WhiteHouse.gov is not a blog.

I keep hearing people patting themselves on the back saying, “Look – our President has a blog!”

Hmmm.  It doesn’t smell like a blog to me because:

  • There’s no comments
  • There’s no trackbacks
  • There’s no personal touch – it’s very, very clearly written by marketers (and certainly not the President himself)

If the White House blog is considered a blog, then check out WaMu’s new blog:

WaMu Blog

WaMu Blog

Oh, sure, it might LOOK like a list of press releases with an RSS feed – but no.  It’s a blog.  Just like the White House one.  For realz.

All hail the new era of corporate openness and blogging!  Woohoo!

Brent Ozar

Brent specializes in performance tuning for SQL Server, VMware, and storage. He's one of the very few Microsoft Certified Masters of SQL Server, a published author, and a Microsoft MVP. He likes travel, Jeeps, Apple gear, jokes, and writing about himself in the third person. Read more and contact Brent.

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7 Responses to WhiteHouse.gov is not a blog.
  1. Jeremiah Peschka
    January 27, 2009 | 8:56 PM

    I, for one, welcome our new blogging overlords. In all seriousness, I think you're absolutely right about what composes a blog. Anything else is just a carefully constructed press release. Blogging is a lot more intimate because it involves us all in a conversation outside of simple form letters and stock communication. Otherwise, I would get a lot of stock responses from you saying "Brent Ozar would like to thank you for your thoughts… blah blah blah… sincerely [Brent Ozar signature stamp]"

    • Brent Ozar
      January 27, 2009 | 8:59 PM

      Right, exactly. Instead, you get personal responses that say things like, "You, sir, are an idiot, and I really am going to start enforcing that restraining order."

  2. Christian
    January 27, 2009 | 9:45 PM

    If the White House and WaMu convince the majority that what they have IS a blog, then guess what it's a blog. We'll have to come up with another word for the 'real' definition of a blog. Maybe 'bi-directional conversational mechanism devoid of most marketing spin.'

  3. K_Brian_Kelley
    January 27, 2009 | 9:55 PM

    Well said. Well said, indeed.

  4. [...] few bloggers might disagree with my analysis of this blog,  but I think this is a start in the right direction for a more [...]

  5. Shiva
    January 28, 2009 | 10:55 PM

    Right on Brent ! Had a good laugh on this one….

  6. [...] chronicle of his daily activities. You can even subscribe to his rss feed. A few bloggers might disagree with my analysis of this blog,  but I think this is a start in the right direction for a more [...]

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