Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Thoughts on the Blogosphere

What is the blog-o-sphere coming to when bloggers blog about blogging?

But, as a newbie to this realm, I have some observations. Things that people who've been a this for a while probably take for granted. So if you get something out of these random ramblings, great.

Honestly, I haven't blogged because I find it hard to beat my last post. (to paraphrase Dave Barry... I did NOT make that up!)

Researching my latest PR & Marketing project has put me in touch with a whole new side of the Internet (hey, get'cher mind out of the gutter.) As a frequent contributor to Church Production Magazine and Sound & Communications, I know technology is a big deal in today's houses of worship.

But I had no idea of the scope of church technology websites. From Church Marketing Sucks to Church Technology Review, this is big business. Like I said, I knew there was a market for it, but had no idea how big the market was until I started digging.

Basically, an Internet junkie (which I am) can pick any single topic --any topic at all -- spend all day, every day, researching it on the Web, and never run out of information. Between web sites (updated frequently), blogs (updated daily), and forums (updated practically by the minute) you could stay glued to your monitor for days.

Which is quite the danger in my line of work!

On a semi-related note, next week marks the WAH Expo, a virtual conference for work-at-home types.

I have completely forgotten my point, however. So I'm going to put it in your hands, readers.

What's the oddest thing you've ever researched on the web? What web site have you come across that made you say, "They have a website (or ten) for THIS?"

Let's look at some of those more obscure topics (please keep it clean) because... well... I have nothing better to do with my time than explore offbeat websites. LOL

No, really...

P.S. Since this post has turned into a huge link-dump anyway, let me include a shameless plug here. Please vote for my story, A Heart, Waiting, at The Novelette. Thanks!!

8 comments:

Jerry Allen said...

Ive see some weird stuff in my time on the internet...most of it cant be printed on a family website...LOL

Unknown said...

Two words: Lego porn. I couldn't decide whether it was strange, funny, or just a little sad.

Unknown said...

Dawn, I don't know if you're actually *looking* for church technology sites, but if you are, please check out http://citrt.org, http://MinistryTECH.org, http://jpowell.blogs.com, and maybe even http://tonydye.typepad.com. There are lots of people trying to connect others with church technology backgrounds.

Dawn said...

Lego porn??? ROFLMAO!! Link??? My husband and I have been laughing over those Legos Star Wars commercials, he would get a kick out of that.

I am actually still in search of church technology sites. I'll check out your blog, for sure, Tony. :) Thanks for the links!

Unknown said...

All right, you asked for it!

http://drew.corrupt.net/bp/series1.html

Don't blame me if you can't look at Legos again with a straight face, or without hearing bad thumpa-thumpa music in the background.

Dawn said...

THAT ("block" porn)....just may be the funniest thing ever! Somewhat unfulfilled after the first segment, I changed the 1 in the link to a 'series2...' etc. Series 4 had to be the funniest!!! They went down to a little dungeon, he pulled off her arm and... Yeah...

Okay, as far as strange things go, this may just be the only blog in the world to talk about lego porn and church technology in one comment thread! LOL No disrespect is meant, at all. I mean, they're lego blocks. It's funny.

I wanted to clarify on something in my original post-- I certainly didn't mean to imply church technology is weird or unusual. In fact, it is a tremendously viable industry, and, I believe, practically crucial in today's market to attract the younger generation of Christians who are so tech savvy. Churchgoers want to be entertained as well as edified and educated from services, and the technology is available for churches of any size to do that.

What I found noteworthy was the scope of websites on the topic... or, for that matter, pretty much any topic you can imagine. (Which, I think, was my point... I'm not sure).

For a writer who has worked in print her whole life, the size and scope of the blogosphere--not counting the entire Internet, but just the blogs, is a bit intimidating. Where to turn? LOL

People often seem surprised that people make money off blogging. When you look at the sheer quantity of what's out there, it would be more surprising if there were NOT people making money from blogs!

Anonymous said...

eh... nice post..

Anonymous said...

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