Yesterday a Renowned Writing Expert told me he would be more interested in blogs if they had a different name. "Blog" sounds like a collision between "blah" and "ugh," words that accurately describe some blogs (not this one, I hope, but I'm not the best judge of that):
"blah" = endless pompous blathering intended to reveal to readers how Terribly Clever I am
"ugh" = endless intimate details intended to reveal to readers what a Fun Party Person I am
"blah" + "ugh" = all the blogs I hate to read
What are the alternatives? "Online journal" would inevitably be abbreviated as "onjo," which sounds jaunty and foreign and banjo-intensive and not at all like a forum for profound thought. Then there's "electronic diary," which would become "e-di," which is clearly the name of a deadly bacillus used in chemical warfare. "Computer-Assisted Space for Compulsive Communicators" leads to CASCC, which suggests a fruitless search for Amontillado followed by eternal imprisonment in a cobwebby sub-basement where cries for help only bounce off the walls.
I hate to tell my Renowned Writing Expert friend, but no matter how it sounds, we're stuck with "blog" so we'd better get over it. On the other hand, perhaps the best way to inspire a more euphonious name is to produce a blog that moves beyond blah-ugh.
2 comments:
I don't know . . . I'm rather a fan of CASCC, myself.
I think one of the reasons that blogs never caught on here is the person who insisted on pronouncing them "blahhhhhggg." As if person were trying to spit out an unpleasant-tasking appetizer. Just a feeling, though.
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