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Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What It's Becoming, and Why It Matters
Blogs are everywhere. They have exposed truths and spread rumors. Made and lost fortunes. Brought couples together and torn them apart. Toppled cabinet members and sparked grassroots movements. Immediate, intimate, and influential, they have put the power of personal publishing into everyone’s hands. Regularly dismissed as trivial and ephemeral, they have proved that they are here to stay.
In Say Everything, Scott Rosenberg chronicles blogging’s unplanned rise and improbable triumph, tracing its impact on politics, business, the media, and our personal lives. He offers close-ups of innovators such as Blogger founder Evan Williams, investigative journalist Josh Marshall, exhibitionist diarist Justin Hall, software visionary Dave Winer, "mommyblogger" Heather Armstrong, and many others.
These blogging pioneers were the first to face new dilemmas that have become common in the era of Google and Facebook, and their stories offer vital insights and warnings as we navigate the future. How much of our lives should we reveal on the Web? Is anonymity a boon or a curse? Which voices can we trust? What does authenticity look like on a stage where millions are fighting for attention, yet most only write for a handful? And what happens to our culture now that everyone can say everything?
Before blogs, it was easy to believe that the Web would grow up to be a clickable TV–slick, passive, mass-market. Instead, blogging brought the Web’s native character into focus–convivial, expressive, democratic. Far from being pajama-clad loners, bloggers have become the curators of our collective experience, testing out their ideas in front of a crowd and linking people in ways that broadcasts can’t match. Blogs have created a new kind of public sphere–one in which we can think out loud together. And now that we have begun, Rosenberg writes, it is impossible to imagine us stopping.
In his first book, Dreaming in Code, Scott Rosenberg brilliantly explored the art of creating software ("the first true successor to The Soul of a New Machine, " wrote James Fallows in The Atlantic ). In Say Everything, Rosenberg brings the same perceptive eye to the blogosphere, capturing as no one else has the birth of a new medium.
In Say Everything, Scott Rosenberg chronicles blogging’s unplanned rise and improbable triumph, tracing its impact on politics, business, the media, and our personal lives. He offers close-ups of innovators such as Blogger founder Evan Williams, investigative journalist Josh Marshall, exhibitionist diarist Justin Hall, software visionary Dave Winer, "mommyblogger" Heather Armstrong, and many others.
These blogging pioneers were the first to face new dilemmas that have become common in the era of Google and Facebook, and their stories offer vital insights and warnings as we navigate the future. How much of our lives should we reveal on the Web? Is anonymity a boon or a curse? Which voices can we trust? What does authenticity look like on a stage where millions are fighting for attention, yet most only write for a handful? And what happens to our culture now that everyone can say everything?
Before blogs, it was easy to believe that the Web would grow up to be a clickable TV–slick, passive, mass-market. Instead, blogging brought the Web’s native character into focus–convivial, expressive, democratic. Far from being pajama-clad loners, bloggers have become the curators of our collective experience, testing out their ideas in front of a crowd and linking people in ways that broadcasts can’t match. Blogs have created a new kind of public sphere–one in which we can think out loud together. And now that we have begun, Rosenberg writes, it is impossible to imagine us stopping.
In his first book, Dreaming in Code, Scott Rosenberg brilliantly explored the art of creating software ("the first true successor to The Soul of a New Machine, " wrote James Fallows in The Atlantic ). In Say Everything, Rosenberg brings the same perceptive eye to the blogosphere, capturing as no one else has the birth of a new medium.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
14 people are currently reading
259 people want to read
About the author
Scott Rosenberg
20 books13 followersWriter, editor and website builder SCOTT ROSENBERG is a cofounder of Salon.com and author of Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What It's Becoming and Why It Matters and Dreaming in Code: Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest For Transcendent Software.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
At Salon, Scott served as technology editor and, from 1999 to 2004, as managing editor and vice president for editorial operations. He also started the Salon Blogs program in 2002 and began his own blog as part of it. Before leaving Salon in 2007 to write SAY EVERYTHING he conceived and prototyped the Open Salon blogging community.
Before Salon he wrote on theater, movies, and technology for the San Francisco Examiner for a decade and was honored with the George Jean Nathan Award for his reviews. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Wired, and many other publications. He lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife and two sons.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
At Salon, Scott served as technology editor and, from 1999 to 2004, as managing editor and vice president for editorial operations. He also started the Salon Blogs program in 2002 and began his own blog as part of it. Before leaving Salon in 2007 to write SAY EVERYTHING he conceived and prototyped the Open Salon blogging community.
Before Salon he wrote on theater, movies, and technology for the San Francisco Examiner for a decade and was honored with the George Jean Nathan Award for his reviews. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Wired, and many other publications. He lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife and two sons.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
August 12, 2009
Really well-reasearched and artfully presented history of blogging. Scott is very sensitive and perceptive, and doesn't merely hash over tired controversies, but brings sharp insight to the blogging saga.
July 20, 2009
Found this at work yesterday, picked it up to flip through, and haven't been able to put it down since. I'm dipping in and out of chapters (unwittingly playing the role of Carr's Flickering Man?), but from the three or so chapters I have read in their entirety, I can say that it's a really intelligent, engaging, and in-depth look at the genesis, progression, and subsequent explosion of blogging over the past decade. I plan to go back and read the whole thing from page one.
(Having finished it, I have a lot of thoughts that I'd like to assemble somewhere. I really enjoyed it for more than one reason. More to come...)
(Having finished it, I have a lot of thoughts that I'd like to assemble somewhere. I really enjoyed it for more than one reason. More to come...)
September 6, 2025
Might be the worst cover of any book in the history of books, but you know what? This was way better written and argued than you'd think a book about blogging from just after the blogging "revolution" crested could ever be. Read as research on that earliest era of internet fame.
January 13, 2010
Salon.com cofounder Rosenberg explores the history and consequences of blogging. He does a good job portraying the technical and business evolution of blogs, and just an okay job analyzing their literary development. But what I really like is his discussion of the social effects of blogging, and how the blog is affecting our creativity.
A couple of lines I particularly liked:
"...businesspeople have consistently overestimated the Web's similarities to television and underestimated its kinship to the telephone."
and
"It's a mistake to think of human creativity as a kind of limited natural resource, like an ore waiting for society to mine; it's more like a gene that will turn on given the right cues."
Rosenberg's argument is that by making it so much easier to record and share our thoughts, the blog (and its next evolutionary state, the status update and the tweet) gives everyone a new way to create and reflect upon their own thoughts. It doesn't matter what people are doing with their writing, or even if anyone ever reads it -- the act of creation itself is what is important. That's an argument which has a lot of appeal to me.
A couple of lines I particularly liked:
"...businesspeople have consistently overestimated the Web's similarities to television and underestimated its kinship to the telephone."
and
"It's a mistake to think of human creativity as a kind of limited natural resource, like an ore waiting for society to mine; it's more like a gene that will turn on given the right cues."
Rosenberg's argument is that by making it so much easier to record and share our thoughts, the blog (and its next evolutionary state, the status update and the tweet) gives everyone a new way to create and reflect upon their own thoughts. It doesn't matter what people are doing with their writing, or even if anyone ever reads it -- the act of creation itself is what is important. That's an argument which has a lot of appeal to me.
September 2, 2009
Fascinating reading. Unusually detailed look at the past 15 years of the Internet related to the concept of blogs. Lots of personalities. I was not not so pulled in by the exquisite detail about lineage of " important" bloggers. The chapter entitled "The Perils of Keeping It Real" was the best. That chapter opened my eyes to the perils of putting yourself out there, and how the cloak of anonymity allows alter egos to emerge and rip apart often honest efforts to communicate. The book slammed home the point that it is really hard to find people out who do want to listen. Sometimes the shouting, pointing, and flaming is all too much and to tell the truth , sad. I plan to read it again sometime.
October 5, 2016
Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What It's Becoming, and Why It Matters Paperback
by Scott Rosenberg
Say Everything is an excellent resource to educators,internet enthusiasts and students. Mr.Rosenberg takes on the task of giving us the story of the internet via the history of blogging according to him.The book offers a history of blogging beginnings and triumph, considering its impact on social, political, personal and business lives and providing talks of Blogger founders and innovators who pioneered the industry. Chapters discuss blogging environments with a good eye telling how society has changed.
Blogs are all over social media websites. Say Everything" is a detailed account of how blogging started and the individuals who brought about this medium which is still growing in popularity today. Did you know that blogging has been around more than 15 years? Even if you think you know everything about the Internet and blogging world you will learn something new from "Say Everything" on another note if you are new to the internet world and blogging world this is the book to read. It reads like a novel,the book is a gold mine of information it is long 400 pages but it's a good read if you are interested in blogging the book is based on the author's perspective as a blogging insider who had witnessed the beginning of the medium firsthand.
Digital technologies in the last 20 years empowered people more but blogging has brought a new empowerment to say everything and share things with the ability to do things better and faster.The author’s enthusiasm for the topic is obvious throughout the book. In the main sections of the book the explanation of the art of blogging from pioneering individuals who helped build-up.
The massive blogger world which has reshaped our connection to what's happening around the world, community, and media altogether helping us better understand the foundations of social media.Rosenberg writes about the 90's pioneers, Evan Williams and Meg Hourihan, who developed a small program and sold it to Google then blogging was accessible for everyone ( Evan William developed Twitter years later) Justin Hall, posted his real-time archive of his life in the early 90’s.
Many others,showed that blogging is profitable.As more people discover the joys of blogging, it's nothing less than “a new kind of public sphere, at once ephemeral and timeless. Blogging allows for new possibilities in the rare form of new talent and content which is the sharing of characteristics of deliberation and conversation which can be also fun.
Blogging is important to our intellectual growth and our culture. I give this book 5 stars for its clear, thorough, and contextual explanation of the history and importance of blogging. I would recommend this book to those who are interested in the details of how blogging began. Even though the book was written in 2010 it’s still very helpful now for the blogging world technology is more advance now but his points are taken well.Rosenberg provided many back stories and a lot of the information It's obvious that he put a lot of work and research into writing this book and that he was passionate about it.
About the Author
SCOTT ROSENBERG is an award-winning journalist who left the San Francisco Examiner in 1995 with a group of like-minded colleagues to found Salon.com, where he served first as technology editor, later as managing editor, and finally as vice president for new projects, leaving in 2007 to write Say Everything. For much of that time, he wrote a blog covering the world of computers and the web, explaining complex issues in a lively voice for a non-technical readership. His coverage of the Microsoft trial, the Napster controversy, and the Internet bubble earned him a regular following. Rosenberg's writing has appeared in the New York Times, Wired, the San Francisco Examiner, and other publications. His previous books include Dreaming In Code. Visit his website at www.wordyard.com. Front and back of cover of book
by Scott Rosenberg
Say Everything is an excellent resource to educators,internet enthusiasts and students. Mr.Rosenberg takes on the task of giving us the story of the internet via the history of blogging according to him.The book offers a history of blogging beginnings and triumph, considering its impact on social, political, personal and business lives and providing talks of Blogger founders and innovators who pioneered the industry. Chapters discuss blogging environments with a good eye telling how society has changed.
Blogs are all over social media websites. Say Everything" is a detailed account of how blogging started and the individuals who brought about this medium which is still growing in popularity today. Did you know that blogging has been around more than 15 years? Even if you think you know everything about the Internet and blogging world you will learn something new from "Say Everything" on another note if you are new to the internet world and blogging world this is the book to read. It reads like a novel,the book is a gold mine of information it is long 400 pages but it's a good read if you are interested in blogging the book is based on the author's perspective as a blogging insider who had witnessed the beginning of the medium firsthand.
Digital technologies in the last 20 years empowered people more but blogging has brought a new empowerment to say everything and share things with the ability to do things better and faster.The author’s enthusiasm for the topic is obvious throughout the book. In the main sections of the book the explanation of the art of blogging from pioneering individuals who helped build-up.
The massive blogger world which has reshaped our connection to what's happening around the world, community, and media altogether helping us better understand the foundations of social media.Rosenberg writes about the 90's pioneers, Evan Williams and Meg Hourihan, who developed a small program and sold it to Google then blogging was accessible for everyone ( Evan William developed Twitter years later) Justin Hall, posted his real-time archive of his life in the early 90’s.
Many others,showed that blogging is profitable.As more people discover the joys of blogging, it's nothing less than “a new kind of public sphere, at once ephemeral and timeless. Blogging allows for new possibilities in the rare form of new talent and content which is the sharing of characteristics of deliberation and conversation which can be also fun.
Blogging is important to our intellectual growth and our culture. I give this book 5 stars for its clear, thorough, and contextual explanation of the history and importance of blogging. I would recommend this book to those who are interested in the details of how blogging began. Even though the book was written in 2010 it’s still very helpful now for the blogging world technology is more advance now but his points are taken well.Rosenberg provided many back stories and a lot of the information It's obvious that he put a lot of work and research into writing this book and that he was passionate about it.
About the Author
SCOTT ROSENBERG is an award-winning journalist who left the San Francisco Examiner in 1995 with a group of like-minded colleagues to found Salon.com, where he served first as technology editor, later as managing editor, and finally as vice president for new projects, leaving in 2007 to write Say Everything. For much of that time, he wrote a blog covering the world of computers and the web, explaining complex issues in a lively voice for a non-technical readership. His coverage of the Microsoft trial, the Napster controversy, and the Internet bubble earned him a regular following. Rosenberg's writing has appeared in the New York Times, Wired, the San Francisco Examiner, and other publications. His previous books include Dreaming In Code. Visit his website at www.wordyard.com. Front and back of cover of book
March 2, 2014
This nonfiction book talks about the history of blogging and the people involved with its rise to popularity and ongoing conflict. Scott Rosenberg argues the significance of blogging with fact and personal experience. The book is intended for anyone who wants to learn about blogging and how it became what it is today. The purpose of the book is to give the reader a better understanding of blogging and its importance by talking about the history of blogging and it's many controversies.
The main point of the book is that blogging is misunderstood. Rosenberg goes into great depth to help us understand why. The book related greatly to the information cycle because it gave insight into how blogging contributed to how the media grew and evolved over time. Blogging would take control of a topic and turn it into larger issues and further the conversation. The book starts off by talking about the people who helped create blogging and their stories. It continues to talk about the people who helped make blogging easy for everyone by making tools for users to create and manage their blogs with. Companies also found that blogging was finding its way to their employees so it started to catch their attention and even cause problems for employees that used blogging as an outlet. People started to ask the question, "Why not use blogs to make money?" so link referrals and ads were born. Now that everyone was blogging, the book focuses on different types of bloggers and events that bloggers wrote about. Rosenberg then discusses the troubled relationship between journalists and bloggers and the fears that people have about blogging and it's affect on our future.
This book is very well researched. Rosenberg interviews many pioneers of the blogging movement and has many personal experiences to contribute to the book. Because the book is well researched with information from many primary sources the text is mostly fact. However, Rosenberg uses the facts to support his opinions about blogging. This is appropriate because everything he gives an opinion on is supported by events and fact so the reader can understand why. Rosenberg also offers a balanced representation of everyone involved with blogging by talking about the people affected by blogging, who created blogging, opposed to blogging, destroyed by blogging, etc. You get a great understanding of all parties involved. The information is mostly written at a level that I could understand and use. It was a little hard to read at times because Rosenberg tends to jump around to topics but it ends up pulling together in the end. I found myself saying, "What does this have to do with anything?" and then reading more and saying, "Ahhh ok I get it now." Also, the last two chapters seem to be a review of the book and Rosenberg starts to use larger vocabulary which took me off guard.
Overall I am happy to have read this book because Rosenberg has made me feel like I was a part of this movement. I now know all there is to know about blogging and its successes and downfalls. If I were to have a conversation about blogging I would feel very confident that I could hold the conversation and even add in some, "Did you know..." dialogue. Throughout the book I even found myself thinking of different things I could blog about. Even though there were some parts of the book I struggled through reading the knowledge acquired from reading this book outweighs any difficulty I had.
The main point of the book is that blogging is misunderstood. Rosenberg goes into great depth to help us understand why. The book related greatly to the information cycle because it gave insight into how blogging contributed to how the media grew and evolved over time. Blogging would take control of a topic and turn it into larger issues and further the conversation. The book starts off by talking about the people who helped create blogging and their stories. It continues to talk about the people who helped make blogging easy for everyone by making tools for users to create and manage their blogs with. Companies also found that blogging was finding its way to their employees so it started to catch their attention and even cause problems for employees that used blogging as an outlet. People started to ask the question, "Why not use blogs to make money?" so link referrals and ads were born. Now that everyone was blogging, the book focuses on different types of bloggers and events that bloggers wrote about. Rosenberg then discusses the troubled relationship between journalists and bloggers and the fears that people have about blogging and it's affect on our future.
This book is very well researched. Rosenberg interviews many pioneers of the blogging movement and has many personal experiences to contribute to the book. Because the book is well researched with information from many primary sources the text is mostly fact. However, Rosenberg uses the facts to support his opinions about blogging. This is appropriate because everything he gives an opinion on is supported by events and fact so the reader can understand why. Rosenberg also offers a balanced representation of everyone involved with blogging by talking about the people affected by blogging, who created blogging, opposed to blogging, destroyed by blogging, etc. You get a great understanding of all parties involved. The information is mostly written at a level that I could understand and use. It was a little hard to read at times because Rosenberg tends to jump around to topics but it ends up pulling together in the end. I found myself saying, "What does this have to do with anything?" and then reading more and saying, "Ahhh ok I get it now." Also, the last two chapters seem to be a review of the book and Rosenberg starts to use larger vocabulary which took me off guard.
Overall I am happy to have read this book because Rosenberg has made me feel like I was a part of this movement. I now know all there is to know about blogging and its successes and downfalls. If I were to have a conversation about blogging I would feel very confident that I could hold the conversation and even add in some, "Did you know..." dialogue. Throughout the book I even found myself thinking of different things I could blog about. Even though there were some parts of the book I struggled through reading the knowledge acquired from reading this book outweighs any difficulty I had.
October 11, 2015
I was fortunate enough to read the book “Say Everything” by: Scott Rosenberg. This book basically talks about how blogging began, what it’s become today and why it matter. For me personally, I always thought that blogging is something that is cool; even though I never blogged. My first interaction with blogging is when my classmates would mention that they would read or follow celebrity’s blog. After reading the book “Say Everything” I realized that blogging was the very first form of social media; this was what made the book interesting for me.
For me the first couple of chapter was very interesting because of how Scott Rosenberg gave us in-depth look at blogging from its beginning and instead of it being a historic view on blogging, we got it in more like a story-like format. The book mentions a couple of characters like Justin hall and how his story has influenced the beginning of blogs. For me I really like Justin, because he was really easy to relate to. At same time seeing how he put his lifestyle up online for the public to see and with his I can do whatever I want mindset and he gave the online world innsite and direct view of his private life that was unheard of at the time. This is sort of reminded me of how celebrities have to deal with similar things that Justin went through.
The book goes in-depth about how blogging is important and also at same time how it become what it is today. Also it gives you blogging from different point of view of people, for me I love reading books like that. The book talks about all of the people that contributed to blog through all of this he author talks about the history of blogs from beginning to the effect they have the effect it has today. Also talks about how bloggers go through life cycle. Also how it even had a major effect in politics and we see how Facebook and twitter has changed many changes in the world. Before this social sites, that’s where blogging was voice for many, it being good or bad, it was something people can use to get there words out to everyone they could reach and also share information’s they had to people they could only reach online.
“Similarly, as people have flocked to Facebook and Myspace and twitter, they will not stop posting to or reading blog—but their patterns of blogging will change”. This quote in the book basically talks about how this social media has changed blogging and how you can blog. For me personally I always wanted to start blogging, but with social media be so easy to update your status and share what is happening in your life. It sort made blogging like something that was difficult. After reading this book and learning about the people who help blogging the way it is today. This helped me get a deeper respect for bloggers. The reason being that growing up the social site have dominated everything, bloggings in some concept don’t get same attention the social sites do. For after reading this book it made want to start my blog.
For me the first couple of chapter was very interesting because of how Scott Rosenberg gave us in-depth look at blogging from its beginning and instead of it being a historic view on blogging, we got it in more like a story-like format. The book mentions a couple of characters like Justin hall and how his story has influenced the beginning of blogs. For me I really like Justin, because he was really easy to relate to. At same time seeing how he put his lifestyle up online for the public to see and with his I can do whatever I want mindset and he gave the online world innsite and direct view of his private life that was unheard of at the time. This is sort of reminded me of how celebrities have to deal with similar things that Justin went through.
The book goes in-depth about how blogging is important and also at same time how it become what it is today. Also it gives you blogging from different point of view of people, for me I love reading books like that. The book talks about all of the people that contributed to blog through all of this he author talks about the history of blogs from beginning to the effect they have the effect it has today. Also talks about how bloggers go through life cycle. Also how it even had a major effect in politics and we see how Facebook and twitter has changed many changes in the world. Before this social sites, that’s where blogging was voice for many, it being good or bad, it was something people can use to get there words out to everyone they could reach and also share information’s they had to people they could only reach online.
“Similarly, as people have flocked to Facebook and Myspace and twitter, they will not stop posting to or reading blog—but their patterns of blogging will change”. This quote in the book basically talks about how this social media has changed blogging and how you can blog. For me personally I always wanted to start blogging, but with social media be so easy to update your status and share what is happening in your life. It sort made blogging like something that was difficult. After reading this book and learning about the people who help blogging the way it is today. This helped me get a deeper respect for bloggers. The reason being that growing up the social site have dominated everything, bloggings in some concept don’t get same attention the social sites do. For after reading this book it made want to start my blog.
February 28, 2015
Have you ever wondered when blogging began? Maybe you were curious about the origin of the term “dooced.” Or possibly you’ve asked yourself, who the first person was to blog after the attacks on the World Trade Center? Scott Rosenberg wanted to know the answer to these questions and more. He took the answers he found and turned them into a book about blogging.
“Say Anything” is a blogging history of sorts. Rosenberg touches on and interconnects how blogging began and how it evolved into the phenomenon it is today. In the process, he adds interesting anecdotes of different contributors to the blogosphere and offers up interesting blogging terms and how they came about.
Rosenberg’s book touches on everything from how telling all affected one blogger to what movable type (for web interfacing not newspaper print) meant to bloggers everywhere, but he doesn’t stop there. He also explores how bloggers affected politics, sharing details of how political blogging ended one politician’s career. The book even explains how blogging went from something people did in their spare time to how bloggers went commercial and began to compete with mainstream journalists.
I chose to read “Say Anything” because I have dabbled at blogging and thought reading a history of blogging would be interesting. Rosenberg’s in-depth research and well-told anecdotes kept the book interesting to the end and opened my eyes to the fact that blogging didn’t begin because someone wanted to tell a cute puppy story, but because in the inception of the web people wanted to share information and had to create new ways to use the information highway. Learning about those web pioneers has been inspiring to me.
Before I started reading this book, I felt I understood what a blog and blogging was. After reading “Say Anything,” I realize I barely understood the concept of blogging and all that it could encompass. I did not realize or appreciate all the people who came before me and all they did to make blogging as easy as joining a site like Blogspot.
I know that “Say Anything” may not be the book for everyone, but for people that are interested in history or enjoy blogging, I believe this book is a good choice. It is informative and filled with interesting interconnecting stories of the internet and blogging written in such a way as to hold a reader’s attention. For that reason, I am giving it five stars.
“Say Anything” is a blogging history of sorts. Rosenberg touches on and interconnects how blogging began and how it evolved into the phenomenon it is today. In the process, he adds interesting anecdotes of different contributors to the blogosphere and offers up interesting blogging terms and how they came about.
Rosenberg’s book touches on everything from how telling all affected one blogger to what movable type (for web interfacing not newspaper print) meant to bloggers everywhere, but he doesn’t stop there. He also explores how bloggers affected politics, sharing details of how political blogging ended one politician’s career. The book even explains how blogging went from something people did in their spare time to how bloggers went commercial and began to compete with mainstream journalists.
I chose to read “Say Anything” because I have dabbled at blogging and thought reading a history of blogging would be interesting. Rosenberg’s in-depth research and well-told anecdotes kept the book interesting to the end and opened my eyes to the fact that blogging didn’t begin because someone wanted to tell a cute puppy story, but because in the inception of the web people wanted to share information and had to create new ways to use the information highway. Learning about those web pioneers has been inspiring to me.
Before I started reading this book, I felt I understood what a blog and blogging was. After reading “Say Anything,” I realize I barely understood the concept of blogging and all that it could encompass. I did not realize or appreciate all the people who came before me and all they did to make blogging as easy as joining a site like Blogspot.
I know that “Say Anything” may not be the book for everyone, but for people that are interested in history or enjoy blogging, I believe this book is a good choice. It is informative and filled with interesting interconnecting stories of the internet and blogging written in such a way as to hold a reader’s attention. For that reason, I am giving it five stars.
January 6, 2010
Mr Rosenberg has done it again with "Say Everything". The last book, "[[ASIN:1400082471 Dreaming in Code: Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest for Transcendent Software]]" was one of my favorite books about being in the software trenches. in "Say Everything", Mr Rosenberg takes on a much bigger task - giving us the story of the internet via the very abridged history of blogging according to him.
First the negatives, the book is very much centered on the "according to Mr. Rosenberg" bloggers. So the proto social blogging site Livejournal gets barely 2 pages (when it fact it formed the basis for community/friend blogging - at least in my myopic worldview). There is also some repetition and the first chapter doesn't read anywhere near as well as the rest of the book. It could be that I really didn't care about Justin Hall, but even after the chapter I failed to see why I should care about him.
However right after that it takes of with the story of David Winer. Now we had a real personality and possibly the start of "blogging" via email lists. Things would heat up from there as we are told (or retold) the story of Blogger. The story of Heather Armstrong was quite well done and it made for a compelling chapter on one of the pitfalls of laying all your cards on the table. Heck, one of my favorite bloggers/media personalities out there, Anna Marie Cox, even got a few shout outs (though maybe not in the most flattering light)
However the best part comes a little past midway. It's here that Mr Rosenberg talks about blogging and journalism. This is quite fascinating stuff; the pains, the blinders, the confusion and the denial are all quite palpable. It's clean that there isn't a lot of love from Mr Rosenberg for the old media and I'm sure the feelings are mutual. This chapter, more than any other, was worth the price of admission.
If you are looking for a fun, occasionally inspiring book to read then "Say Everything" could be for you. Just remember that you are only seeing a pinpoint on the tip of the iceberg when you read it.
First the negatives, the book is very much centered on the "according to Mr. Rosenberg" bloggers. So the proto social blogging site Livejournal gets barely 2 pages (when it fact it formed the basis for community/friend blogging - at least in my myopic worldview). There is also some repetition and the first chapter doesn't read anywhere near as well as the rest of the book. It could be that I really didn't care about Justin Hall, but even after the chapter I failed to see why I should care about him.
However right after that it takes of with the story of David Winer. Now we had a real personality and possibly the start of "blogging" via email lists. Things would heat up from there as we are told (or retold) the story of Blogger. The story of Heather Armstrong was quite well done and it made for a compelling chapter on one of the pitfalls of laying all your cards on the table. Heck, one of my favorite bloggers/media personalities out there, Anna Marie Cox, even got a few shout outs (though maybe not in the most flattering light)
However the best part comes a little past midway. It's here that Mr Rosenberg talks about blogging and journalism. This is quite fascinating stuff; the pains, the blinders, the confusion and the denial are all quite palpable. It's clean that there isn't a lot of love from Mr Rosenberg for the old media and I'm sure the feelings are mutual. This chapter, more than any other, was worth the price of admission.
If you are looking for a fun, occasionally inspiring book to read then "Say Everything" could be for you. Just remember that you are only seeing a pinpoint on the tip of the iceberg when you read it.
July 25, 2012
I'm reading Scott Rosenberg's Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What It's Becoming, and Why It Matters. Rosenberg wrote Dreaming In Code which I reviewed here and on my linkedin page more recently. I wasn't big on the book when I first saw it, but having finished Auletta's Googled Friday, I was in need of more reading material at lunch. Library's new book shelf provided respite.
So far, it's excellent stuff. Rosenberg is a good writer with a keen sense of how to explain complicated technology.
What I'm most amazed at is his ability to recount various online flame wars. It's not an easy thing to do. Flame wars are difficult to convey to an outsider, the ins and outs, the things that set people off, are often so esoteric as to be maddening to explain. But Rosenberg does it with finesse. I'm in awe. currently reading his portrait of the inimitable, irascible Dave Winer. Fun!
BTW, I can't recommend Auletta's _Googled_ enough. It is really a fine, if long, read: a balanced look at Google. He concludes with a much needed critique of the ideology of Free! peddled by Chris Anderson and others. Anderson, he notes, has finally conceded that free isn't going to work. It has to be coupled with paid. Well, no shit - at least in a market economy.
Auletta makes a convincing case against the Clay Shirkys of the world who insist that the death of newspapers is a fine thing. Auletta notes that it's not about the medium - print or online or whatever. It's about things like investigative reporting and the social context within which story ideas are vetted. It's a social process, not an individual one. The blogs that Shirky thinks will become the new mediator of "news" simply cannot reproduce investigative journalism, and it doesn't (yet) promote a more collective understanding of publishing that is anything like what professional journalism has to offer - even for all its drawbacks.
So far, it's excellent stuff. Rosenberg is a good writer with a keen sense of how to explain complicated technology.
What I'm most amazed at is his ability to recount various online flame wars. It's not an easy thing to do. Flame wars are difficult to convey to an outsider, the ins and outs, the things that set people off, are often so esoteric as to be maddening to explain. But Rosenberg does it with finesse. I'm in awe. currently reading his portrait of the inimitable, irascible Dave Winer. Fun!
BTW, I can't recommend Auletta's _Googled_ enough. It is really a fine, if long, read: a balanced look at Google. He concludes with a much needed critique of the ideology of Free! peddled by Chris Anderson and others. Anderson, he notes, has finally conceded that free isn't going to work. It has to be coupled with paid. Well, no shit - at least in a market economy.
Auletta makes a convincing case against the Clay Shirkys of the world who insist that the death of newspapers is a fine thing. Auletta notes that it's not about the medium - print or online or whatever. It's about things like investigative reporting and the social context within which story ideas are vetted. It's a social process, not an individual one. The blogs that Shirky thinks will become the new mediator of "news" simply cannot reproduce investigative journalism, and it doesn't (yet) promote a more collective understanding of publishing that is anything like what professional journalism has to offer - even for all its drawbacks.
April 13, 2013
This book is a history of blogging, and in part a defense of blogging as something valuable - an argument against its critics in the journalistic sphere. It's an easy enjoyable read. Rosenberg's writing style is light and conversational, and the narrative remains interesting and is detailed without becoming overwhelmed by minutiae.
For me the best (and largest) part of the book is the history. Much of the material was new, even for events I somewhat remember from the time they happened. And while it seems impractical to know whether this captures the most important events in the history of blogging, it certainly captures some interesting ones.
Rosenberg also devotes significant space to both demonstrating the importance of blogs, and in countering the 'attacks' from other folks. I found this part uncompelling. I don't really find the attacks very credible or needing defense, and I think it's a bit early in the evolution of technology to really judge the overall significance of blogs vs web pages vs Wikipedia vs other forms. Rosenberg makes some good points, but I don't really find the whole debate that engaging.
An enjoyable read overall.
For me the best (and largest) part of the book is the history. Much of the material was new, even for events I somewhat remember from the time they happened. And while it seems impractical to know whether this captures the most important events in the history of blogging, it certainly captures some interesting ones.
Rosenberg also devotes significant space to both demonstrating the importance of blogs, and in countering the 'attacks' from other folks. I found this part uncompelling. I don't really find the attacks very credible or needing defense, and I think it's a bit early in the evolution of technology to really judge the overall significance of blogs vs web pages vs Wikipedia vs other forms. Rosenberg makes some good points, but I don't really find the whole debate that engaging.
An enjoyable read overall.
September 17, 2009
Rosenberg tells the stories of the personalities that shaped blogging as it evolved and grew from the mid-1990s to 2008. The chapters that tell the stories of Blogger, Talking Points Memo, and the transformation from e-mail subscription lists to RSS feeds give great stories about each individual change. But Rosenberg strings each advance together to tell the story of blogs - of personal publishing.
I used this book as part of my research primer for a graduate school project. The book was helpful for giving me a background and leads for much more research - influential bloggers who wrote their personal experience, the Cluetrain Manifesto.
The book also helped me as I return to my blog. It gave me ideas of how to change what i write as I develop my voice.
I used this book as part of my research primer for a graduate school project. The book was helpful for giving me a background and leads for much more research - influential bloggers who wrote their personal experience, the Cluetrain Manifesto.
The book also helped me as I return to my blog. It gave me ideas of how to change what i write as I develop my voice.
June 13, 2010
One Sentence Summary: Using profiles, interviews, and his own experience as a blogger, Rosenburg chronicles the history of blogging as a form and as an influence on society then tries to predict what might happen next.
Two Sentence Review: Rosenberg’s profiles of early bloggers are interesting, but the book really hits it’s pace when Rosenberg points out the dramatic way blogs have turned traditional relationships and the democratic ideal upside down. This book is a must read for anyone interested in how blogging has changed, and many of the ways it’s stayed the same.
Read the rest of this review at my blog, Sophisticated Dorkiness.
Two Sentence Review: Rosenberg’s profiles of early bloggers are interesting, but the book really hits it’s pace when Rosenberg points out the dramatic way blogs have turned traditional relationships and the democratic ideal upside down. This book is a must read for anyone interested in how blogging has changed, and many of the ways it’s stayed the same.
Read the rest of this review at my blog, Sophisticated Dorkiness.
Want to read
October 3, 2009Off this review:
Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What It’s Becoming, and Why It Matters
By Scott Rosenberg (Crown)
Scott Rosenberg, co-founder of Salon.com, is behind this smart and surprising insider history of the first 15 years of the blogosphere. He takes a coolheaded look at blogging’s transformative characters and unexpected triumphs, crediting the form with sparking “a renaissance of personal literacy and social participation” as well as organizing, humanizing, and ultimately democratizing the internet and the news media. Close-up interviews with blogging pioneers Dave Winer (creator of Scripting News) and Blogger founder Evan Williams help stretch the topic far longer than a blog post.
Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What It’s Becoming, and Why It Matters
By Scott Rosenberg (Crown)
Scott Rosenberg, co-founder of Salon.com, is behind this smart and surprising insider history of the first 15 years of the blogosphere. He takes a coolheaded look at blogging’s transformative characters and unexpected triumphs, crediting the form with sparking “a renaissance of personal literacy and social participation” as well as organizing, humanizing, and ultimately democratizing the internet and the news media. Close-up interviews with blogging pioneers Dave Winer (creator of Scripting News) and Blogger founder Evan Williams help stretch the topic far longer than a blog post.
October 17, 2009
Say Everything starts off like a history of what I had for dinner last week - blogging is such a recent phenomenon that it serves more as a reminder of sites I used to read and arguments that used to seem important. After recapping the last ten years or so there's a discussion of blogs vs. the MSM, the death spiral of print journalism and the cultural impact of blogging. Finally there's a look at the future of blogging in the context of Twitter and social networks. The latter sections were more interesting to me than the history. Overall it's a well balanced book, probably fascinating if you're new to blogging and still worth a read even if you're not.
July 4, 2010
I'm in the middle of a reading-books-about-blogs spree, and so this review is through that lens.
This book was OK. It was a nice, well researched history of exactly when and how blogs advanced technologically, entered the public mind, really started changing things, etc.
Unlike Here Comes Everyone, Free, or Cognitive Surplus, it had little to say in the way of theory, prediction, or helpful hints to do it yourself. More than anything, it was a book about research, not a book about new ideas.
So it was just OK. Entertainingly written, but just OK.
This book was OK. It was a nice, well researched history of exactly when and how blogs advanced technologically, entered the public mind, really started changing things, etc.
Unlike Here Comes Everyone, Free, or Cognitive Surplus, it had little to say in the way of theory, prediction, or helpful hints to do it yourself. More than anything, it was a book about research, not a book about new ideas.
So it was just OK. Entertainingly written, but just OK.
July 20, 2011
As genius/douchebag Harlan Ellison pointed out, "90% of everything is shit"; when it comes to blogs, I'm afraid the percentage is much higher. I don't mean to sound overly anti-democratic, but read this book and tell me it doesn't make you long for the pre-internet age of fewer monkeys with typewriters (and here I'm referring to Andrew Keen's insightful antidote to net-hype like Rosenberg's book, The Cult of the Amateur).
October 30, 2013
This was an interesting review of how technical advances in the ease of publishing have changed the way we record and share our lives and interact with others. This have changed quite a bit since it was written.
August 2, 2010
I found it interesting until I realized I didn't really want to read 400 pages about the history of blogging. At that point, I just skipped ahead and read the profiles of the people whose names I recognized :-)
April 2, 2011
Too much gossip, too much fluff and too little in the way of the actual history of blogging for my tastes. I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this one up, but it wasn't this. I came away with a sense that I had just attempted to make an entire meal out of cotton candy.
July 24, 2009
Very well researched, thorough, fairly interesting history.
January 22, 2010
Some really awesome narratives. Some really bad "extras." I feel like this book could have been more enjoyable if it were 200 pages long.
January 30, 2010
If you want one book that documents the real history of blogging and a lucid explanation of how it is changing media, read Say Everything.
February 9, 2010
An interesting history of blogs and the people behind the very first ones. If you're a serious blogger, you should check it out.
April 10, 2011
Read for "Patron 2.0" paper.
July 2, 2011
Another great time capsule for the state of the media in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Very easy to read.
April 14, 2013
Felt somewhat narrowly focused, but a decent overview of some of the blogging players. How does WordPress barely get a mention, though?
Currently reading
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