- blogger = internet explorer
- movable type/typepad = mozilla/netscape
- radio = opera
- textpattern = omniweb
- blosxom = amaya
- livejournal =
webtvaol browser - pitas = mosaic [via]
5.10.2004
the blogger wars
when i was chatting with andre a few minutes ago, he mentioned that everything going on in the blogosphere is sort of echoing the browser wars. eventually, we started pairing up the browsers of the mid-90's with their contemporary blogging tools. the list below is a result of that rather goofy aim session.
8 comments:
Oooh, I don't know about the LiveJournal/Web TV thing. For that to be accurate, there needs to be THOUSANDS OF ANGRY 15-year olds WITH WEB TV, and they all need to have JUST failed their math midterm or gone through a break-up with their boyfriend.
I don't remember if WebTV comes with mood indicators, either.
Let's hope not. Actually, IE is somewhat apt because Google acquired Blogger like Microsoft acquired Spyglass. Boy this is fun and I have a lot of time on my hands, yes.
yeah, i'm getting a lot of argument with the livejournal/webtv analogy - a lot of which is coming from my friends who use livejournal.
shall we say livejournal is like the built-in aol browser then?
Pitas=mosaic?
Because pitas is supposed to have been the first weblog service.
What's interesting is that in many ways LJ remains heads and shoulders superior in (conceptual) functionality (publication control/veiling [also, see Joyce's paper last year on Semi-Permeable Blogging). In other ways it's sort of braindead, so maybe the AOL comparison isn't that far off. Certainly in the past the walled garden analogy may have been valid, but really, w/ TypeKey and Blogger-login based systems, well...
// These are definitely interesting foreshadowings of the type of digital identity/relationship management/personal content distribution convergence we'll bee seeing in the next couple of years.
// Err, anyway, I don't know if the browser war really maps at all except that these are proxy battles for larger 'conflicts'. Also, Microsoft has yet to step in the ring for real here.
// (urgh, still no line breaks? also, interesting that Blogger doesn't let you aggregate your own comments even though you have to go through their central ID system already.)
leonard: despite the fact that i sort of mocked livejournal by comparing it to the aol browser i do keep one. i do agree that in many ways it's a cut above a lot of the other blogging systems as far as ease of use goes. the journals that are kept there tend to be more personal, but i think that has to do with the built in comment system and privacy features. still, it tends to attract the more juvenile crowd - which is why i think it catches the heat it does.
i'd like to add one: WordPress = Safari.
I would have to agree with the AOL comparison much more than webtv. Still, I would never have an AOL account, yet I greatly enjoy my LiveJournal account and have actually given them money to access the advanced customization features. [I can't seem to figure out how to make a hard line break to separate paragraphs in the preview...]
I would like to see how this new MT licensing uproar pans out. That might make it less like Internet Explorer. Or heck, that might make it MORE like Internet Explorer after you take into account that you "technically" need a licensed copy of XP, 2K, etc. to use it. I guess the parallel can be extended to include the fact that individual users can pirate XP or 2K and get IE for free (just like smaller blogs can use MT without fees), but larger companies have to pay the per-seat license for the Windows machines (like MT on larger blogs). So now that I think about it, maybe the new licensing just reinforces your list?
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