Henry Jenkins is the Director of the MIT Comparative Media Studies Program and the Peter de Florez Professor of Humanities. He has written (or edited) nine books on media and popular culture, and now he's blogging.
His writing is so dense with cool useful insight about media and communication and human behavior, it almost makes up for the six bajillion pointless Livejournals current wasting space online. Check him out.
Apparently, Jesus would get shit-faced, get behind the wheel of a 2006 Lexus, drive like a jackass, get pulled over, call a female officer "sugar tits," call the arresting deputy a "motherf*cker," threaten to "f*ck" him, on account of The Lamb of God "owning Malibu" and being willing to spend all of His money to "get even" with that deputy.
The Anointed One would then rant about the "f*cking Jews," who "are responsible for all the wars in the world," and then ask the deputy whether he was a Jew.
Then, the Temporal Incarnation of the Logos would, when asked to enter the deputy's patrol car, run back to His Lexus in an attempt to evade arrest.
The Messiah would then be taken to the Malibu/Lost Hills Police Station, where He would get violent with a poorly functioning telephone, scream loudly to be allowed to urinate, post $5000 bail, and then release an unconvincing public apology, because Our Lord is apparently a drunk crazy racist asshole.
It is as easy as you think. That's why I'm walking everywhere these days.
(Two brothers are using their own bikes and equipment to make a point here, narrating as they go. "Riding away...and nobody gives a sh*t...")
The Bella Rossa Interview With KaneCitizen of "News on the March."
KaneCitizen enjoys the dubious distinction of being the first blogger ever to place me on his blogroll, and recalls that he found me on the Chicago Bloggers webring. He writes about "politics, movies, books, articles, celebrity inconsequentialities, what I had/want to have for dinner, etc." His book and movie mentions were compelling enough to prompt me to add a few things to my Amazon wish list.
BELLA: What current books, music, tv, movies, hobbies, sports, etc., are currently holding your interest?
KANECITIZEN: Let’s see. Right now I’m partway through Darknet: Hollywood’s War Against the Digital Generation by J.D. Lasica, which I really like a lot. After that I’m going to read The Long Tail by Chris Anderson, and then hopefully I’ll get back to The Metaphysical Club, which I started about six(?) months ago but from which I keep getting distracted. Before that, I really enjoyed Everything Bad Is Good for You by Steven Johnson.
TV is kind of slow due to the summer months, but I always love C-Span.
As far as movies go, I have fallen head over heels for Netflix in the
past nine months or so. I love the searchability and list features. We
(my girlfriend and I) have been going through some TV series (like
Canada’s The Newsroom), and I have more lined up. We’ve seen some real good documentaries – Microcosmos, for instance, about the world of bugs, and Sin Cities, about the naughtiness in Berlin and Paris between the wars. Can’t wait for Battlestar Galactica Season 2.5!
I’ve
always been kind of sketchy on just what constitutes a hobby, but we’ve
been doing a ton of fix-up around the house and yard. Does that count?
Or are hobbies what you do when you want to do something other than
that?
I don’t get sports.
BELLA: How would you describe your blog?
KANECITIZEN: I like to think that it is pretty eclectic. I
don’t feel the need to follow a single theme, nor would I be interested
in following a single theme. And too, I like pointing people towards
interesting ideas or pieces of information or things that they might
appreciate, rather than writing a big essay or
sharing my feelings or something every time I post. I like doing that
with my friends in real life (pre-Web, I used to cut out or copy
newspaper or magazine articles and send them to people whom I thought
might like them) and I guess my blog is an extension of that. 
BELLA: Why
do you blog? What was your original goal or intention when you started,
and has that changed with time? Is your blog a means to an end (finding
work, developing creative ideas, making money, meeting people), or does
it exist for its own sake?
KANECITIZEN: A friend of mine told me she was starting a blog,
and a few weeks later I was like “Why not?” and off I went. As I said
above, I think the blog is an extension of my enjoyment of pointing
people towards facts or ideas or works of art or whatever that they
might not have been exposed to otherwise.
BELLA: Before
the advent of blogging, was there any similar activity that you
enjoyed, that served a similar purpose (keeping a written journal,
participating in newsgroups, etc.)? If so, how is blogging different from/better than that previous activity?
KANECITIZEN: I never really did any of that stuff, except
for (as noted above) sending everybody copies of magazine articles
(once in a while whole Xeroxed chapters of books) that I thought they’d
enjoy.
BELLA: Is there one particular post that you think exemplifies your work, or represents your best writing?
KANECITIZEN: Hmmm… Try this one out.
BELLA:
How often do you Google yourself, check yourself on Technorati, see how
many people link to or bookmark you, and/or pore over your referral
logs and visitor statistics?
KANE CITIZEN: Google – Rarely; Technorati – Monthly(?); Referral log - Daily.
BELLA:
Is there one particular post that garnered you an atypically large
reader response or number of referrals from search engines? If so, why
do you think that is?
KANECITIZEN: Yes! It was my post about Trutech DVD/VHS players and how much they suck!
(And Trutech does suck, by the way. Bastards.) That one probably
generated hundreds of hits, and they still come in from time to time.
BELLA:
Have you ever noticed funny, unlikely referral links from a search
engines that, while a logical word-for-word match with stuff you have
on your blog, are puzzling?
KANECITIZEN: I
get hits once in a while from countries like Saudi Arabia, Syria,
Yemen, etc. for guys searching for porn, and combinations of innocuous
words (“girl,” “mom,” “job,” etc.) seem to get high search engine hits
over there. My theory is that the non-freedom-oriented governments in
countries such as those automatically filter out the horrible filthy smut and I’m what’s left.
BELLA: What are some of your favorite, "must-read" blogs? What keeps you going back again and again?
KANECITIZEN: I like Boing Boing, for its all-over-the-place nature; Two Blowhards,
because they discuss all sorts of things having to do with history,
politics, art, film, etc. that I enjoy (even though I don’t agree at
all with their views on immigration to the U.S.); Kottke always seems to find cool stuff to which to link; and AmbivaBlog, whom I like because she sees multiple sides of complicated issues and also just because I like her. 
BELLA: Have you ever totally lost interest in a blog that you once really enjoyed, and if so, why?
KANECITIZEN: Oh, maybe, but it usually goes the other way,
that I find something in passing that takes a while to capture my
interest, but once I’m on board I’m on board.
BELLA:
Many bloggers say that the best thing that's come of their blogging
experience is the connections they've made with people - meeting new
people and sometimes reconnecting with old friends. Has this been your
experience?
KANECITIZEN: Like I said, I like the concept of sharing
ideas and information with the self-selected interested. But as for
(e-)meeting people just for the sake of sociability… not my thing. I’m
an ISTJ. 
BELLA: What kind of person is the likeliest reader of your blog? What would you hope they get out of reading you?
KANECITIZEN: Good question… Don’t know. How would you
classify yourself? I’d say people who have at least an intelligent
layman’s interest in some of the same things I am interested in
(history, news, tech and its impact on society, movies, music, books,
and other geekery) and who aren’t going to get their undies in a bunch
over seeing the muppets sing NWA or seeing an occasional
double-entendre about girls with big boobs.
BELLA:
Are there people in your life who don't "get the whole blog thing?" How
do you explain it to them without feeling as nerdy and defensive as I
usually do?
KANECITIZEN: I don’t share it with a ton of people – you
could count them on your fingers - and most are established netizens. I
would be just as nerdy and defensive as you, I just don’t put myself
into the position. My girlfriend sometimes doesn’t GTWBT but I love her
and she loves me, and she likes that I have things that I enjoy doing.
BELLA: What's your relationship with your readers? How much interaction do you encourage?
KANECITIZEN: Comments and linking are much-appreciated, and
after you asked for this interview I set up a new Yahoo addy –
NewsontheMarch *at* yahoo *dot* com.
BELLA: How much do you self-censor, knowing that your friends and family might be reading?
KANECITIZEN: I do a little bit, because I don’t want
anything to be taken the wrong way. Plus, I really don’t like being
mean, even to people I don’t know. I’d hate to have my blog be a
vehicle for making anyone feel bad. Except those guys at Trutech… They
can go f*ck themselves. 
BELLA:
Have you ever heard yourself say something like "If you really cared
about me/were really interested in me, you'd look at my blog"? Is this
a fair thing to throw at, say, your sister, during an argument over who
gets the nicest drumstick at Thanksgiving?
KANECITIZEN: Don’t have a sister, don’t like turkey, can’t envision the situation where such a conversation would ever arise.
BELLA: Do you video blog? Would or will you? Are there any video blogs that you look at? What would you video blog about, if you did?
KANECITIZEN: Haven’t yet, but not out of the question. 
BELLA: Have you ever blogged something that later you regretted and/or deleted from your blog?
KANECITIZEN: Sometimes I fix typos, awkward grammar, and bad
links, but I can’t think of anything I intentionally posted and then
pulled down.
BELLA:
What are your thoughts on the phenomenon of "doocing," wherein someone
loses their job because of things they posted on a personal blog? Are
you careful to maintain a clear line between your online self and your
real world self?
KANECITIZEN: Quite careful. I have a fantastic job, I truly enjoy going into work each day, and I wouldn’t mix the two.
BELLA: Are you conscious of creating an online persona? How is that persona different from the real world you?
KANECITIZEN: Difficult to answer. Not that much different, I don’t think… Let me get some outside opinions on that and get back to you. 
BELLA: How long have you been online, and what kinds of things have you done online (chat rooms, message boards, games, aimless surfing, etc.)? How has this changed your life, for the better or worse?
KANECITIZEN: I’ve been online since around 1996 or so. I
used to play some trivia games, and I posted some things to some of the
AOL boards in the late 90s about globalization. (Pro-globalization,
that is. I wrote a real good post while watching the Seattle WTO riots
on TV about how Sam Adams & Co. at the much mis-analogized Boston
Tea Party would have been totally opposed to the goals of the protests,
and that all the protesters were doing was borrowing their tactics. I
got some good responses, and maybe that was my first taste of
proto-blogging.) Love to surf. Changed my life? Can’t say.
BELLA:
Do you think blogging is a viable way for people to make money? Have
you ever been able to earn any dough from your blog? If so, will you
give me some?
KANECITIZEN: I can’t think of how I would cash in on the
$$$, nor do I really care to, but I know there have been some book
deals that have arisen from the blogosphere. (Like a book deal is going
to keep them from being back at the unemployment office in 18 months.)
(Oops – Did I just say that? I only said I wanted to make sure I was
nice on my blog.)
BELLA: How long do you think you will continue to blog? What are the circumstances under which you can imagine yourself quitting?
KANECITIZEN: Only if it ever interfered significantly with things that were more important, which I don’t think it would.
BELLA: What's the coolest thing that's come out of your blogging experience?
KANECITIZEN: The opportunity to have a thought or learn a
fact and share it with whomever is interested to read it, whether
they’re some guy in Nebraska or Egypt or Manhattan, or a best-selling
author, or whatever. That, and this interview.
The Wall Street Journal today is talking about the amazing situation of civilians on the ground in Israel and Lebanon, unable to talk to each other by phone line even before recent events, carrying on conversations by blog and instant message even as bombs fall.
Unfortunately, the WSJ doesn't allow access to online content unless you're a paper subscriber, so I can't direct you to the whole online article. However, here are some of Lisa Goldman's observations from the thick of things in Tel Aviv.
From the WSJ:
My (and probably your) suspicions are confirmed! "Heat exhaustion" = "partying all night long."
Morgan Creek bigwig producer James G. Robinson sent a pissy letter to Lindsay Lohan two days ago ordering her to quit acting like a spoiled idiotic party girl and do her job.
The Smoking Gun comes through again. According to the leaked letter:
Lohan "acted like a spoiled child and in doing so (has) alienated many of (her) co-workers and endangered the quality" of her latest movie, and Mr. Robinson is "well aware that (her) ongoing all night heavy partying is the real reason for (her) so called 'exhaustion.'" Lohan will be held "personally accountable" for losses related to her unprofessionalism. Snap!
Bonus link: Spirit Fingers' photo retrospective of Lindsay's "Now I am blowing kisses at the camera" phase. The dresses change, the hair color changes, the gesture...is the same.
"Catahoula." Say it out loud three times. "Catahoula."
They are a American breed of working dog from the Gulf Coast with an interesting backstory. Given that in my first career I worked with animals, especially dogs, I'm always pleasantly surprised to run across a totally unfamiliar breed of pooch.
I met a Catahoula recently, and he is gorgeously spotted, and sleek, intelligent and irrepressibly energetic. I'd never heard of the breed before, and I keep saying the word out loud for my own amusement. CATAHOULA!
I'm not saying 105 isn't hot. I'm just saying. Lindsay loves the white stuff.
Also, Lance Bass Reveals He's Gay. In related news, the Pope likes miters, and pigeons walk funny.
Creepy celebrity obsession update: Madame Toussaud's has already rushed to make a wax version of Shiloh Jolie-Pitt.
The good news: Zach Braff has an opportunity to make more funny. The bad news: it's in a resuscitated series that once starred the comedian most likely to give Bella the creeps, Chevy Chase.
(I know this first broke weeks ago, but it's still worth mentioning.)
Senator, Senator, Senator...if you'd only known how widely-quoted this ridiculousness would make you all over the very series of tubes you spoke of.
"They want to deliver vast amounts of information over the internet. And
again, the internet is not something you just dump something on. It's
not a truck.
And if you don't
understand those tubes can be filled and if they are filled, when you
put your message in, it gets in line and its going to be delayed by
anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous
amounts of material."
Oh, and HA HA, his official senate webpage is currently experiencing technical difficulties. Goddanged tubes are clogged again: "Sorry, the http://Stevens.senate.gov web page you have requested is
experiencing technical difficulties. The Webmaster has been alerted."
Steve Jobs gave the commencement address at Stanford last year. His whole life path is so full of severe ups and dramatic downs, you have to give his reflections credibility. Here's the part that keeps resonating within me as I face new challenges and get more comfortable with taking risks:
I'm watching "Work Out," on Bravo, and Beverly Hills trainer Jackie is being presented a gift from her girlfriend Mimi. It's a piece of art. A portrait. Mimi says "Cojo is working on it."
It's Cojo, who I interviewed a few weeks back on my "Interviews With Bloggers" project. Yay! I realized once I got down to interviewing him that he was much more well-known than I first understood. I know now that he's popular among the cool crowd for his portrait work, among other things.
When I first linked to him, I just thought his work was cool-looking. What do I know about art, or the art world? Now I kind of can't believe he talked to me. Anyway, awesome.
The Bella Rossa Interview With "Bubblegumfink."
Bubblegumfink is a pop culture oriented blogger who wants to preserve and protect the legacy of 1960's and 1970's teen pop culture. Feel like getting nostalgic about HR Pufnstuf? Wanna flip through Hardy Boys trading cards? It's amazing how looking through this stuff really triggers old memories and puts you back into parts of your childhood you hadn't thought about in years. We were branded by Kellogg's and Tonka and Parker Brothers in ways we'd probably be scared to fully understand. In his interview, 'Fink shocks his readers by disclosing his mature, healthy eating habits, and shows the love to several of his favorite blogs, some of which may have made recent visits to this very site.
BELLA: What current books, music, tv, movies, hobbies, sports, etc., are currently holding your interest?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: Books: Lately,
I've been reading a lot
of nonfiction stuff on organic and raw foods, health, fast food, the
effects of synthetics and chemicals on our lives- all very
non-Bubblegumfink kind of stuff. I shouldn't even mention it, as I
prefer
my readers to think I'm sitting in a treehouse eating Twinkies and
Cap'n Crunch all day.
Music: Nothing really new has
interested me in several months. I'm listening mainly to the kind of
old junk I promote on my blog. I like a lot of newer stuff, too, but
nothing new has really rocked my socks off lately that comes to mind.
TV: Well, it's mostly the off-season
right now. I guess I'll take any chance I can get to plug the new
"remake" series of Battlestar Galactica. I truly believe
that if people could go into it putting aside their preconceived
ideas about science fiction shows, they'd realize it's the smartest,
most gripping and intelligent, best thing on television right now.
Movies: I'm in kind of the same boat as
with music. I've been watching a lot of old stuff. Sci fi and horror
from the 60s & 70s, mostly. I watch a lot of Japanese movies. I
recently saw the new Pirates movies. It was just ok. I don't drag
myself out to the theatre much anymore. I can wait for Netflix.
Hobbies: I guess the majorly time
wasting faux bubblegum cards I've been making have become something
of a hobby.
Sports: Hockey as the only sport I was
ever into. I gave up on it after the last big strike and haven't
really missed it.
BELLA: How would you describe your blog?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: I guess to the average person off the
street that couldn't really relate to it, I'd just say it was "A
blog about 60s & 70s teen pop culture." Which is a little
overly simplified.BELLA: Why
do you blog? What was your original goal or intention when you started,
and has that changed with time? Is your blog a means to an end (finding
work, developing creative ideas, making money, meeting people), or does
it exist for its own sake?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: I guess I blog just as an outlet for
some of my more obscure interests. Nobody in my day-to-day life is
interested in these things. Online, I've found other people who
apparently are to one extent or another. I also like that on the
internet, where I am semi- anonymous, I can say "Look at me, I
love some of the absolutely un-coolest crap in the world!"
Is it a means to an end? No. Hey, if it
could in any way lead to making money, that would be great, but I'm
not gonna hold my breath for two seconds on that.
BELLA: Before
the advent of blogging, was there any similar activity that you
enjoyed, that served a similar purpose (keeping a written journal,
participating in newsgroups, etc.)? If so, how is blogging different from/better than that previous activity?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: I belong to several Yahoo groups that
have become relatively quite. I think a lot of new outlets have come
along that folks have moved on to over the past couple years. I do
enjoy seeing a thriving forum. I can think of a couple. I prefer
blogging just because I'm the dictator. I do a lot less arguing with
people that I did when I was haunting the groups. If people don't
like my blog they can start their own. I don't mean that in a
mean-spirited way, that's just what's better about blogging.BELLA:
How often do you Google yourself, check yourself on Technorati, see how
many people link to or bookmark you, and/or pore over your referral
logs and visitor statistics?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: I check referral logs every day or two,
yeah. I don't think it's really an ego thing, though. It's just part
of the social aspect of blogging. I'm interested to see what new
blogs have come along, and who found something interesting enough to
mention it on their page. It's more like reassurance I'm not alone in
the universe.
BELLA:
Is there one particular post that garnered you an atypically large
reader response or number of referrals from search engines? If so, why
do you think that is?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: I've gotten several links from Boing
Boing. An above average amount, I think. My traffic increases vastly
for a few days after each one, and I like to think a few of those
people will stick around after the hubbub has died down. A few more
like-minded souls. So I'm very thankful to that blog. It's very, very
often for the things I least expect, as well. Sometimes I post
something and think I'm so friggin' brilliant "Surely everyone
will love this!", then it's some other little thing I'd
forgotten I'd even posted that seems to resonate with people instead.
I gave up trying to figure it out a long time ago.
BELLA:
Have you ever noticed funny, unlikely referral links from a search
engines that, while a logical word-for-word match with stuff you have
on your blog, are puzzling?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: Absolutely. I think the software is
highly imperfect. I've also recieved honest links from people that I
was very surprised would find this stuff at all interesting. Like
writers for Death Metal magazines, and stuff.
BELLA: What are some of your favorite, "must-read" blogs? What keeps you going back again and again?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: I hit most everything on my sidebar at
least once a week. Some are daily. I don't wanna snub anyone, but I
guess I'll mention just a few.
Curt's Groovy Age of Horror was
literally the first blog I came across that made me start my own. I
don't know if I ever mentioned that to him or not. I thought blogs
were just a place to bitch about politics and post photos of a
backpacking trip. But that one was a very unique, focused continually
updated website. It made me see blogs in a new way.
There are a million comic-based blogs
out there, but I think Dial B for Blog is lovely and unique. I'm not
actually a reader or collector of contemporary comics. But I love the
stuff that I loved as a kid. My love has grown for those old books.
Dial B helps keep that old stuff fresh.
Mr. Bali Hai's Eye of the Goof is
another blog I've checked in on for a long time now. It's usually
very centered on the tiki thing. I love the sort of "special
interest" blog. I think I'm blogging about his old crap, while
he blogs about his parents' old crap.
I like Jart in My Head. It's similar in
theme to Bubblegumfink, but it's written by a girl, which gives it a
unique perspective, I only wish she posted more frequently. Her
blog description is "1960s and 1970s. Kid and Teen Pop Culture.
Records. Movies. Bubblegum Cards. TV Shows. Teen Idols. Books. Games.
Junk Food. Toys. Advertising. Amusing Things Found in My Closet."
She nailed it with that.That's really what my blog is about, but
she's got it right there on the header, so I've never been able to
swipe it.
I visit This is Pop everyday. It's
like one stop shopping for cool new stuff.
I dig the Mego Museum, man. Talk about
special interest. A frequently updated blog attached to a gorgeous
website and a thriving forum.I'm still praying they'll send me some
of those trading cards they make.
BELLA: Have you ever totally lost interest in a blog that you once really enjoyed, and if so, why?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: Um,yeah. Of course, I'm not gonna name
names. It's usually never a quality issue. It' mostly about the
cyclic nature of my interests. I can be heavy, heavy into horror
films this month. Next month I'll be obsessed with, I dunno.. anime.
Horror films will sit on the back burner for up to a year, but the
stuff always comes around again for me. My problem is getting my
current interest to sync up with what ever convention or event is
going on at the time. Kind of like when they put tickets on sale for
a concert 6 months early and I'm all excited, but then 6 months
later, I'm just not in the mood for that band.
BELLA:
Many bloggers say that the best thing that's come of their blogging
experience is the connections they've made with people - meeting new
people and sometimes reconnecting with old friends. Has this been your
experience?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: It's a very positive aspect. It's an
amazing way to connect to often a really very limited number of
people that may also be into the same sort of stuff you're blogging
about.
BELLA: What kind of person is the likeliest reader of your blog? What would you hope they get out of reading you?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: I think it would be fun and interesting
to take a survey someday. Off the top of my head I would guess the
average reader was a male nerd between 35 and 55. I mean nerd in a
very good, geek-power sort- of- way. I also think that at 34, I
myself am probably the youngest Bubblegumfink reader. I can't see it
having any appeal to anyone younger.
BELLA:
Are there people in your life who don't "get the whole blog thing?" How
do you explain it to them without feeling as nerdy and defensive as I
usually do?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: I don't explain or mention it to them.
It's my personal thing. Only two or three people I know have any idea
that I have a blog.
BELLA: What's your relationship with your readers? How much interaction do you encourage?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: I would love a hundred comments on
every post. As far as relationship, I often get people saying "hey
dude, check this out" Which is very cool. I've put something out
there, and now the internet occasionally comes to me.
BELLA: How much do you self-censor, knowing that your friends and family might be reading?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: Never. They're not reading.BELLA:
Have you ever heard yourself say something like "If you really cared
about me/were really interested in me, you'd look at my blog"? Is this
a fair thing to throw at, say, your sister, during an argument over who
gets the nicest drumstick at Thanksgiving?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: No. There's not really any deep
personal shit going on at my blog, anyway.
BELLA: Do you video blog? Would or will you? Are there any video blogs that you look at? What would you video blog about, if you did?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: I'm not sure I understand the term
"video blog". If this means taking videos of yourself
talking and doing stuff, then no, that holds no interest for me. I do
enjoying adding stuff from youtube to my blog. The more variety of
media, the better. Video's a good one. I usually post stuff that's
right in line with the theme- stuff like old cereal commercials, etc
Here's another secret- while Bubblegumfink is promoting Super Sugar
Crisp, I'm currently eating organic flax seed raisin bran with soy
milk.
BELLA: Have you ever blogged something that later you regretted and/or deleted from your blog?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: I frequently delete posts from the blog
anywhere from a few minutes to a few weeks later, just becuase I feel
like they detract from the whole, or they're not relevant enough to
the blog. I've got a lot of other interests, and they seep in
sometimes, but I try and keep the blog focused. I think people have a
good idea what they're in for when they show up. I try not to throw
too many curve balls. I never discuss politics or Hurricane Katrina
or whatever. I want it to always be a place of escape.Not that I
don't have strong opinions on world events. I could always start
different blogs if I wanted to.
Of course, nobody will let me forget
that I've actually deleted the entire blog a couple times, just out
of boredom or whatever. Many months worth of posts are now long gone,
so the blog does not appear to go back anywhere near as far as it's
been around. Having received lots of angry or regretful emails, I had
to keep bringing it back. That felt pretty good, though, I gotta
admit. I promised last time I'd never delete the whole blog again.
That button was just so tempting.
BELLA:
What are your thoughts on the phenomenon of "doocing," wherein someone
loses their job because of things they posted on a personal blog? Are
you careful to maintain a clear line between your online self and your
real world self?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: Well, there's losing your job over
content, or just the simple fact that your sitting around blogging.
Both can be relevant, I suppose. It's like speeding on the freeway.
Just don't get caught, dummy.
BELLA: Are you conscious of creating an online persona? How is that persona different from the real world you?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: Y'know, I guess I never thought ahead
far enough to create an online persona. Who I am on the blog is the
same way I am in real life. I even say "groovy" a lot.
BELLA: How long have you been online, and what kinds of things have you done online (chat rooms, message boards, games, aimless surfing, etc.)? How has this changed your life, for the better or worse?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: I've been online about as long as
everyone else, I guess. I'm no pioneer, but I'm not screwing around
on dial up AOL, either. I love the internet. Mainly for shopping.
Whether it's eBay, or some tiny Japanese record company, every
obscure thing I'm after is at my fingertips. I honestly cannot
remember the last time I was, say, in a mall. Retail stores suck.
BELLA:
Do you think blogging is a viable way for people to make money? Have
you ever been able to earn any dough from your blog? If so, will you
give me some?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: I'm sure someone's smart enough to make
some money. It ain't me.
BELLA: How long do you think you will continue to blog? What are the circumstances under which you can imagine yourself quitting?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: I dunno. Assuming I never get tired of
doing it, I would expect blogging to become obsolete in some way in a
few years. We'll see.
BELLA: What's the coolest thing that's come out of your blogging experience?
BUBBLEGUMFINK: I'm not sure. My blog is militantly
un-cool.
Thank you for thinking I was worth
interviewing. It's very flattering, though I'm sure I've bored the
hell out of everyone.
Cheers.
The Bella Rossa Interview with CB of the "The Company Bitch."
CB is a young woman navigating some of the usual rough waters of one's twenties, namely boyfriend issues and corporate employment. In the spirit of "Copyranter," "Assistant Atlas," and "I Hate You, New Guy Who Sits Next To Me," she uses her online outlet to vent frustrations about life in the workplace. She recently wrote about her unsuccessful attempts at finding adult-sized footie pajamas for her boyfriend's birthday, her boss's insistence that she learn to successfully forge his name, and the general uselessness of her company's recent intern. CB is smart enough to retain her carefully preserved anonymity, so as to avoid any unpleasant dooce-like repercussions in the workplace.
BELLA: How would you describe your blog?
CB: "Office Space" meets "Sex and the City." Actually, someone else said that
about my blog. I would describe my blog as a young girl trying
desperately to find the humor in her humorless office existence.
BELLA: Why
do you blog? What was your original goal or intention when you started,
and has that changed with time? Is your blog a means to an end (finding
work, developing creative ideas, making money, meeting people), or does
it exist for its own sake?
CB: I started it because I was experiencing unholy boredom and
frustration at my old job. Then it slowly started becoming a different
thing. Like, instead of doing it in my spare time, I’d make time for
it.
BELLA: Is there one particular post that you think exemplifies your work, or represents your best writing?
CB: The ones I think are the best are the ones I sort of think I should
delete because they’re embarrassing and personal. So I’m not going to
point them out.
BELLA: Is there one particular post that garnered you an
atypically large reader response or number of referrals from search
engines? If so, why do you think that is?
CB: Holy f*ck yes. The one titled "Banned from Whole Foods." People
really got mad about that one, either at me or on my behalf. I really
wasn’t trying to start some consumer revolution, but people seemed to
think I was.
BELLA: How often do you Google yourself, check yourself on Technorati, and/or pore over your referral logs and visitor statistics?
CB: I can’t divulge that information. The answer is way too sad.
BELLA: What kind of person is the likeliest reader of your blog? What would you hope they get out of reading you?
CB: I have absolutely no idea what kind of person who reads my blog. I read their
comments and I still don’t know the common denominator. People that
work in an office?
BELLA: Are
there people in your life who don't "get the whole blog thing?" How do
you explain it to them without feeling as nerdy and defensive as I
usually do?
CB: Mine is secret so I generally don’t have that problem. I don’t
actually want to talk about my blog. Unfortunately, my boyfriend, who
does know about it, likes to get drunk and tell everyone I have the
best blog ever, that I’m sooo funny, etc. Then I feel like creepy
because I refuse to tell anyone what the name of my blog is. (Thank
God the boyfriend knows enough not to tell people that).
BELLA: How much do you self-censor, knowing that your friends and family might be reading?
CB: Not enough that I’d want my father to read it but enough so that the boyfriend doesn’t break up with me.
BELLA: Have
you ever heard yourself say something like "If you really cared about
me/were really interested in me, you'd look at my blog"? Is this a fair
thing to throw at, say, your sister, during an argument over who gets
the nicest drumstick at Thanksgiving?
CB: Ha! That’s hysterical. I bet I’m totally going to be like that if my
blog ever goes public. Then again, I have a friend who found out
about my blog by accident (long story) and she’s checking the thing all
the time. I’ll say "Guess what happened to me today?" and she’ll say
"I know, I read it in your blog." That’s not good either.
BELLA: Do you video blog? Would or will you? Are there any video blogs that you look at? What would you video blog about, if you did?
CB: What’s a video blog?
BELLA: Have you ever blogged something that later you regretted and/or deleted from your blog?
CB: Yup. One thing that got Gawkered but was more about a friend than
me. It really wasn’t my place to spread her story throughout
Manhattan. And then one thing that was too sentimental/sad for me
to handle after the fact. I was like, "Ugh, I don’t want to remember
feeling like this."
BELLA: What are your thoughts on the phenomenon of
"doocing," wherein someone loses their job because of things they
posted on a personal blog? Are you careful to maintain a clear line
between your online self and your real world self?
CB: I sometimes think I’m wily and slick. I’ll change hair color or dates
and think "Ha! They’ll never know it’s me." Riiiight. I think I’m
going to get completely busted one of these days.
BELLA: Are you conscious of creating an online persona? How is that persona different from the real world you?
CB: My online persona is exactly drunk me in the real world.
BELLA: How long have you been online, and what kinds of
things have you done online (chat rooms, message boards, games, aimless
surfing, etc.)? How has this changed your life, for the better or worse?
CB: Pretty much nothing besides read news crap, write this blog and occasionally read others.
BELLA: How long do you think you will continue to blog? What are the circumstances under which you can imagine yourself quitting?
CB: When it’s not anonymous. I sometimes think of stopping this blog and
starting a new, totally anonymous one but it’s somewhat exhausting to
think of getting people to read it all over again. Still, when I’m
totally outted, I can’t imagine blogging and enjoying it.
BELLA: What's the coolest thing that's come out of your blogging experience?
CB: Literary agents e-mailed me! I almost cried when it
started happening.
But they all said I’d have to write a novel and then show it to them
before I was signed. That made me happy for awhile, but then I realized
"F*ck, I have to write a novel." Writing a novel is hard, slow and
completely non-gratifying since you have no idea if it will get you an
agent, let alone ever get published. Still, it is the coolest thing.
A word of caution for those of you who upload your personally-made videos to "share" on YouTube - don't forget that the fine print gives the company ownership and pretty much all rights to your content. This is especially important for comedians and musicians and other artists who want a cheap, easy way to share their stuff online but don't want to hand over all the rights to their original content. Think about another hosting site, if this is of concern to you.
Also, there is lots of speculation that YouTube will never make any money, partly because they are being sued all over the place for copyright infringement.
On another note, those guys who did the funny "Mentos and Diet Coke" thing have made almost $30,000 from those videos.
Don't ever let anyone tell you that blogging is a waste of time. Okay, maybe if you're spending your time chronicling the contents and condition of your treasured library of every issue of Analog (not that my kitchen cabinets are stuffed with anything like that), or posting endless observations about the ideal ratio of milk-to-cornflakes in your morning cereal bowl, you might be indulging in a mostly pointless habit.
But through my online explorations of "stuff I like," I got hooked up with this Bastion business I keep blathering about. In less than two weeks, I've met tons of cool people, seen a bunch of great comedy, and opened up all kinds of avenues for my creative life and my personal life. It's been really, really fantastic.
And it all started with a humble, i.e. crappy, blog I started back in a little schoolhouse apartment in Cowfart, Indiana. (Ew...really crappy...look at that stupid film effect I used to put on graphics.)
Wow. The new issue of Analog just arrived! Gotta go.
