A Progressive on the Prairie » blogs

Discover new book blogs

Tim — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 12:57:09 +0000

Today kicks off Book Blogger Appreciation Week but this is likely the only post I’ll do on it. And it is devoted to a few excellent blogs I discovered while narrowing down the longlist in two categories and judging the shortlist in another. There won’t be much more than that because I confirmed I’m too old, too male, too cynical or any combination of them to get much out of BBAW.

Maybe proof I’m a curmudgeon comes in that of the 38 books nominated for various “best books” awards, I’ve only read one and I wasn’t too impressed with it, Plainly, I’m not reading — or operating — in the same realm as others who are participating. Also, the blogging topics for the week aren’t necessarily ones I’d write about or, if they are, I’ve previously done so. I was pleased to see, though that the two blogs that tied at the top of my ballot in the Literary Fiction shortlist I helped judge were among the three finalists.

And that’s one thing for which BBAW deserves credit. I discovered some excellent book blogs (and some not so good ones). The blogs listed alphabetically below, were new pleasures and each has its own unique style. The common theme among them is good writing, something that goes a long way in my book, even if I’m frequently inept at it. No doubt this post and their appearance in my blogroll will drive ones and ones of readers to these blogs.

Dead White Guys: An Irreverent Guide to the Classics — While this new blog reflects an age difference between me and its author, it still is worth checking out. Written by young woman, her mission is simple and direct: ” approach the classics in a light-hearted, sarcastic, silly-but-never-stupid way in order to remind people that these books are worth reading because they’re super awesome.”

Park Benches and Book Ends — I was surprised how many UK blogs I saw during the BBAW process and this one, just nine months old, is among my favorites. Perhaps the unique twist is that it is written by a married couple, Jess and Chris. They don’t write joint posts or review the same book. As a result, we get a wide range of books, genres and subjects based on their individual tastes.

Sasha & The Silverfish — The subtitle of this blog, “a reading journal,” is a quite accurate. Sasha doesn’t so much review books as much as provide electronic marginalia or an electronic commonplace book. She also makes this a blog for readers, not a form of lit crit or analysis.

Shelf Love — Also a collaborative blog, this one is written by two women, Jenny and Teresa. Again, they don’t read the same books or write joint reviews. Started by Jenny some two and a half years ago and joined by Teresa a couple months later, the diversity is intriguing and enjoyable. It is a deserving BBAW finalist for Best Literary Fiction Blog and was added to the blogroll a couple weeks ago.

The New Dork Review of Books — While it has nothing to do with why the blog made this list, I was thrilled when I discovered that this nearly year-old blog was written by a guy. There tain’t many of us in the bookblogosphere. Here’s the real reason it made this list: it was a BBAW finalist for Best Literary Fiction Blog, Best Written Book Blog and Best New Book Blog. I’m please to say, though, that I added it to the blogroll weeks before the finalists were announced.

So, check out each of these blogs. They’re well worth the time.

Writing and reading is to me synonymous with existing.

Gertrude Stein, “An American and France” (1936)

First impressions of BBAW

Tim — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:38:44 +0000

With the first round of voting complete and, hence, the first of my actual participation in Book Blogger Appreciation Week, I was left with several initial impressions. I thought I would offer up a few of them, even if that may not be wisest thing to do knowing there is more voting to be done (although I’m guessing that’s something this blog probably need not worry about).

The number of book blogs, particularly in specific genres, was even greater than I expected. I was also surprised at how many romance, young adult and urban fantasy blogs I ended up seeing as a result of the lists I received.

What perhaps struck me the most is what a small minority male book bloggers appear to be, at least of the blogs in the two categories I voted in. On the list of 128 blogs in one of those categories, I estimate some 95 percent are written by women. Granted, I didn’t check the gender of every blog author and there seemed to be a few more men in the other category (which had 140+ blogs, counting duplicates). While I’m not surprised to find a lot of women blogging about books, I never thought the gender numbers were so skewed.

While I know this is treacherous ground, the second most striking impression was how many blogs seem so saccharine. I don’t know how else to describe it. Many just seem to have a pervasive, almost overwhelming, sense of adulation and/or sentimentality. Granted, it may just seem that way to an old cynic like me but I saw so many I was quite taken aback.

I was surprised — and I don’t know why — at the number of posts announcing a blog’s participation that didn’t follow the rules or format that was suggested. It was a small minority but it’s one of those things that irritates me far more than it should.

Perhaps somewhat related is something I checked out for curiosity sakes. Accounting for duplicates, the two lists I was provided had some 200 different blogs on them and we were supposed to visit them before casting our ballots. That means at least 200 other bloggers were provided a link to a specific post on this blog. According to Google Analytics, over the 12-day voting period that specific link was viewed 64 times. Seems two-thirds of the bloggers either aren’t voting or are voting without visiting all the blogs. While time will tell, it renews my concern that the event has a sense of a somewhat cliquish mutual admiration society.

As I winnowed each list of the two lists, it seemed a somewhat disproportionate number of British bloggers made my initial short lists. I don’t really know why, other than perhaps the British approach comes from a slightly different or less effusive perspective than the somewhat mawkish bent I mentioned above.

While some of the foregoing leaves me a tad dismayed, I don’t want to leave the impression there’s been no merit to this. I had a very tough time figuring out which blogs on my short list to cast my five votes for in each category. There are a number of excellent book blogs out there. Not only have a couple been added to the blog roll here, the subscriptions in my RSS reader have grown again after I spent some time last month trying to prune them down.

Blogging is an art, same as any other method of self-expression. Some are better at it than others.

Hugh MacLeod, “random notes on blogging“

Lighting my BBAW sparkler

Tim — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 15:40:53 +0000

It was just under a year ago that I first became aware of Book Blogger Appreciation Week. It sounded intriguing but, because I was unfamiliar with it, I basically just observed. As I did, there were aspects of it I didn’t have the time or inclination to do — and some actually seemed a bit hokey. More important, as things progressed it struck me that the award aspect of it seemed almost a product of a a mutual admiration society among a certain number of blogs. I was not the only one with that impression.

I don’t know if the activities associated will be more attractive to me but, whether in response to such concerns or others, the process for the awards has changed. Now, book blogs must register in particular niche or general categories to participate in the awards process. Other bloggers registered in the same category will then select the longlist. Although this process doesn’t necessarily eliminate cliques from dominating the categories, it has the potential of broadening the number of bloggers providing input while at the same time having it come from those arguably most familiar with the category.

Although others with legitimate criticisms are going to sit out again this year and I’ve spent the first part of this post razzing BBAW, I decided to register in a couple categories to get better insight into the process and the concept. And since I have to register to vote for awards, I figured in for a dime, in for a dollar (or whatever the modern currency equivalent would be). Although I struggle with the idea of self-nomination, I’m taking the organizers’ view that it is simply a matter of identifying a blog as within a particular category. Besides, given I am but a mote in the universe of book blogs, I figure signing up for the following categories is essentially a frolic.

So, tossing my cyberspace hat into the cyberspace ring, I’m registering for:

Best Eclectic Book Blog:: Book Review: Wolf Among Wolves; Book Review: But Beautiful: A Book About Jazz; Book Review: Armenian Golgotha; Welcome to the book review slums; At least I’m an ethical pirate
Best Written Book Blog:: Book Review: But Beautiful: A Book About Jazz; Book Review: The Appointment; Book Review: Dark Heart of the Night; I’m addicted and someone’s going to pay; Welcome to the book review slums

FTC completes first “blog-ola” investigation

Tim — Mon, 03 May 2010 13:03:20 +0000

Last December 1, blogs were explicitly brought within the scope of updated Federal Trade Commission guidelines on rules governing the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising. The FTC last month quietly posted on its web site the “closing letter” of its first investigation involving blogs under the rules.

The FTC investigated whether the Ann Taylor Stores Corp. violated the law in connection with providing gifts to bloggers who the company expected would post about the company’s LOFT division. In its April 20 closing letter, the FTC staff said it had decided “not to recommend enforcement action at this time.”

The investigation stemmed from LOFT providing gifts to bloggers who attended a January 26 “Exclusive Blogger Preview!” of LOFT’s Summer 2010 collection. The invitation said bloggers attending would receive a special gift and be entered in a “mystery gift card drawing.” In smaller print, the invitation said any blog coverage had to appear within 24 hours and links had to be sent to LOFT to be eligible for gift cards ranging from $10 to $500. The FTC guidelines require bloggers who receive a free or discounted product or service in exchange for writing a review to disclose that fact.

According to reports, 31 bloggers attended the event and all received gift cards. According to the FTC, only a very small number of bloggers posted anything about the preview, and several of them disclosed that LOFT had provided them gifts. Also working in LOFT’s favor was that it adopted a written policy after the event that it will not issue gifts to any blogger without first telling the blogger they must disclose the gift on his or her blog. “The FTC staff expects that LOFT will both honor that written policy and take reasonable steps to monitor bloggers’ compliance with the obligation to disclose gifts they receive from LOFT,” the closing letter said.

In typical government fashion, the letter noted that the decision not to take further steps “is not to be construed as a determination that a violation may not have occurred, just as the pendency of an investigation should not be construed as a determination that a violation has occurred.” In other words, we’re not saying you did or didn’t violate the law but we’re watching you.

This is the first public disclosure of an investigation involving bloggers under the updated guidelines. Undoubtedly, it stemmed in part from mainstream and fashion press coverage before and after the event. Some of the coverage directly asked whether this violated the new regulations, almost inviting the FTC to investigate. Yet the letter also appears to support the FTC’s statement before the updated guidelines were adopted that it would pursue the advertisers, not individual bloggers.

Frankly, then, the closing letter shouldn’t prompt a new round of uproar in the blogging community. Still, the fact there was an investigation and a public letter on it indicates that blogs are on the FTC’s radar and that bloggers need to be cognizant of that fact. Moreover, corporations who see social media as a vehicle for advertising and endorsements better be putting policies in place and making sure they are following the regulations.

One size does not fit all in any regulation.

Bruce Aust, Inc. magazine, (September 2005)

The problem with the “blogger bills”

Tim — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:53:48 +0000

As I indicated Friday, I saw too many years of the legislative sausage-making process to really want to weigh in on the so-called “blogger bills” in the state House, particularly at this early stage. But the blogospheric lines seem so sharply drawn (with attendant personality conflicts) when it seems somewhat unnecessary. There’s no sense arguing over First Amendment issues when the bills are defective from a practical standpoint.

Let’s start with this indisputable proposition: no one has a legal right to defame another person and while the First Amendment imposes some limits on defamation law, actions for libel or slander do not alone violate the First Amendment. At the same time, this debate doesn’t need to be one surrounding any First Amendment rights to remain anonymous while speaking. Common sense alone suffices.

As introduced, House Bill 1277 would allow someone to name “the online content provider” in a defamation lawsuit “for the limited purpose of obtaining information” about another person who posted something. The online content provider then has 30 days to provide any information that is “reasonably available and kept in the normal course of business” that may identify that other person and is entitled to be dismissed from the lawsuit once it has done so. The provider is not liable solely by virtue of being a online content provider.

While I don’t like “online content provider” not being defined, the major problem here is the law isn’t necessary. South Dakota already allows someone to bring what is commonly known as a “John Doe lawsuit” if you don’t know the true identity of the intended defendant. Thus, in an action based on some anonymous internet posting, the defamed person can file their lawsuit, naming John or Jane Doe as the defendant and then subpoena the information that would be sought via HB 1277. This is commonly used in the federal system, including actions by the RIAA against downloaders. Any First Amendment issues can be addressed in responding to the subpoena.

Creating a new statutory procedure does not eliminate any First Amendment issues or eliminate the cost of litigating them if someone doesn’t want to turn over the information. So why create a new and separate procedure just for online content? Why name a blogger as a defendant in a defamation lawsuit — a matter of public record — when a method already exists to do what HB 1277 claims to accomplish? Let’s go back to the adage heard over and over and over and over in the halls of the state Capitol during session — “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Unless and until someone can show John Doe lawsuits won’t work in this context, there is no reason for HB 1277.

From one standpoint, HB 1278 could be more beneficial to bloggers than the “John Doe” provisions — but it goes beyond impractical to the impossible. As introduced, the bill says: “Any person who allows internet posts shall keep a record of the internet-protocol logs adequate to provide identification and location of otherwise unknown, anonymous, or pseudonymous persons who leave or upload content.” (Emphasis added.) Notably, that information is to be provided only upon a court order meeting specified standards. Bloggers should find solace in the bill to the extent it elevates what someone who seeks the information must show. But it is virtually impossible for bloggers to comply.

To begin with, as far as I know certain blogging platforms, such as Blogger, don’t provide IP logs for the blogger. Bloggers can get IP address information from services like Sitemeter but that will simply tell you to which internet service provider the IP address is allocated, whether Midco in Sioux Falls, SBC Internet Services in Los Angeles or or StarHub Cable Vision in Singapore. Only the ISP knows who had that IP address at any particular time. The same is true of comment features on blogs. Many, if not all, allow the blog owner to see a commenter’s IP address. Again, though, the most you can tell is what ISP was being used, not who was using it.

Thus, the bill asks the impossible. To the best of my knowledge, no blog will have IP information that will identify a specific individual or even street address. Despite that, HB 1278 says a blogger (and others) “shall” keep IP logs adequate to identify a commenter. Where should a blogger buy the nonexistent software or services to comply with the law? Even if such software existed, would bloggers then be required to neutralize anonymizer products and services? If no bloggers can avoid violating the law, then the fear that the law will mean shutting down commenting all together isn’t an imaginary one?

Courts avoid constitutional issues unless necessary to decide a case. The same concept should be used here. There’s no sense in fighting these bills, at least in their present form, on First Amendment grounds because their true fatal flaws are in creating new procedures or standards that are unnecessary or impossible.

We live in a stage of politics, where legislators seem to regard the passage of laws as much more important than the results of their enforcement.

William Howard Taft, Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers