The Viridian Design Movement

Viridian Note 00389: Beyond the Beyond Blog

Bruce Sterling [bruces@well.com]

Key concepts:
blogging, Wired Magazine
Attention Conservation Notice:
yet more about the Pope-Emperor's non-Viridian activities; involves weblogs, notoriously an effort in which other people have to do all the work.

(((It might seem that I've had little to do
with environmental activities lately, but I was busily attending the "Eternally Yours" conference in Eindhoven and the latest AIGA conference in Vancouver. Two stellar events, as green-design gigs go. I learned a lot. Someday I'll tell you all about it. If I can make the time, that is.)))

Links:
http://www.eternally-yours.org/
http://powerofdesign.aiga.org/


(((This AIGA gig was particularly and relentlessly Green, right down to the recyclable lanyard badges and recycled, chlorine-free paper. Maybe it was because AIGA was held outside the USA this year, but most every American graphics pundit who
took the stage seemed to have something angry, ashamed and bitter to say about the Bush Administration. Mind you, these are sweet, mild-mannered graphic-artsy people who in happier circumstances should have been talking about, I dunno, serifs or something. I wasn't surprised to see some of this sentiment, but the universality of it was a little unnerving, frankly.)))

(((In the meantime, I have gone and started a new daily weblog.)))

Link:
http://blog.wired.com/sterling

(((I'm busily working on a "Beyond the Beyond" Frequently Asked Questions list, too. Because (thanks to the fact that my weblog is associated with a major magazine) quite a lot of "Beyond the Beyond" fanmail is already showing up in my emailbox! Wow!

(((My new blog's FAQ not quite ready for prime-time yet, though, so I thought I might share it with Viridian List first.)))

THE "BEYOND THE BEYOND" FAQ (pre-release alpha)

1.

  1. You fucking cyberpunk dilettante! Call yourself a blogger? Where's the RSS feed? Every blog that matters has an RSS feed! You suck!

  1. Yeah? Up yours!

2.

  1. I perceive that there is no commentary allowed on your blog. This is an outrage and an affront against the spirit that made the Internet what it is today. You do make some mildly interesting points, but your pathetic, half- educated drivel cannot survive in the online world without my magisterial addenda. When will you put this to rights?

  1. Go away.

3.

  1. Do you get paid for doing this? Really? This? You're kidding me.
  1. Yes indeedy.

4.

  1. Let me get this straight. You and your, uh, employers, you and them somehow expect me to actually log on to your stupid website? Where's the RSS? I'd explain to you what "RSS" means, but I'm busy having my lunch homogenized so that I can inject it straight into my arteries.

  1. Do I look like I own Lycos and Tripod? Wise up!

5.

  1. Hey wait a minute. This is some kind of Tripod or Lycos software you're using, right? Why don't you build your own blog from scratch, like a real blogger? Maybe you can build something cool that blows up so big and badly that Google buys you out.

  1. I've got an even better idea. You can build it, and give it to me, and then pay me to write on it. And, while you're at it, where's the RSS? Be real sure that RSS feed doesn't blow up the custom template, okay?

6.

  1. I know a lot about web design. You suck. Shall I explain to you how to make that blog of yours look tidier and more professional, like a real magazine?

  1. I already write for a real magazine! See that "subscribe" button right there in the margin of my blog? Subscribe to the real magazine, log off and read it!

7.

  1. Oh my God in Heaven! You've got EMOTICONS in your blog! Horrible little dot-gif emoticons! The ultimate in cutesy kitsch online trash! Have you gone completely insane?

  1. Aw c'mon, they're sitting right here in my Control Panel. I bet you don't even have a Control Panel on your blog. Wait till I show you my tiny brown teddy bear!

8.

  1. These seem to be some pretty interesting websites you've discovered, but you don't say much about them. At least, not enough to suit me. You should work harder. Can't you explain them a lot more thoroughly? I'm getting kind of confused.

  1. I'm a novelist! You want a lot of words in a row? Buy one of my novels! What do you need here, an Amazon button? Get a grip!

9.

  1. Why don't you arrange all your links so they open in a fresh page? I like my desktop nice and cluttered.

  1. Clutter your own damn desktop! And be glad you've got any links!

10.

  1. Are you aware that your graphics are distorting the margins of your webpage?

  1. Be glad you've got any graphics!

11.

  1. Hey dude, those naked Iranian chicks are so hot! Got any more of those? Wow!

  1. Those women are not Iranian. It's the photographer who is Iranian. And she's not even Iranian, she's an emigre, even if she is the Shah's niece. Also, they're not really that hot.

12.

  1. Hey dude, that cute Turkish pop-singer is super, super- hot! Where'd you hide the "Turkish Pop Nude Celebrity" site? There must be one, right? There must be ten!

  1. Fella, there are hundreds of cute Turkish pop- singers.

13.

  1. This is some kinda weblog! I am loving your "Hot Chicks of the Tragic 21st Century Moslem Self-Immolation" theme! Yeah man! Will it all be like this?

  1. Who knows?

O=c=O O=c=O
WHO KNOWS
O=c=O O=c=O

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