Writing for the Web

Don't Bomb Us - Al Jazeera Blogs

A very interesting development: After release of the news that George Bush was thinking of bombing Al Jazeera's headqurters in Qatar, staff have responded by creating Don't Bomb Us - A blog by Al Jazeera Staffers.

I doubt that blogs can actually confuse cruise missiles, but at least it will draw more attention to the difficulties of life in the Middle East media.

Blogs as Incitement to Riot?

According to the New York Times, French Police Fear That Blogs Have Helped Incite Riotings. It's an interesting and disturbing perspective, and the story includes a link to one of the blogs in question...which hasn't been updated since November 7. Even if you don't read French, you'll recognize that the bloggers use the same kind of phonetic-abbreviated language that North American teens have developed on their instant-messaging systems.

Teen Webwriters: More Numerous Than You Think

The Pew Internet & American Life Project has just released a report on Teen Content Creators and Consumers. More than half of American teenagers have created Web content, the report says, and older teenage girls are serious bloggers.

I can scarcely imagine the college students of the class of 2010. But I hope I get to teach some of them.