may be the nature of the internet, but things change.

Sites, links, images and embedded objects move about like stones on a beach. They will stand unmoving for years, but the right tide or the right storm, and all the markers shift. The links change, the sites are reorganised and embedded videos point to an empty page on their parent site.

Text survives.

Text can be copied and pasted. Text can be put in e-mails, on t shirts, in books and survive by being spread out across the world. Nowadays text is the viral source of a meme.  It can remain silent in an old print out for years, only to unfold the flower of an idea years later.

Text isn’t strong however. Often if needs a voice to be spread, a video to be seen.

Text however is the king of the internet. It drives the search engines to make an idea findable. Until technology gets to a point where it can determine an image or a video or a sound clip without surrounding text to explain it to the search engine, it is what remains after all else has moved on the ebbing tide of time.

And some tales need to remain to be told through the years just like some songs need to remain to be sung after the singer has moved on.

Will

And thus spake the Mulley

“The 2009 Irish Blog Awards shall take place on February 21 2009.

They shall be in Cork

And are open for nominations until January 14 2009

And they shall be good

except for the dancing”

moar funny pictures

This year there are 2219 categories

1. Best Popculture blog
2. Best Blog from a Journalist
3. Best Food/Drink Blog
4. Best Crafts Blog Best Fashion Blog
   
5. Best Arts and Culture Blog
6. Best Political Blog
7. Best Group Blog
8. Best Use of the Irish Language in a Blog
9. Best Technology Blog/Blogger
10. Best Sport & Recreation Blog
11. Best Designed Blog
12. Best News/Current Affairs Blog
13. Best Specialist Blog
14. Best Newcomer
15. Best Business Blog Best Blog of a Business
16. Best Music Blog
17. Special Recognition Award
18. Best Personal Blog
19. Best Humor Post Blog
    
20. Best Photo Blog
21. Best Blog Post
22. Best Blog (There is a best blog award, but its not a nominated one)

May the best bloggers win,
Will Knott

Update: somehow got the list very mixed up

This post has changed direction several times in the last three days.

At first I was going to write about green issues. What happened was that I bumped in to a pair of representatives for Change.ie, a government run site for creating a plan of action for environmental change and reducing Ireland’s (and maybe the world’s) carbon footprint. I told the reps that I was surprised that there hadn’t been blogger outreach to other blogs concerning green issues, and pointed out a few that I knew of.

One rep asked me to e-mail in the details of the sites, the idea was to get something of an aggregator going.

The first person who came to mind was Ms. Phoebe Bright…

who seems slightly miffed in this photo about what happened next.

Phoebe presented at the recent Open Coffee BBQ about energy, energy demand and a technological solutions to change the thinking currently driving our consumption habits. Well worth a read if you weren’t at teh presentation.

Also, how can I forget Greennav. Actually I did, which is why I e-mailed in the links. Greennav is an odd mix of a group blog in that anyone can add to it. So its one better than an aggregator, is something of a community. And yes its full of green hints and tips.

Even the landscape gardener Peter Donegan has added a collection of green hints and tips to his site.

And now a change in direction.

Ladies and gentlemen. Get them together, as the response from the government sources was “that’s nice, anyone can blog, go ahead”. Or a “we’ll do nothing thank you”.

This is one of those areas where we should collaborate, and double, nay triple the voices to get the messages, and actions out there. A green meme. Not just an internet meme but a get off our backsides and do something about it meme.

I’m just not sure what.

But its this tendency for collaboration which brings me to to the next change of directions, sponsored by Twenty Major and Adrian Weckler.

They have complained about the fact that …

1. We’re not angry and fighting enough. (But Mr Weckler things me are too angry).
2. We aim for consensus
3. We don’t do enough investigative journalism
4. Bloggers seem to be people who are fake

Well lets see.

I know that I don’t intend to ever get close to Granddad without a stab-proof vest, but the Irish blog-sphere is a small place. If you don’t count Bebo blogs, you could fit most of the Irish bloggers in a medium hotel for an awards ceremony. Because we are a small group, the chances of prolonged bickering are few. Grudges can be held, but so can tongues. And the word “community” tends to hold sway. (Besides, Twitter is the place for small short-lived Irish fire fights). And besides, Barcamps, Tweet-ups, Open Coffee clubs, photo-walks and general get-togethers happen enough to prevent full blown flame wars that lead to bits going missing.

As for a consensus. Well, the early Irish bloggers were either techies, or non-technical people in the technology industry (sometimes in the one person). In this world, standards mean a lot. Consensus gets the job done. And could a barcamp exist without consensus?

As for people who aren’t and don’t aspire to be investigative journalists not doing enough investigative journalism for Mr Wreckler’s liking. Well, circular logic only gets you so far. Maybe you would be willing to teach us the way, and teach us, using your blog or course, on how to do these investigations. I think a few hundred well trained (even if we are bored, lonely or angry) bloggers might do you some justice. (Besides you forgot about Maman Poulet teaching journalists how to do their jobs when it came to Michael Lynn).

And finally, “bloggers are fake”. Now he’s not talking about fiction blogs, nor blogs maintained by a fictional (or pseudonymous) character. He’s talking about people who create great blogs, to get employment, and once employed, stop blogging. I can only assume that he means people who want to write for a living, and are using their blog as a portfolio in the same way that an artist creates work for themselves, to get their own style (or voice) and use that portfolio as a way to become a writer.

Well, if they exist, and I actually expect that they do, then more luck to them. If the only reason they wrote was to get someone to pay for the writing, then isn’t it better that they stop blogging?

Can we all agree to that?

take care,
Will Knott

Dear Ms. Marianne Mikko Member of the European Parliment,

I’ve been reading reports that you have called for a registration of bloggers.

Given the importance of the Internet in Estonia, I suspect that you would get a lot of, er, assistance in answering an explanation of what you mean.
Or at least a high level of details on what you are actually requesting.

Most blog posts are highly personal by nature, be it personal observation, on the ground reporting of a war in their local neighbourhood, on the antics of their cat (depressing there are a lot of these) or the rote by which a blogger investigated the dealings of a disgraced public official.
They are closer to opinion pieces than investigative reporting.

There are also blogs which by their very nature need to be anonymous. Those detailing illegal activities by officials for instance. A registration of such a blogger is likely to lead to intimidation or death.

Do you wish to clarify your wording.
Say in a blog of your own for instance?

Yours sincerely,
Will Knott

http://WillKnott.ie

Gentle reader,

Who am I?

Image via pix.ie

This isn’t an existential question, or something prompted by earlier posts, but its really the sad state of my about page which prompts this. Writing your biography (without headlines to help you) is an embarrassing enterprise. I’ll admit that I did it before.

A recent spate of cleaning (don’t worry, I’ve since had a lie down in a cool dark room) revealed a biography written in 2003 for the programme booklet of a theatre production (“Jobbo’s Secret” I think). I was going to type it in here, but instead I’ll ask … Who do you think I am?

Seriously, based on meeting me, or simply reading the blog, what do you think I’m like? Either add your thoughts and opinions to the comments, or e-mail them in (address in the about page).

I can’t help wondering if this is a web 2.0 way of doing a bio; namely you tell me about me. Sort of a meme in reverse. If you comment of mail, I’ll have to comment or mail when you do a similar call.

So now its your call.

Slightly worried about what I’m going to hear,
Will Knott

Would you be willing to donate time you already spent, to help give people more time to live?

This is international breast cancer month. It’s why I actually started putting up the pink images here. At the time I joked about what would be done with Bowel Cancer Awareness month. Bowel cancer does not have any glamour to it. We are talking about a part of the body which we tend not to think about until something goes wrong.

Two things occured this week and it sparked an idea. One where I’ll need your help.

I listened to the Podcast Sisters creating a book by re-using your blog (I’m paraphrasing). And I came across Chris Anderson talking about Blogging Heroes: Interviews with 30 of the World’s Top Bloggers by Mike Banks.
Bank’s book is a series of interviews with bloggers. Sales are presumably going to be based on the fact that everyone likes to see their name in print…

Which is where “Talking Shite” comes from.

A book of Irish bloggers (which means Bloggers in Ireland, from Ireland or about Ireland) by Irish bloggers doing what we do best. Talk and blog (same thing really).
This is about being a patron, not being patronising to a cause.

Would you be willing to donate a blog post for inclusion in a book which would be sold in aid of bowel cancer?

Would you be willing to donate time you already spent, to help give people more time to live? And would you buy the book? And get your friends to buy the book?

Let me know in comments and such?
Will Knott

tags : donate, cancer, charity, Bowel Cancer, Podcast Sisters, Chris Anderson, Mike Banks, book, writing, blogs, bloggers, irish blogs, irish blogers, Talking Shite

… because I can.

As much as I would like to blame Grandad for giving me the idea I suppose I can’t.

I entered the “Best Blogging Website” contest at The Golden Spiders, partially because I’d love to live blog the show, but mostly because I can.

I think every Irish blogger, and blogger from Ireland, and every blogger not from Ireland but living in Ireland should enter this. Why… because you can. And I’d love to see what happens next. (Besides, Mulley should win it, but since when does the “should-have” actually become the “did-it”)

So I filled out the form and off went the entry.
I seem to be asked for a cheque for €0. I wonder if I should send one in?

take care,
Will

tags : headrambles, Best Blogging Website, Golden Spiders, blogger, Irish blogs, Ireland

People have a habit of telling me things. Sometimes it’s things I don’t want to know about.

In this particular case a post from 2004 about the Life of Brian being re-released brought forth a comment…

“I just kicked the shit out of a [derogatory term for a minority] after i followed him outside [Cork nightclub] on [day of the week] night”

Sorry about the censoring, but I have my reasons, which will become apparent below.

So what do you do when someone admits to committing a crime on your blog?
I took it down as soon as I saw it.

The next question is, what do you do next…

Well wither this assault is fictional or real. Worst case… its real.
If its real and I don’t report it… am I liable?

Well, since it concerns a minority, there is a chance that an incident such as this would have crossed the desk of the Garda liaison for that minority… so I checked, and there was one.

I’ve dropped the details I have off (approximate time, place and minority concerned) and I’m leaving the investigations in the hands of the authorities.

Lets assume it is a real event, what is traceable?
Blogspot (or Google) have probably recorded the incoming IP address and time of the comment being recorded. This means that the commenter could be traced back to his (I think it’s a safe assumption that an assault described above is more likely to be bragged about by a man than a woman) IP address assigned at the time of the post.

This IP address may belong to a household, public place or a company.
In most cases It should be possible to figure out who posted it…

However it all depends on if the assault took place.

What should I have done, and should I have done something different?

Will

tags : blogs, blogging, crime, assault, hate crime, comments

People have a habit of telling me things. Sometimes it’s things I don’t want to know about.

In this particular case <A href=”http://willknott.ie/?p=196″>a post from 2004 about the Life of Brian being re-released</A> brought forth a comment…

“I just kicked the shit out of a [derogatory term for a minority] after i followed him outside [Cork nightclub] on [day of the week] night”

Sorry about the censoring, but I have my reasons, which will become apparent below.

So what do you do when someone admits to committing a crime on your blog?
I took it down as soon as I saw it.

The next question is, what do you do next…

Well wither this assault is fictional or real. Worst case… its real.
If its real and I don’t report it… am I liable?

Well, since it concerns a minority, there is a chance that an incident such as this would have crossed the desk of the Garda liaison for that minority… so I checked, and there was one.

I’ve dropped the details I have off (approximate time, place and minority concerned) and I’m leaving the investigations in the hands of the authorities.

Lets assume it is a real event, what is traceable?
Blogspot (or Google) have probably recorded the incoming IP address and time of the comment being recorded. This means that the commenter could be traced back to his (I think it’s a safe assumption that an assault described above is more likely to be bragged about by a man than a woman) IP address assigned at the time of the post.

This IP address may belong to a household, public place or a company.
In most cases It should be possible to figure out who posted it…

However it all depends on if the assault took place.

What should I have done, and should I have done something different?

Will

tags : blogs, blogging, crime, assault, hate crime, comments