December 23rd, 2008
When I am wrong you let me know
One point I must constantly make to PR folks and others is that there is a big difference between writing a blog and writing news stories or a column.
News stories must be double-checked and just state what happened. Columns must stand alone, like a sermon or a jewel.
Blog posts are the start of a discussion. You are not a reader with a blog post. You are part of the creative process.
This is especially true when I ask what seem like stupid questions, like in my June piece “Do we need two open source office suites,” which was the 13th most popular post here in 2008.
I was wondering out loud whether open source advocates were dividing their efforts, thus weakening themselves in a competition with Microsoft Office, by having both Open Office and Symphony.
You let me have it, 147 times, offering not just contrary opinions but a correction in fact. (Symphony is not descended from Ami, but shares a code base with Open Office.)
I hope in the future I wouldn’t write such nonsense before double-checking each fact, or at least looking at Wikipedia. But I know that should I screw up again you’ll be on top of it like Chicago Bears on a Green Bay fumble.
(The fumble shown above is from a 2007 game. The more things change…)
That is a very comforting Christmas present.
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist for 30 years, a tech freelancer since 1983. You can follow Dana on Twitter. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 12/23/08
