TheStandard.com: Plastic Medium "One of the consolations of the dot-com shakeout is that it provides a much-needed opportunity to take the long view. Now that we know that first movers often turn out to be first losers, the need for speed seems much less pressing than the need for perspective. It's a good time, in other words, to step back and take a look at the ways the Internet is changing some basic patterns of social behavior.
Which brings me to the strange world of blogs. A blog – the word is a contraction of "Web log" – is a simple online diary that can be created with a free Web-based application called Blogger."