Poyner, Vinh and Bad Design Blogs
This is by Rick Poyner. It’s an article in Print Magazine about how design blogs are generally low in quality.
The biggest single problem with blogs as a medium for writing is the very thing that bloggers tend to love them for: the lack of editors. It’s naive to imagine that you can just sit down at the keyboard, shoot from the hip, and hit the target unaided every time. There is no writer who doesn’t benefit from good editing, and it doesn’t matter how long you have been writing. Anyone who has worked on a longer text for publication knows how much work it takes on both sides to produce something fit to print. Some of this effort has to do with larger issues of content and the development of a strong argument; some of it with the details of copyediting.
This is by Khoi Vinh, on his blog. He sees it from both sides — he first disagrees and then agrees with Poyner.
It’s a bit like complaining that YouTube has yet to produce an equivalent to “8½.” Which is to say, so what?
I found it interesting to read about something I’ve just started doing. Maybe I’ll try harder to write better.
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While I haven’t had time to read either of the articles you linked to in full, here is my humble opinion on the subject, as a reader.
All the design blogs that I read are enjoyable. Just because they’re not top of the line, best of the best writing every single time doesn’t mean they’re not helpful. I have gained so much insight into the minds and processes of more experienced designers because they have decided to blog. Sure, editing is always useful, just like other designers critiquing your work, but I would rather have the information slightly unpolished than not at all! And I don’t think that we, as readers, expect the blogs we frequent to “hit the target every time.” For me, sometimes posts are interesting or relevant and sometimes they are not. That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop reading, so please, KEEP WRITING!! And thank you for all your hard work
[…] Vivien at http://www.inspirationbit.com Johno at http://www.redsil.com David at http://www.davidairey.com Char at http://www.essentialkeystrokes.com/ Charity at http://www.designadaptations.com Paul at http://www.paulenderson.com Steve at http://www.cymru66.com/ Ahsan at http://www.ars.barelyaverage.com […]
I would go further and say that it is the unstructured, unedited, untamed writing that I really like. Not only is there information in it’s rawest form (somebody telling you something you didn’t know) but there’s also a weird cacophony of subject matter (you could easily start on design and end up in politics/tech/culture on a very short blog surf.
I love to read stuff that would never have been published 10 or even 5 years ago!
very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
Idetrorce
Personally, I like reading clean, edited blogs. Wrong grammar and spelling take my eyes and mind away from what I am reading while I make mental corrections of what should have been. If you want people to respect the thoughts you worked hard to put in writing, might as well hire a little help if you can’t find the time to edit it yourself.
Soma in urine….
Soma side effects. Soma petroleum. Suicide with soma how many does it take….
Your blog is very informative, I have learned so much from it. It is like daily newspaper :). Added to favs.