Writing for the Web

How a Story Travels the Web

In the last week or two, online media have been giving attention to a Pentagon study on climate change as US national-security threat. The unclassified report was passed on to Fortune magazine, which ran a long story early in February. It was ignored by US media but picked up by left-wing UK papers. From there the story has returned to North America.

Now you can read a critical description of the process by Iain Murray on Pentagon Climate Report on National Review Online. Murray's counter-arguments (no SUVs 8,000 years ago during the last warming, so SUVs can't be to blame this time) are tenuous, but he does us the favour of providing a link to the original report, available as a PDF.

I'm following the story with personal interest, since I published a story about global warming way back in 1996, describing the same likelihood of global warming leading to regional cooling in northwest Europe. The facts and their implications have been around for years; but sometimes it takes a long time for those implications to sink in, even on the Web.

Is This the Future of Writing?

We've heard a lot of hype before about e-books, and they haven't impressed me much. But the Japanese think they've got a new e-book reader that could change people's reading habits.

Maybe our writing habits will change too. The Japan Times article doesn't say how much the readers will cost, or what people will likely pay for downloading books. Somehow I don't think writers are going to get rich.

Printable Link Footnotes

Here's a handy little amenity: Go to  Eintagsfliegen ... Life is Temporary, where you'll find "Printable Link Footnotes." Drag the bookmarklet to your browser toolbar. Then, when you're on a Web page you want to print out, first click on the bookmarklet. Any links on the page will appear as URL footnotes on your printout.

Should We Take Blogs Seriously?

Well, not very. But some journalists find they can spin a story or two out of the phenomenon. Fretting about bloggers who fail to adhere to journalistic standards is a good topic for a thumbsucker piece. Then you can write another piece about whether thumbsuckers about blogs are really journalism.

For a case in point, look at "Blog of Fear" by Cynthia Cotts, in the latest Village Voice.

Keep an Eye on Mathew Gross

The guy who set up Dean's online campaign is a Webwriter worth following. He's now set up his own blog at Mathew Gross, and I plan to check in often—not for political news, which is all too available on the Web, but to get Gross's views on using the Web in political campaigning.

Metametablogging

A very entertaining flame war has broken out on Kuro5hin: Why your Movable Type blog must die.

Blogging about blogging about blogging becomes positively fractal: whether you zoom in close or zoom out for an overview, what you see is devoid of humor at all levels. Still, top marks to James A. Joyce for one of the more successful trolls in recent memory. And thanks to Anne for the tip.

Jimmy Carter, Blogger

The former US president, currently on a tour of West Africa, is reporting on his trip through a blog posted on the Website of the Carter Center. I'm happy to say that Mr. Carter writes clearly and concisely, though I wish he'd break up some of his long paragraphs, and switch from right-justified margins to ragged-right.

You can find Jimmy Carter's Blog here. I sincerely hope I'll be writing as well as he does when I reach his age.

Electronic Text: Writing Tips

I've just discovered a great resource for online writers, created by Dennis Jerz at Seton Hill University. Electronic Text: Writing Tips puts a lot of good links on one page.

Whether you're interested in Webwriting, email, or writing interactive fiction, you'll find something useful here.

Canada's Best Blogs

Every month, BlogsCanada posts a list of Canada's Best Blogs. The link opens onto a page offering the February list, with preceding months just a quick scroll down. Very much worth a visit.

Andrew Sullivan a Closet Democrat?

Much to his own surprise, the famously conservative blogger/pundit Andrew Sullivan took the test at Presidential Match Guide and discovered that he's a Kerry supporter, with George W. Bush trailing far behind.

Take the test yourself. I discovered that, Canadian though I am, Kucinich stands beside me 100%. Then Kerry at 85%, Dean at 81%, Edwards at 72%, Lieberman at 65%...and Dubya at 8%.