What IS the difference between a weblog and a journal? (On-line, that is...)--Al

-- Al Schroeder (al.schroeder@nashville.com), June 17, 2000

Answers

I have seen several different definitions of both words by people more expert than I am - - - the only thing is that those qualifications and parameters seem to be defined differently.

So I look at it this way, until at least two of the experts agree on a definition for each I will call someone's writing they call it.

Dictionaries don't seem to be of much help either, as those two words seem to me to have interlocked definitions.

If someone calls a piano an onion and I want to converse with that one about the glorious musical instrument, rather than haggle about definition for them at that time I will call the piano an onion.

How about a show of hands, a survey from those who call themselves jounalists and from those who call themselves diarists and see how each group defines their specialty.

-- Denver doug (ionoi@webv.net), June 18, 2000.

Correction in the second paragraph, "I will call it what the writer calls it. Early AM super klutz here.

-- Denver doug (ionoi@webtv.net), June 18, 2000.

After re-reading Al's question, the term Weblog is even more confusing to me. Help !

-- Denver doug (ionoi@webtv.net), June 18, 2000.

The difference is in the CREATOR, not the substance. Depending upon your Meyer's-Briggs Type, if you are a technical, structured person you may feel more comfortable calling your work a "weblog". If you are more comfortable expressing emotions, you would feel much closer to your work and therefore perhaps refer to it by the more personal term "Journal" or "Diary", etc. How YOU see yourself connecting to your work, is the issue.

In my humble opinion.

-- Planet Earth (imagine@industrial-ideas.com), June 18, 2000.

It surprises me that Planet Earth and myself seem to be the only people who commented on this question. I rather expected some of the people who have been on the web longer to elucidate.

I didn't expect a clash of opinions, but an input from people who call their babies differently from others which so closely resemble each other that a differentation is impossible for me to understand.

In a much more structured and educated expression of opinion, Planet Earth's conclusion and mine pretty well agree - - - - you name your own baby, and that is it's name.

-- Denver doug (ionoi@webtv.net), June 26, 2000.

Actually, this question is a big one to some folks, both webloggers who don't want to be considered diarists, and diarists who don't want to be considered webloggers.

A number of folks feel making the distinction is dividing pieces of the same pie, or in other words, somewhat moot (especially given the reasoning that, "whatever the mainstream media calls you, you are, and there's nothing you can do about it." But I'm in the category of people that say, there is a _fundamental_ difference.

Weblogs - Log of places on the web. Focused externally. Diary/Journal - Log of personal experiences and thoughts. Focused internally.

Of course you have sites that blur the line - weblogs of "cool things on the web" that include just as much commentary about what one had for dinner. But many bloggers keep diaries and vice versa, and the separation is intuitive for them. I keep a web journal, for example, but I also keep a (often neglected) weblog where I concurrently store my latest favorite links.

I also wrote an article on the difference after an infamous Newsweek piece pegged all bloggers as journalers:

journal vs. blog http://www.diarist.net/guide/blogjournal.shtml

Does this clear it up, or just make it more confusing?

-- Ryan (imr@lightfantastic.org), March 25, 2001.