Confusing the mode with the use

I came across two links that I thought were worth sharing. The first is a blog post by Dave Winer and it’s called How Hollywood portrays bloggers. In it he says, “A blogger isn’t just someone who uses blogging software, at least not to me.” I agree and this is one of the misperceptions about blogging that comes up again and again with those who really don’t know much about blogging. How the software is used and why it’s used as it is — that’s what defines a blogger.

The how’s and why’s, by the way, are many.

The other link I wanted to share was to this story: A Portuguese success story: could i be the future of newspapers? (Found via @jayrosen_nyu) I thought it was a fascinating approach and hope the paper succeeds. Its early success suggests that newspapers are not dead, as we often hear, but in transition. As with my blogging comment where I argue too many confuse the software with the way it is used, too many people see the problems newspapers are experiencing as residing in the mode rather than the use.