Writer's unblocking

My good friend Jason (I'm starting to sound like Michael Winner, except I don't know anyone famous... and Jason really is my friend) has just started his own blog. See links. Please go to it, although its just started I'm sure its going to become great. Jason seems to constantly fall into stupid sitcom type situations...with hilarious results. Jas, got to tell the world about the cake one from the other day, unless your parents will read it.

I read on the BBC website the other day that apparently a new blog is started every second now. I'm sure that to many established bloggers this might seem like a cheapening of it all. If I had started blogging a few years ago then I almost certainly would be one of them (see my ipod entry below for more on my snobbish attitude). Being a late starter though I think its fantastic. On Richard Herring's blog he talks about how its annoying that historical records don't tend to show the opinion or lives of ordinary people. All comment tends to be from the perspective of the rich and powerful. With more and more people throughout the world gaining access to the internet and telecommunications (there's a rather quaint word) then only more people will start doing blogs, with even more perspectives. If the internet manages to survive and develop over the next, say, 200 years it'll be fascinating for people to read what I was up to in my day to day life in 2005. Alright maybe not me, but other people have fascinating lives.

Obviously its difficult for us to imagine what computers will be like in 20 years time, never mind 500, but unless there is a disaster or a war or something I imagine that a lot of the information on the internet now will survive in one form or another. I wouldn't be surprised if within the next 15 years people start to think seriously about protecting electronic information for future generations. My great grandchildren might read this in the same way a person researching their family tree looks at census data, or birth and death records. If you are reading this kids, I hope my generation didn't make a complete hash of things. Can't be too bad if you're reading this.

At the end of the day though, blogs are really for the people who write them. I write it for various reasons, but they're all mostly to do with me. Don't worry though, you 3 or 4 regular readers, you're very dear to me.