Microblogging

Wow! It's hard work to squeeze in blogging time between full time jobs, entertaining the kids, celebrating moms, etc... I can understand why so many blogs dry up after a couple of weeks. Starting a blog is almost like speaking to a coliseum full of screaming people and you are underneath the bleachers in the dark with your scarf wrapped twice around your mouth.

People like a bit of feedback. So, perhaps you pay someone to post a comment on your blog - which may be somewhat anti-climatic (Sorry, Dad). Or, perhaps, you get a comment from someone totally unknown and (...sad truth...) your inner cynic rises up and wonders "What kind of scam this person is pulling?" Is the investment in blogging worth it?

Perhaps, these facts are the key to the rise of "microblogging". Microblogging is any online application that allows a person the opportunity to post a short, informal statement of some sort. For example, with flickr, you can post a comment regarding a photo. On del.icio.us you can summarize your perceptions of a web link. Even commenting on some random blog gives you the opportunity to say something that may be read by others.

With Twitter or Jaiku, you have no choice but to limit your comment to 140 characters.

... But what is allure?