[Rick LePage]

As someone else notes, this was just a blog entry. My point was more that the 'wishful thinking' about Schmidt's appointment was based on hopes more than on the way actual boards work. Do I think Schmidt will have an effect on Apple, now that he's part of the board? Absolutely. Would I like to see a deeper collaboration between Apple and Google? Yes. Do I think this is Google and Apple 'getting together' to take on Microsoft? Not by this action.
I thought that a front-page article in the New York Times - a very good analysis, btw - combined with some of the more outlandish speculation in the blogosphere, made for an interesting aside. That's all it was, though - an aside. Only Apple and its board know where this will lead long-term, and Schmidt is a very good guy to have in your corner.
Rick

[Moof_in_Charge]

Hi Rick,
If Macworld bothers to tout maccentral as its "news" arm. I fail to see why a "Blog Entry" should manifest itself here. As the case is guess what, a Blog entry in its context is viewed as a "blog Entry" when it is part of a blog. Once you take it out of the "Blog" context, you subject it to the rules, etiquette and criticism articles are exposed to.
Sorry, just because you call an article on a Blog a Blog Entry it doesnt mean it is a blog.
Best
Moof

[Chris Breen]

Quote:

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Sorry, just because you call an article on a Blog a Blog Entry it doesnt mean it is a blog.

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True, but listing it under the Weblogs heading at the top of each and every one of these pages should give you a pretty fair idea of its nature.

[Moof_in_Charge]

Is Maccentral a Blog site? In particular the front page?

[griffman]

According to some defintions, it certainly is:
"A weblog, which is usually shortened to blog, is a type of website where entries are made (such as in a journal or diary), displayed in a reverse chronological order."
-rob.

[Moof_in_Charge]

LOL, okay we're mincing words here and that is a one-way street /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Chris Breen]

Yep. Here's the clue: Like countless other websites, MacCentral offers both news and blog items. To see a list of blogs, just mouse-over the Weblogs link at the top of the page.
Blogs are also identifiable in the list of MacCentral stories by this structure:
Name of blog: Story title
As in:
Mac 911: Eat at Joe's
Mac Word: Eat at Frank's
iPodBlog: Eat at Shirley's
Mac OS X Hints: Eat at Terminal's
Game Room: Where to eat before you mow down your friends
Mac Gems: So much cool stuff you have no time to eat
Editors' Notes: Stop all this eating and get back to work!

[Rick LePage]

I definitely see your point, especially in the larger context of the MacCentral news feeds. People don't necessarily make distinctions between the types of items posted, especially when the news page appears to be just that, a list of news items. We on the inside all know that it was a blog-style entry, but the average reader doesn't, and that can be confusing and irritating.
I know that this was something we discussed in the larger context of things when I was there full-time, and I'm sure they're still being discussed as they look to redesign and retool the sites.
Rick

[Nobody]

Quote:

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(in response to Moof) I definitely see your point, especially in the larger context of the MacCentral news feeds. People don't necessarily make distinctions between the types of items posted, especially when the news page appears to be just that, a list of news items. We on the inside all know that it was a blog-style entry, but the average reader doesn't, and that can be confusing and irritating.
I know that this was something we discussed in the larger context of things when I was there full-time, and I'm sure they're still being discussed as they look to redesign and retool the sites.
Rick

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Rick
I applaud your last statement, and finally actually someone within the Macworld structure said it out loud. Blogs presented on the "News" site is considered news by most readers. This is the reason you guys at Macworld have separated the blogs from the news column on top of the Macworld.com site. By inserting the blogs into the news column you are errasing the line between news and subjective opinions. It also confuse the readers.
You wrote this article, and got some heat from a couple of us over the blog issue and how confusing it may be for many readers to differentiate between the news and blog entries. It is also interesting to notice that four Macworld editors/contributors including yourself felt they had to chime in to defend you or the content of the blog insert, but you are the only one who came out on top based on your last statement, which was well stated and honest.
I hope that Macworld will take this issue seriously under consideration as well when redesigning the site(s) as well. Please keep the blogs away from the news section. It is not good journalism combining the two, but then I may have been mistaken all along about what Macworld News (previously Maccentral) was supposed to be . . . . . . . news!

[Jason Snell]

Quote:

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I applaud your last statement, and finally actually someone within the Macworld structure said it out loud. Blogs presented on the "News" site is considered news by most readers.

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Just to make this clear, though -- it's not a "news" site. It's a "Mac" site. On that page you'll find news, reviews, opinion, features, and blogs. It's been that way for about two years now. I agree it's confusing that the page lives at "macworld.com/news" -- and we're talking about how to make it clearer, because it is confusing. But the page hasn't been news-only for a while now. It's not just a news page.

Quote:

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Please keep the blogs away from the news section.

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I agree that the distinction between blogs and news must be clear, but I don't necessarily agree that the end result needs to be that everything that isn't news be stripped out of the story list. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Moof_in_Charge]

My only clue comes from clicking "news" on the Macworld's website. Okay I'll take your "clue" under advisement. Thanks for pointing it out.

[Moof_in_Charge]

Thanks for the explanation of the makeup of MC. It helped :-) I can adjust my expectations of the site and respond accordingly /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
I remain however disturbed on several fronts as I think we veered in to a discussion on Maccentral's business model vs. what you posted.
It seems (to me anyway) that at least one venue for a blog can be referred to as a form of self expression. But none of the venues I know of give it justification that this self expression
A. should go unchallenged
B. should not attempt to be reasonable
C. Should not put forth every attempt to be as accurate as possible.
I felt none of the items I mentioned were considerations in your article. I think the idea of the new board member of this stature not only deserved a more in-depth study but frankly a much more open discussion in terms of what a potential business alliance would mean in the wake of battling Microsoft.
I think the way you summarily and swiftly dismissed the merits of the new board member was an exercise in passing judgment on a shutgun wedding!

Best

Moof

[Nobody]

Jason
Very well. Appreciate your input as well. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Change would be good and needed. Not that it is really any of my business, but I can not help but to inject a little more on that subject. When you change the layout or content in the future - what if you for each day simply would physically separate the "news" from the "blogs" this way or something like it? (just make it crystal).
Monday
NEWS
- News story 1
- News story 2
- News story 3
- etc
REVIEWS
- Review 1
- Review 2
- etc
BLOGS
- Blog opinion 1
- Blog opinion 2
- etc


Tuesday
etc . . . . .

[Dan Frakes]

Quote:

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Please keep the blogs away from the news section.

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Keep in mind that many readers use MacCentral's list of stories as an easy way to keep track of all the new content on the site without having to search a bunch of different pages, Blogs, and sub-sites. Those readers would surely object if we removed blogs from that list of stories.
That said, as Jason and Rick have pointed out, improvements could be made in making it clearer which stories are of which type (news, opinion, blogs, etc.); I'm just not (personally) convinced that dropping all non-news content from the list is an approach that's going to benefit the most readers.
P.S. My earlier comment wasn't meant to dismiss anyone. I was just making light of the fact that people were telling Rick his post read more like a blog entry when it was, in fact, just that -- and the title of the post even said so /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif