Comments on: Two Art Website Reviews; Updates Made and Needed

By: C-Monster

C-Monster — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:25:10 +0000

the nerve!!!!

By: Steven Stern

Steven Stern — Fri, 02 May 2008 18:22:11 +0000

Actually, there’s plenty of content on the Frieze site beyond what’s in the print magazine. Both the Recent Reviews and Comment sections are web-only. Yeah, it isn’t a blog per se, but the responses to the Comments at least have the potential for some almost-real-time dialogue. Though there’s not a lot of action going on at the moment, unfortunately.

And hey, thanks for the shout-out.

By: Art Fag City

Art Fag City — Fri, 02 May 2008 18:52:12 +0000

Ack! I was wrong! I do think a blog that was updated a couple times a day would solve the problem of participation. It keeps people on the site, and the blogger could link to other parts of the magazine…

By: tom moody

tom moody — Sat, 10 May 2008 13:50:25 +0000

Four years ago when I reBlogged for eyebeam Michael Frumin and Jonah Peretti were still there. They invented the reBlog concept and were actively recruiting a wide range of people to use it, including non-tech people. After they left, responsibility for the reBlog changed hands a couple (?) of times but staffing it with a diverse group and maintaining a certain rhythm remained a priority. Apparently the current group no longer has that interest. When you last mentioned the pruned feed list Amanda McDonald Crowley of Eyebeam said she’d “look into it”–she couldn’t commit to fixing it–and she said that potential reBloggers were welcome to contact Eyebeam, which suggests they are passively but not actively involved in recruiting new reBloggers. I hope I’m wrong about that.

It was an interesting experiment but they never added comments to the blog and as you say reBloggers rarely added their own thoughts to the feeds. You can’t chide an overworked, underpaid nonprofit with volunteer reBloggers too much for not having the “right” priorities but you would think an “art and tech” website would want a feisty, dynamic web presence. Their current feed list is mostly the other “art and tech” sites so you’re getting unironic items about rocket powered personal helicopters again.

By: Art Fag City

Art Fag City — Sun, 11 May 2008 22:14:47 +0000

I mean, I do wonder what the solution to this might be since you’re right - you can’t get mad at volunteer bloggers for not donating enough of their time. Certainly, adding more feeds, but, well, it just doesn’t seem like the web is priority at all. I guess that’s fine; maybe they focus on their research labs and leave the web stuff alone (a loss for the web community, but one I think we’ve already noticed). Whatever the case though, since the reblog is the face of the organization, it does need addressing. It’s a bit of a liability for them right now.