Biz Stone

The book has had a slightly unflattering review on the Amazon site, but my impression was a different one: I liked it. This is not a very good technical book, in that it does cover some technical aspects of blogging, but after the last page you definitely do not really know How-to (though you are equipped with the necessary links); the prose is not too well written and the book is not a deeply philosophical book, either.

The book is fun to read (and easy to read), though. Perhaps a little show more bit like Howard Rheingold´s Virtual Communities (though not reaching the quality of this classic) or Katie Hafner´s “Where Wizards Stay Up Late” (though much funnier and “hipper”) it tries to convey a feeling for a special computer-communication sub-culture, in this case the Blogosphere. And in my view it succeeds in that.
Biz Stone is a bit overenthusiastic about blogging (in my view there simply MUST be one or the other drawback, if only the massive amounts of time consumed by blogging), and I was flattered to hear that my personal tidbits here on Hillside Mediatations do indeed contribute to our common consciousness and the well-being of mankind , but reading the book you indeed learn a lot about the lore, the history, the background, perhaps even the future of blogging. Biz Stone gossips along, telling gems, interesting hints and gossip alike (So now I know that the term “Meme” was coined by Richard Dawkins (although I still do not know how to pronounce “meme” correctly - dear readers could you please enlighten me on that?); I pondered on interesting ideas like the comparison of ants and pheromones with blogs and links and even read Longfellow´s poem on Paul Revere (who is compared with influential bloggers). There is a nice glossary with blogging-related terms at the end of the book.
You get a feeling for the blogging-world and lots of motivation to keep on caring and improving your own blog. Reading the book was fun!

Rebecca Blood´s Weblog Handbook could be another choice for the interested reader: providing perhaps more technical and detailed facts, but by far not as much fun to read as Biz Stone´s book.

Got a lazy Sunday ahead, not to keen on too-complicated a read and interested in the blogging-universe? Go and get the book, you won´t regret it. show less

Okay, So this one was largely a bust, I had to read it though. It was the least boring sounding book from the title list. And had the shortest page count.

It does have some good points to it though. The key take away being that Failing is an integral part of the recipe for success, if you aren't screwing up then you are missing huge opportunities to improve.

The second take away is that if opportunity knocks take it no matter how inconvenient, or if it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

A Medley - part autobiography, part technology, part business advice. Exquisitely written. Very engaging!

Good read. Gives a short history of blogs and what is current with bloggin (2004). Biz wrote this in a humorous, lighthearted way without much tech talk so who can operate a computer can understand it. Also he gives still semi relevant tips on making money with your blog. A good read for new bloggers and those who want to know more about them.