OTHER WEBLOGS (5 january 2004)
Why would anybody want to write a weblog? I've been trying to find an answer to this question by looking at other people's weblogs:
Gerrit Zalm
The first weblog was that of the Dutch finance minister Gerrit Zalm. Dry as dust! He is honest enough to confess that Anouchka van Miltenburg, who works in the Health Ministry never reads his weblogs. "I'm not surprised", one tends to add.
Adam Curry
The second in the list that Google presented was Adam Curry, who is known for being a hotshot in the Dutch recording industry and because he is married to someone who used to be one of the Netherlands' prettiest singers. We read a lot about the rich-and-famous that Adam meets, we read a little about poor Adam's illness and he even presents a charming picture of a cup of soup made by wife Patricia. I think without these charming extras Adam's weblog would be even more boring than the minister's.
The first interesting weblog that I find is written by a certain Martin Volder. I don't know if he is a bekende Nederlander (Dutch celebrity), but his weblog is pleasant to read. We find a good mixture of his own opinions, an original choice of what he finds in current publications, suggestive pictures and other goodies. The only problem is that the software is extremely slow in producing the pages I wanted to see.
Wim de Bie
A very good weblog is Bieslog by Dutch comedian Wim de Bie. Needless to say being a comedian makes Wim de Bie much more capable of writing interesting weblogs than, for instance, a Dutch finance minister. Bie's log managed to make me extremely curious to hear the song of the lady and the swine. But when I got to the link, it would not produce the song I was so eager to hear :(
Of course, there are hundreds of weblogs I could have added to this list. I would have loved to add my niece's weblog , but then I would have been accused of favouring my relatives.
One question remains: have I found out why people write weblogs?
Well, the very little research I've done led me to believe that many well-known personalities write weblogs because they seem to believe they have more to offer than we see of them in their public life. As far as I can see, this belief is often quite unfounded.
If you want to write a weblog, the most important thing is that you present interesting views, preferably illustrated by suggestive pictures. And ... don't forget to present a bit of your own personal life (even as simple as Adam Curry's soup).
And last but not least: the weblog should not be too self-centered. Just mentioning a lot of celebrities you meet doesn't make your weblog any more interesting.
