Jonathan Swift on blogging

By Ken Y-N ( November 17, 2005 at 23:32) · Filed under Opinion

Searching around looking for a quote or two to bung up in that box on the top-left there (assuming you’re not reading this through the RSS feed, of course), I found that Jonathan Swift had once written “It is the folly of too many to mistake the echo of a London coffee-house for the voice of the kingdom.” One could perhaps easily substitute “San Francisco Starbucks” to bring it right up to date, but I think it is even more apt to use “the Blogosphere” instead. This online echo chamber effect has got both defenders like Joi Ito and detractors like El Reg (and, for the sake of disclosure, me).

This site is trying to be a foam baffle in a Tokyo coffee-shop, to help the voice of the empire be heard above the petty squabbling of the Japanophiles and the Japanophobics.

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    • 2 Comments »

    1. allan said,

      November 19, 2005 @ 09:31

      I just wanted to say, that is good stuff.

      Glad I dropped in.

      It is so easy after an hour or so reading blogs to think everyone is crazy.

      I now know it is just everyone else.

      Thanks,

      Allan

    2. Seron said,

      November 20, 2005 @ 01:26

      I don’t know whether this is comment spam or not… If not, thanks for reading!

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