That's right, you see that big google tool bar up there? well, I don't know fancy code, and I don't know any other way of doing this without the google toolbar--which I don't think all the folks who come here have--so I'm putting a big-ole "search this site" box at the top of this blog. Do you like it?
I do.
Last week, folks were remembering the post I had about the blogger's place in the woods I once wrote about--a year and a half ago now? more?--but there wasn't an easy way to go find it. I don't have categories for my posts. I don't have fancy archives. And when I look at my archive page now, it feels impenetrable. Lots of dates, but are dates what make what I've written important? No. Not for any of us. Its what we said, to whom, when, why, and the state of the state at the time.
Now, the next time I want to remember that place in the woods, I just search up "woods" and "pond" (two memorable things from that "sweet world" post) using the simple-dimple site search up top, and I get what I was looking for, and more.
There has to be a better way, or a consistent way, for new bloggers and blog readers in general to refer to what us blog elders have written over the last two or three or four years. Can we encourage this? And if so, how?
It's frustrating to see cogent discussions come up on some of the newer, and very popular, weblogs without those doing the discussing referencing anything cogent from one of their more aged brothers or sisters. Instead it's a circle-jerk-link-fest among those involved. And that's cool, if that's what floats your boat. For the historical context of these discussions alone, though, I think we should start making the effort to thread conversations backward every once in a while, to give layers to our context by referencing some of the thinking that has already been done (and re-done) on a given topic. Otherwise the blogworld starts to sound like this:
"Blogging helps us connect with others in new ways; the blogworld is a web of connections built upon conversation."
"Blogging helps us connect with others in new ways; the blogworld is a web of connections built upon conversation."
"Blogging helps us connect with others in new ways; the blogworld is a web of connections built upon conversation."
"Blogging helps us connect with others in new ways; the blogworld is a web of connections built upon conversation."
Okay. That's nice. That's fine.
But why not see what those of us who've been around here for a while have said about it. Why not look back at some of our posts on women and blogging (gender issues), technology, PR, love, hate, debate, weblogging, whatever the topic of the moment is.
Just something I've been thinking about. In our race forward, I think we've forgotten--me included--to keep an eye on where we've come from and how our thinking and voices have evolved. To do that, we have to be able to track back in a larger and more meaningful way.
But I'll start with my little google search box, and take it from there.
