Blogwatch: Interview with a blogger

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Tens of thousands of Web logs are up and running, changing the way many of us surf the Net.

The Weblog, or "blog" for short, is a cross between an online diary and a news service -- a frequently updated Web site that dictates what data is worth the reader's attention.

Bloggers direct Net users with headlines, links and off-the-cuff commentary -- adding a personal touch that draws many readers.

Without an editor or publisher, bloggers like Frank Yu of BrandRecon.com also control the means of production to connect directly with an audience.

Kristie Lu Stout interviewed the Hong Kong-based blogger and started by asking him about his favorite Web log sites.

Frank Yu

It would be Metafilter, the proto-granddaddy of blogs. And basically, Drudgereport.com is one of the early ones. It's not necessarily a blog per se but it really is the very basis on how a lot of people got started.

Kristie Lu Stout

It was in the "blog spirit"...

Frank Yu

The blog spirit is a little bit of a people power thing, there's a little bit of an anti-establishment ring to it.

Kristie Lu Stout

Any Asian blogs?

Frank Yu

I know a few, other than my own. One is UK Joe.com. Another one is called Serial Deviant, run by a Singaporean woman. It's pretty interesting because it gives a bit of perspective of life in that city plus also, especially from an Asian perspective, it gives you the news that you won't see in the regular print media.

I like to point people to what I think are interesting articles as well as other blogs on the Net. It's a community so what we do is tell people what is happening on other people's sites and so forth. And it's a pretty narcissistic and egotistical bunch that is developing its own little hierarchy as to what blogs are good and what blogs aren't.

Kristie Lu Stout

What are the advantages of communicating by blog?

Frank Yu

The way I try to explain blogs to people is that it's sort of like that crazy old man on the street with the sign that says "The end is near." It's a little strange, a little odd but fascinating to find out what's going to happen that day.

One thing about blogs is you're able to find information, usually faster. Some of the more obscure bits of the Internet can be found through blogs. I think in a lot of the commercialization of the Internet that blogs have a unique character -- some are very good, some are interesting, some are strange. And I think people look for that.

Kristie Lu Stout

And that's the appeal -- the quirkiness?

Frank Yu

The quirkiness. It goes back to the roots of the Internet -- an anarchic sort of amateur homegrown community of people saying, "Wow, this is pretty neat!" The coffee pot on the Web is an example of what you no longer see.

But they're sort of transformed through these blogs where someone says, "Well I drank coffee today and it was terrible." For some people it's noise, but for others it's entertaining. Blogs can be everything from telling you the latest news that you won't find because of the editing process of traditional media -- it takes a while. Or the obscure things that you have to be a dedicated Web surfer to actually find.

Kristie Lu Stout

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Can the blog be trusted to the same degree as traditional media -- or should there be no comparison made at all?

Frank Yu

A lot of the bloggers think they are the new type of media that will replace the old media. I don't think so. They actually complement each other.

What bloggers are, they are commentators of the media. It's almost like having the guys in the back of the bus commenting "that is stupid" or "that is great." And you get that sort of postmodern interpretation of news. And to a degree they add that cynical, sarcastic edge to it too.

Kristie Lu Stout

Are blogs a threat at all to traditional media?

Frank Yu

I really can't see that. One thing about blogs that link is that we need traditional media to link to. So unless we're constantly linking to each other, at the end we need somebody to supply content and traditional media will always be there. There's a lot of content there and to a degree the professionalism is there in the media.

But the fun and the quirkiness will be with blogs and so it will be not a parasitic relationship but symbiotic because if bloggers tell people, "Wow, look at the Arkansas Daily Newspaper, it has some interesting reporters," it allows some people to see something they usually wouldn't see just by looking at the usual Yahoo! page.

Kristie Lu Stout

And your thoughts about the future of blogs?

Frank Yu

One day in the future, everyone will have their own personal blog. What blogs really are is it allows people to go online very easily. If desktop publishing gave everyone the ability to have a printing press, what blogs do is give everyone the ability to have their own distribution and news stand to get their comments and their news out there.