Say Everything by Scott Rosenberg
Say Everything by Scott Rosenberg is a comprehensive work on the history of blogging. The book chronicles the unplanned rise and improbable triumph of blogging, tracing its impact on politics, business, the media, and our personal lives.
The author provides an insider’s view of famous and familiar bloggerati, the technology, the fiefdoms, the whuffie, the money, and the love.
The book is conversational and compelling, taking readers on a trip down memory lane for early web adopters. It includes quotes from pioneers in the field and offers a cogent look at not only what’s new but also what’s next.
Despite emerging technologies and new platforms to publish and have discourse on the web, the arguments about relevance, expertise, or commenting seem to be the same or extremely similar to as it was.
Useful takeaways:
- Blogging gives everyone a printing press, unleashing a social force comparable to the printing press.
- The book provides a fifteen-year history of the voice of the person on the Web, from Talking Points Memo to Twitter.
- The more things change, the more they stay the same.
- This is a great read for anyone publishing anything online, within any form of media be it audio, video, images, or just plain old fashioned text.
What I Liked
I’m writing this on a personal blog…so I can say that I love everything about this book. I’m glad it documents what I think was a “Golden Age” of the Web before the big platforms took everything over. That said, I’m glad the book did document that the era had plenty of issues too.
What I Did Not Like
Nothing – great read.
