An Open Letter to John C. Dvorak: Time to Retire

Dear John,

I’m beginning to wonder if you are not intimidated by the blogging phenomenon. Perhaps you look at it and see the inevitable passage of your time in the spotlight. By my count, your recent PC Magazine column, “Co-opting the Future” is your 5th—and lamest-assault against blogging. Since you first exerted your influence against it, blog readership has increased by more than two million, according to Perseus, the research firm you cite in your article.

Last May, was bad enough when you argued blogging will prove to be just a passing fad because it had strong connections to San Francisco where the Macintosh remains popular. I had hoped that this had been just a failed humor attempt, but now I suspect it reveals a flaw in your personal logic chip. You predicted then that within the year, Nightline would interview Dan Gillmor about blogging, before the phenomenon disappeared into oblivion forevermore. You have five months left on your forecast, John. Would you care to place a wager? I’ll spot you odds.

Your most recent attack seems to me even more inane. Others, including eWeek’s Steve Gillmor have done a superior job in rebutting your assertion that blogging will die because there’s a growing number of people who start blogs but abandon them after a year. I thought Steve missed one germane point: The number of people who start blogs and keep them going for more than a year is also increasing.

That is not why I think it’s time for you to go home. I become embarrassed on your behalf on two comments which indicate you might just be too tired to continue in your current role. You sound, in fact, more ready for a new career in ceramic crafts at your local senior center.

You observed that many of the best-read blogs are by journalists deceiving themselves that they are increasing their own circulation. Well, the fact is that they are increasing their own circulation, but where you lost it from my perspective was in your comment, “The most common reason for [blog writing] abandonment is simple is boredom. Writing is tiresome. Why anyone would do it voluntarily on a blog mystifies a lot of professional writers.” John, have you ever heard of Thomas Paine and a free pamphlet called “Common Sense?” The technology has changed from Paine's days of wood block printing and free hand-distributed scrolls, but the guy did it for free, or so I'm told. Today, blogging makes it easier and more effective to publish an opinion, that could change the course of things to come. That is hardly tiresome to many of us.

John, the most polite word we have for professionals who do it for cash alone is “hack.” You were once among the best of technology's champions. You were the computer buddy of choice for a great number of us in days when we needed one. I'm disappointed that you've grown so tired of your work. Unlike you, other journalists often have a need to express something not in keeping with the style, space limits, content or editorial policy of their own traditional publications. They turn to blogging to express themselves. You argue that blogging won’t replace traditional journalism and I agree. Rock did not replace opera, jazz or anything that predated it. But it changed our definition of music and enabled fusions like “Tommy.” Blogs, the Internet and e-mail have already changed traditional journalism despite those who will deny it. The result, I’m sorry to have to tell you John, is that you are just not as important as you once were, and it is unlikely that you ever will be again.

Of course, you can discredit me. I’m just one of those unpaid amateurs you view so disdainfully. I blog because I have no ZD Publishing or PC Magazine paying me to express myself, and candidly, I wish it did. But at least blogging allows me the sheer joy of being heard in an industry where I feel great passion. I’ve only been blogging for about three weeks and am ecstatic that more than 2000 people have visited my blog and some of them have actually responded to what I’ve had to say. Perhaps, I’ll tire of this in a year. Perhaps not. But when I feel as you do that “writing is tiresome,” I’ll abandon my blog just as you should now abandon your column.

I assure you, there will be plenty of candidates to replace us both.

Sincerely,
Shel Israel
Working Amateur

PS—I’m about your age or older than you, John. It ain’t the years. It’s the attitude.

Comments

[tom]

Amen!

[Peter]

What odds will you give me that Dvorak does his own blog before Nightline does that interview? ;)

[Joel]

I've not read Dvorak's columns, but this blogging thing dies in the numbers. Here's a related thought: the creation of web-conferencing software has led to a bunch of companies offering, surprise, 'webinars'; unfortunately, no one is offering any technology that increases the time I have to attend such things (as attractive as they might be). The general idea is even more restrictive than other offerings because wealth isn't a factor, it's time -- there may be a ton of interesting blogs out there, but I don't have time to read them...my work still needs to get done and the leaves still need to be raked. I suppose the blogging thing isn't going away, but the interesting number to know would be the average unique reader per blog per week (across the whole internet)...I bet the number is a lot less than one, which means what is happening is that a lot of people are not writing, but merely typing.

[Shel Holtz]

One Shel to another, I'm right there with you on Dvorak. However, as a fan of early American history, I can tell you that Thomas Paine sold his pamphlet -- about 150,000 of them. All of the printers who produced these pamphlets and broadsides (like Benjamin Franklin, for instance) did it for money in addition to aiding the causes they supported.

[Rich Zumpone]

Ironic that your criticism of John should include an outdated reference to those participating in ceramics. Believe me - I see at trade shows how the older crowd is fading fast but you ought to visit a contemporary studio (recent phenomenon - past 10 years or so) - children and upper income females are the dominate participants in ceramics in these facilities (their trade organization www.ccsaonline.com)

I'd be happy to arrange a visit to a studio in your area. If interested contact me.

Thanks for the effort you put into your site.

Rich

[TDavid]

For whatever it is worth, Dvorak is blogging! Just Google on "dvorak uncensored"

[shel]

Yeah. It's actually not a bad blog. Peter predicted he would do that back in December when I wrote this open letter. I think John is good at doing whatever it takes to stir things up, to avoid sliding ratings ... a little like Howard Stern.
--Shel

[Jack Sloan]

Shel-

John Dvorak's been writing (a lot) for quite some time, and while I don't agree with every word... he's on the mark a LOT of times.

I like him because he's human, opinionated, (I'm interested in his opinions) and he seems to know that he's not anything more than his readership makes him.

Your "Open Letter" to John reminds me of the "trolls" on the news groups and lists that lurk like snipers to 'flame' another's posting... your bio should put you above that.

"If you can't say somethin' nice...."

[michael monaghan]

It is Shel's freedom to express her opinion that Jack Sloane should be mindful of. You only create guilty vibes when you locate Shel in a hypothetical troll environment of your choosing and then criticise her for not being above it. That's pretty conceited.

I found this post because a usergroup I regularly read had a debate over the legitimacy of Dvorak's information. Given the amount of pro-Dvorak information available on the web, Shel is ok by me.