Happy Blogosversary

There is a very interesting article in today's Wall Street Journal on the supposed "tenth anniversary" of blogging. The article is available at the following web address:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118436667045766268.html?mod=home_we_banner_left

the article includes a variety of views on blogging and the so-called blogosphere.

An All-Star, All Star Game

What a classic all-star game in a classic ballpark! The game was kicked off by the Say Hey Kid, the cheers for Barry Bonds, and continued with the first inside-the-park homer in All Star history, and a see-saw battle until the last pitch. Although the fielding was not the greatest, there were snatches of the art of the some of the great batters and pitchers of our time, and there was some drama to boot. It was a good night for baseball whether it counted or not.

Jumping the Niche

There is an interesting article in a recent issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education, "Where Have All the Rock Stars Gone," on the disappearance of a shared pop music culture, by David Shumway, a professor of English and literary and cultural studies at Carnegie Mellon University. He discusses how we are losing a common popular culture and trading it for a "niche-ified," "i-Poddian" world of fragmenation. The article is at the following web address:

http://chronicle.com/temp/reprint.php?id=ryfkv3twkxqs5dx7ky4z3wkrk1327d10

The points are well-taken, but this niche effect has probably led to same positives--more types of music being heard and some broadening of our tastes across what used to be musical boundaries. It is not clear whether it really is divisive. The article mirrors some of the points in the book, The Long Tail by Chris Anderson, on businesses being able to sell to smaller, more diverse audiences.

I welcome readers' comments.