Ed Hawco, a technical and marketing writer, noted in his Blork Blog (blork.typepad.com/blorkblog) that the television cameras made him repeat his "spontaneous" entrance to the bar for five successive takes.

A blog, explains Michael Boyle (whose own blog can be found at www.mikel.org), is a series of links and personal commentary on these links. Bloggers, say Boyle, are not so much journalists or diary keepers as they are editors or columnists. They select the best or most interesting info they see while surfing and pass it on.

YULBlog (www.yulblog.org, named after YUL, the airport code for Montreal) is a "meta-blog," meaning that it tries to keep track of every individual blog in the Montreal area. "Anyone who wants to can sign up," says Boyle. Members, tired of only reading each other online, instituted the monthly get-togethers five years ago. They claim that this is the longest running such meeting in the world.

"Most of us are just regular people who like to communicate and have discovered that the web is a great way to do it," writes Hawco in his blog. The crowd that filled La Cabane included web professionals, students and artists, all of whom enjoy expressing their feelings and opinions on the web.

The curious can discover more about the real-life habits of bloggers by attending the 5th Anniversary Celebration Party, March 19, at Zeke's Gallery (3955 St-Laurent Blvd.). The organizers assure that there will be no official media there, only celebrants.
















 
 

		Write your comment on this article!

News flash!     Despite my rather prolific output on this site I actually do have a life beyond my computer terminal. Hey, just because I can manage my time well doesn't mean I solely exist to spew my digital diatribe so I've never quite gotten bloggers. I mean, to me, this is a means to an end, a facet of my life, not my life itself. And what is that life? People. Flesh and blood people. Human interaction. <<>> If you spend more time interfacing virtually with the world than you do actually living in it you've lost the pulse of what it means to be part of a community.
Pedro Eggers	{10 votes}	March 26th, 2005
Apartment Hunting     In finding apartments blogs can serve a very useful purpose. Landlords themselves can seek out tenants by searching and reading their personal blogs where they would indicate in great detail the type of flat they are looking for. The owner with the vacant dwelling could thus get a very good idea of the character of the prospective tenant such as being quiet, having a good well paying job, not having pets and taking good care of the property. The tenant on his side can read the blogs of those who already live in the new neighbourhood and be able to learn about shopping, schools, church and recreation as well as the noise level, cleanliness and proximity to public transit. With so much information on hand there will be a much better match between tenant and landlord. If the new tenant happens to read the blog of someone in that same apartment complex he is interested in he would find out if the landlord plays by the rules and fufills his obligations. These days you are tempted to take the first free apartment when you can wait a little while and get a much better one. With such an important decision it pays to have as many facts on hand as posible.
Stephen Talko	{24 votes}	March 21st, 2005
Just don't get caught in the web     I'm of two minds about web communities. On the one hand, I think they have some significat advantages. They elminate some restrictions of time and space. They allow you to carefully consider what you want to say before expressing it. They allow you to be judged solely on the basis of your ideas. On the other hand, I think they can also have negative implications. They can be used as a crutch, to avoid real human interaction. They can isolate users from one another, while giving them the illusion of social relationships. I think the key to this, as with so many things, is in moderation and balance.
Karen Sollazzo	{24 votes}	March 20th, 2005
Blah blog?     dear j. abram, with all respect, you should maybe get yourself a blog and join da community to see how rock'n roll we are and how we get ourselves out together more often then you could think of. I joinded Yulblog last year, we were about 7 people to meet. Now our meetings gather around 30 people once a month if its not more, this without talking about 'offyulblog' activities. Bloggers aren't nerds if that is what you guessed - most of us are indeed really social and curious peole, kean to discover who's behind the screen.
Marie-Chantale Turgeon	{25 votes}	March 19th, 2005
Funny     funny that mr abram would spend time himself communicating on a computer. i've noticed his responses to a couple of articles on this site. maybe he is just token addict. i've found blogging to be a great way of communicating... for those of us who, yes, maybe do spend a lot of time in front of our computer... but then maybe that is better than just watching television, which offers very little in terms of 2 way communication ;) blogging is like using a journal, but being able to share it. and a way to reach people across the globe, and bring together those with similar interests. at least these bloggers are having their meetings in public, and not in an online chat room, or in World of Warcraft or something.
Erica Wallace	{38 votes}	March 17th, 2005
A Blogging Good Time     Blogging sharpens written communication skills and this fifth- anniversary meeting of minds rediscovers how to talk to one another. Perhaps this could be a new dating opportunity; people with something in common meeting in a safe public setting. Compared with the single 43-year-old mother who met her future killer online when she agreed to drive to Quebec City from Montreal for a coffee, this baby step is more rational. Whether you want to meet someone special or make new friends, blogging is potentially a great route to take. It's slower, controlled and carefully thought out.
Heather Lee	{22 votes}	March 17th, 2005
Blah Blah Blog Blog     I guess there's a group to meet for just about anything! It's nice that people who have a passion in common can actually meet face-to-face for discussion. Personally, I think spending so much time communicating on a computer is lonely and depressing. Get out more, blog people! Maybe you should increase your monthly meetings to weekly!
Heath Abram	{25 votes}	March 17th, 2005

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