Alternative to blogs?
January 13, 2007 2:10 PM Subscribe
I'm growing tired of blah blah blogs and bloggers. Where else can I get my daily fix for information? What is your alternative to blogs?
Books? They have information but sometimes they tart it up or really delve into it, you know? Plus they are cheaper than computers and use less electricity. Honestly, I find I get bored of blogs faster because of their bite-sized-ness, and the tempo of a book can be very pleasing.
posted by dame at 2:22 PM on January 13, 2007
posted by dame at 2:22 PM on January 13, 2007
Microfische at your local public library?
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 2:31 PM on January 13, 2007
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 2:31 PM on January 13, 2007
What is your alternative to blogs?
There's an alternative??
Magazines are useful, plus they can be recycled. These blog things just hang around for ever..
posted by Nugget at 2:32 PM on January 13, 2007
There's an alternative??
Magazines are useful, plus they can be recycled. These blog things just hang around for ever..
posted by Nugget at 2:32 PM on January 13, 2007
Although I also look to blogs for information, my first stop is usually Yahoo's Most Emailed News to check what's happening.
posted by Rash at 2:36 PM on January 13, 2007
posted by Rash at 2:36 PM on January 13, 2007
Besides blogs, I also enjoy the rest of the Web. And bound periodicals. And maps.
posted by box at 2:41 PM on January 13, 2007
posted by box at 2:41 PM on January 13, 2007
Similarly, I like the Most Popular List of The New York Times. Good writing, varied subjects, often referring to non-web media. Also NPR!
posted by asuprenant at 2:42 PM on January 13, 2007
posted by asuprenant at 2:42 PM on January 13, 2007
Definitely NPR also, but for some reason I thought the question was limited to cyberspace. If you'd also like to listen to news and are unfamilar with public radio just explore the left end of your FM dial. (Pointing this out since I've known USAians who're completely oblivious to non-commercial and non-conservative talk radio.)
posted by Rash at 2:49 PM on January 13, 2007
posted by Rash at 2:49 PM on January 13, 2007
Blogs are the alternative to traditional & mainstream news sources. Therefore, the alternative to blogs are traditional & mainstream news sources. So, just get your information from sources that you used before the proliferation of blogs.
And don't listen to talk radio. It's toxic and misleading. It's basically like an audio blog. But more obnoxious.
posted by HotPatatta at 3:13 PM on January 13, 2007
And don't listen to talk radio. It's toxic and misleading. It's basically like an audio blog. But more obnoxious.
posted by HotPatatta at 3:13 PM on January 13, 2007
What dflemingdotorg said. You been down to your local library recently? Just head for the periodicals section and have spend relaxing hours.
Once you're there, you might find something interesting; then you can go look it up online in the future for convenience. You will probably discover that longer format articles, and real analysis by quality writers who are funded to travel to places, interview people, investigate things, beat the living shit out of blogs.
posted by Jimbob at 3:20 PM on January 13, 2007
Once you're there, you might find something interesting; then you can go look it up online in the future for convenience. You will probably discover that longer format articles, and real analysis by quality writers who are funded to travel to places, interview people, investigate things, beat the living shit out of blogs.
posted by Jimbob at 3:20 PM on January 13, 2007
Depends on the information you want, I suppose. You can always tell Google Alerts to notify you of news stories about specific things you're interested in.
posted by smallerdemon at 4:37 PM on January 13, 2007
posted by smallerdemon at 4:37 PM on January 13, 2007
IngentaConnect offers personalized notification of new research articles based on search strings. The notification service is free, but getting more than the abstract will cost out the wazoo.
Some blogs are not that bad as news aggregators, Universe Today for example is primarily summaries of press releases from various Astronomy institutions. Which is about the same as you would get from the NYT or the AP.
Google News can set up customized news feeds aggregating from a variety of primary sources.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 4:44 PM on January 13, 2007
Some blogs are not that bad as news aggregators, Universe Today for example is primarily summaries of press releases from various Astronomy institutions. Which is about the same as you would get from the NYT or the AP.
Google News can set up customized news feeds aggregating from a variety of primary sources.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 4:44 PM on January 13, 2007
I get my daily health news from the National Institutes of Health's news page.
posted by kellygreen at 5:17 PM on January 13, 2007
posted by kellygreen at 5:17 PM on January 13, 2007
Seconding popurls.com. Dense and diverse. (Avoid tailrank. I can't tell if it's visited by idiots or run by them, but it stinks mightily).
I knew kellygreen would say NIH!
posted by FauxScot at 6:07 PM on January 13, 2007
I knew kellygreen would say NIH!
posted by FauxScot at 6:07 PM on January 13, 2007
ieatwords, I think I experienced what you're describing just over a year ago. What I did was become really picky about my Internet use. I realised there were all kinds of sites I was visiting regularly that I didn't even like. I stopped using instant messengers, I pared my Myspace and Friendster accounts down and stopped visiting them. I deleted most of of blog bookmarks. I stopped visiting a bunch of message boards that were actually making me unhappy. And it felt really, really, effing good.
I still use the 'net a lot. I have a desk job; what else am I going to do all day? But I've added a folder of bookmarks to writing-related blogs, forums, and informational sites. (Writing is my true occupation.) When I'm surfing because I'm bored, I try to visit those sites instead, because they're actually enriching.
I visit very few blogs of a personal nature. I make it a policy not to read blogs that annoy, frustrate, or anger me -- you wouldn't believe how much stuff I was reading that I didn't even like. It's so weird.
I find reading many blogs mentally tiring -- all those people and all those words and all that self-obsession and so little substance. Eesh.
I also started getting the Saturday paper again, I reserve a tonne of books from the library, and I attempt to change directions when I realise I'm surfing mindlessly.
posted by loiseau at 7:14 PM on January 13, 2007 [2 favorites]
I still use the 'net a lot. I have a desk job; what else am I going to do all day? But I've added a folder of bookmarks to writing-related blogs, forums, and informational sites. (Writing is my true occupation.) When I'm surfing because I'm bored, I try to visit those sites instead, because they're actually enriching.
I visit very few blogs of a personal nature. I make it a policy not to read blogs that annoy, frustrate, or anger me -- you wouldn't believe how much stuff I was reading that I didn't even like. It's so weird.
I find reading many blogs mentally tiring -- all those people and all those words and all that self-obsession and so little substance. Eesh.
I also started getting the Saturday paper again, I reserve a tonne of books from the library, and I attempt to change directions when I realise I'm surfing mindlessly.
posted by loiseau at 7:14 PM on January 13, 2007 [2 favorites]
Ditto what Smallerdemon said. Google alerts work a treat if your tired of sifting through a bunch of blogs. It's far less time-consuming.
posted by Geoffh at 8:26 PM on January 13, 2007
posted by Geoffh at 8:26 PM on January 13, 2007
Find different blogs? There are a ~lot~ of good blogs out there. If you don't like the voices you find, keep looking.
posted by krark at 10:17 PM on January 13, 2007
posted by krark at 10:17 PM on January 13, 2007
and the tempo of a book can be very pleasing
Amen. Get your hands off the mouse and onto some books. They'll give you much more detail and information about whatever subject you want for your "daily fix." And daily information fixes are overrated, anyway; they tend to emphasize the transient. The difference in tempo and quality of information absorbed from a book really is striking. Not dissing blogs in general, just noting that they're not even close to a substitute for books, so if you're bored with blogs, that's one good direction to go. Just pick a short non-fiction thing and dive in.
posted by mediareport at 3:56 AM on January 14, 2007
Amen. Get your hands off the mouse and onto some books. They'll give you much more detail and information about whatever subject you want for your "daily fix." And daily information fixes are overrated, anyway; they tend to emphasize the transient. The difference in tempo and quality of information absorbed from a book really is striking. Not dissing blogs in general, just noting that they're not even close to a substitute for books, so if you're bored with blogs, that's one good direction to go. Just pick a short non-fiction thing and dive in.
posted by mediareport at 3:56 AM on January 14, 2007
also, start using a newsreader (netnewswire on a mac, for example). it genericizes the display of information and delivers it in one big lump, like reading email. you can even applescript it to filter your feeds, like blocking all of xeni and cory's posts on boingboing. after a few days of refinement, my daily netnewswire perusal while drinking morning coffee is broader and more informative than any single news source.
posted by Señor Pantalones at 6:39 PM on January 14, 2007
posted by Señor Pantalones at 6:39 PM on January 14, 2007
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posted by ChasFile at 2:14 PM on January 13, 2007