diaries

There was a lot of talk of people giving up blogging last year, probably a combination of Facebook, Twitter and generally running out of words. But I'm excited to see that lots of people who haven't posted for ages have started again. (I'm not adding any links in case I spook them.)

But I also suspect we're gradually working out what this kind of short-form, periodic writing is good for.

One thing it's clearly brilliant at is diaries, not writing your own, but reading historical ones. I find reading a diary all at once a bit dense. But reading it at the same pace it was written, relating it to the rhythms and coincidences of your own life, is perfect.

The daddy is still Phil Gyford's Pepys' Diary.  A joyous thing, a work of love, a gift to the internet. It's more than a diary, it's a daily portal to Pepys' whole world. Just look here at all the things Phil has done to enhance the basic diary. If you've not looked before the Story So Far section will get you going. You should subscribe.

And I recently discovered (via a mention on the radio I think) WW1: Experiences Of An English Soldier, which is a fantastic thing; transcripts of the letters received from a WW1 soldier, posted  90 years after they were written. With all sorts of additional commentary and scans and context. Again, it seems to make the thing more meaningful, to read it at the pace it was written.

Slightly different, but equally useful and captivating is Matt Webb's RSSification of The Notebooks Or Leonardo Da Vinci. I'd never read this any other way. It's too big, too daunting, too abstract. But, as a little slice of thought in my bloglines reader everyday it's brilliant, a welcome alternative to all the wittering about brand utility and  GPS. And, very often, there's something in there that makes you stop and think and want to explore more.

I wonder what else could/should be dismantled and delivered like this.

Comments

[Ben]

There are millions of things I'd like to be able to put into my RSS reader;

1. Bank statements
2. Share prices
3. Photos marked as family/friends in Flickr
4. Email newsletters
5. iCal updates
6. Supplier invoices
and so on.

But that's probably not what you meant, is it?

I suppose it would be nice to follow a serialised drama like this; Sopranos or even Eastenders.

[Iain Tait]

There's a lot of MP3 blogs that do a great job of dismantling genres in a decent way - I wouldn't want to listen to Krautrock or vintage Italo Disco all day but a track or two a week is very nice thank you very much...

[Brett]

Right now I'd love a detailed but one step a day RSS walk through of the US presidential election process. With associated historical context behind each step. Such as last night's midnight poll in one New Hampshire's electoral jurisdictions and the importance of today's primary in that state. It could run in four year cycles.

[Andy]

Schott's Miscellany!

http://tinyurl.com/2cbnqp

Amelia, can you get Mr Schott onto this. It would be brilliant.

[Alix]

I was subscribed to the Diary of a Nobody feed for a while, until I'd had my fill of Mr Pooter. It's here:

www.diaryofanobody.net

It really is a great way to get through books like this. I'd quite like to reread various children's books in this way.

[Christine]

Just found a link to this by searching for Daryl and the Chaperones and found the November 26th 2004 entry. Was thinking this morning about old school discos and remembered watching you guys play at my local school, Granville in Woodville. Just been having a real blast from the past day and thinking about how hot Andy Redfern was. His dad was my driving instructor and he lived up the road from me. Ah many days spent as a spotty teen drooling out of my bedroom window.

Thanks for taking me back to the days :-)