May 09, 2003
(Updated) OregonLive's Tame Experiment In Weblogs
Note: This post has been updated. Any and all updates appear at the end of the original post.
While I did previously know that OregonLive was home to a weblog or two, I didn't know until reading this item that they had also started a list of Oregon weblogs not associated with OregonLive.
I have to say, though, that the two weblogs hosted by OregonLive itself dramatically pale in comparison to those not hosted by OregonLive (see, for example, the list at ORBlogs).
Your guess is as good as mine as to what OregonLive is up to, exactly, with their two hosted weblogs and mini-portal to others. But at the moment, it's not particularly impressive.
I am left to wonder, however, if their two weblog writers are actually paid for their work, as opposed to the writers of the large range of "amateur" weblogs out there. If they are, so much for the idea that it's quality -- or at least uniqueness -- for which people will pay.
Of the two, I suppose the "fantasy baseball" weblog at least gets points for being a creative niche.
That said, I still don't get what they're doing. Perhaps the person who occassionally reads this site from somewhere within oregonlive.com will post a comment here and explain.
Update
Alexander B. Craghead has this to say in regards to OregonLive's weblogs page:
But if they want to host links to Oregon Blogs, I'm not going to look a gift-link in the mouth.
Of course, I hardly object to being included in their list of Oregon weblogs. At the same time, that doesn't mean I'm going to refrain from criticizing what they've done in the way of weblogs thus far. And I'll be much more interested in what ORBlogs (whose owner is also involved in Blogroots and was a co-creator of Blogger) does in the way of an Oregon weblog portal and community than I will be in what OregonLive happens to do.
Ultimately, Craghead hits the nail on the head when he muses about OregonLive "capitaliz[ing] on the popularity of blogging." But, personally, I don't see the need for it, and even if I did, I'd still have to point out that they aren't doing a very good job of it.