READING FOR "HOTSPOTS" IN BLOGS

Submitted by metaspencer on October 17, 2004 - 14:17.

With what I've come to think of as the date-header-function, the date, typically a minor or ancillary feature of titled and dated texts, is promoted within the genre of blogs to a content-rich feature, or header. Taking note of the date-header-function reveals how the structure of the texts foregrounds everydayness, habitual writing, fresh copy, newness, etc. -- and a particular form of blog.validity ("is it current?") is assessed and maintained through this textual feature.

So you check on a blog you read regularly or stumble upon one you've never seen before, and the date is one of the first things you look at and consider and take in (or at least it is for me); the date (10.17.2004 in this case) signals and in part defines (as much as any header does) the content.

But what other hot spots define the visual rhetoric of blogs as a genre? In blogs, I'm thinking, these would be target areas within the visual frame of a blog that indicate both the features mentioned with the date-header-function, but also provide ready evidence of other key content features in the genre. Hot spots might include

  • the date
  • links
  • comments
  • track-backs
  • number of visits

So ... hotspots are elements of the frame/scroll which are particularly salient; things textual consumers might look to first for indications of validity. This image, taken from one of my blogs, has hotspots circled and indicated in red.

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network hotspots

Submitted by Marcus ODonnell on October 22, 2004 - 19:54.

I think this notion of the visual rhetoric of blogging is a very interesting one because it acknowledges the reality of "surfing" where by visitors are often just passing by on their way to somewhere else and are either caught or deterred by a range of instant data.

I think another key hot spot that links directly to the date header is the archive. I always look both at the date of the latest post - scanning for currency - and the date of the oldest archive - scanning for experience.

I think there are a range of others that are worth considering that are not so much about personal "validity" or currency but about network validity or connectedness.

The chief one of these for me is not so much the number of comments, which can be deceiving (just look at this post 79 reads and this is the first comment) but the blogroll ie who does this blogger hang with/aspire to connect with.

The other element of this, which metaspencer has mentioned is links, apart from text links which show networked commentary, the side bar links, which may be to other sites, news services, Amazon lists etc again context the writer and their position in the blogsphere.

Categories are also a favourite indicator for me, these provide a quick content scan of the site.

Finally the site's name and tagline is often an indicator of both content and "attitude" and creates an immediate impression.

Indexicality

Submitted by metaspencer on October 22, 2004 - 20:37.

Okay, so then in addition to the visual "hotspot" which functions as a toporhetorical peak, registering validity (or validities) of some kind for that blog.text, M.O. has added:

  • the archive, which dates the blog and signals that text or writer's longevity or "experience"
  • the notion of number of comments as deceiving
  • the blogroll as indicative of "who does this blogger hang with/aspire to connect with"
  • the sidebar links functioning to contextualize "the writer and their position in the blogosphere"
  • listed categories as scannable text that then maps linkable content
  • and then there is the site's name and tagline working to locate attitude

I'm drawn particularly to this notion of indexicality and how it can function in the design/content of a blog, visual elements on the screen functioning to reference affiliation of some kind.

Thinking of indexical elements, now, I'd add some kind of feature I want to call the degree of modification as a feature of blogs in particular that indicates/indexes a blogger's e(locutionary) competence. Or at least one type of competence.

This is to say that if a blog maintains its original material form as an off-the-shelf pre-packaged kit (like this one), it indexes differently than a blog that is either a) modified in some way (visually, with the insertion of images or backgrounds or typographic variation), or b) produced using Moveable Type or a likeness …

cel4145's picture

in addition, consider

Submitted by cel4145 on October 23, 2004 - 11:48.
  • title - Even though the title was mentioned in your original post, shouldn't it be included in a list of salient features?
  • RSS feed - Because many people follow blogs using news aggregators, the presence of a RSS feed can affect value judgments about the blog. If an RSS feed is unavailable, then a site visitor that uses news aggregators will first decide, "I cannot follow this weblog regularly." Psychologically, this may lead to a devaluation of the content.
  • author names - In a weblog billed as a community blog, the presence of varying author names, or not, clues us into the community presence. And the presence of bloggers we know from other blogs affects the credibility of the blog.

Yet more hotspots

Submitted by shale on October 23, 2004 - 12:51.

Other indicators (not all involve visual rhetoric) could include

  • url Does the blogger "own" the address? What's the domain category, country code, etc.? (random thought: Are there any .mil blogs?)
  • Is there a FOAF document?
  • The writer's style

<Aside> I tend to see a large blogroll more as an indicator of pretentiousness than of solidarity or affiliation.

<Clarification> (not the Kairos blog list, which is judiciously selective)</Clarification> </Aside&gt

cel4145's picture

FOAF documents

Submitted by cel4145 on October 23, 2004 - 13:05.

What would you see as a useful FOAF document? I'm not clear on what that is, but would like to be :)

And when we upgrade Kairosnews to Drupal 4.5, would you see use in us implementing the FOAF module (I'm tempted to)?