I gave up trying to sleep and since I was in a writing mood I thought I would put my sleeplessness to good effect. Besides, I forgot to mention that I was interviewed by Newsweek yesterday for a story on weblogging.
(Of course the interview was for a story on weblogging. Did you think that Newsweek would be interviewing me for my views on the President? The Iraqi war? The current domestic situation in the country?)
The reporter was writing a story for an international edition of Newsweek, European I believe, about weblogging and how to start a weblog. He found me through the Essential Blogging book and when he asked about ‘blogging etiquette’ I knew I wasn’t the only weblogger interviewed. The term ‘etiquette’ was a dead giveaway.
I laughed when he asked that question, which probably lessened my chances of appearing in the interview. (I’ve been interviewed for major publications before, and have had my sound bites left lying on the cutting room floor.) Still, etiquette.
I told him that the reason we’re weblogging is because we want to be able to publish online without having to follow any rules. To be independent. Free thinkers and writers — as long as we write in reverse chronological order, provide perma-links, link to interesting stories or other weblogs, comment on same, attribute other sources, never delete postings, maintain archives, write only the truth, have a blogroll, and never write about cats or what we had for lunch, we can weblog anyway we want.