GoodWordEditing.com - Latest Comments

Re: 10 best high calling blog posts of 2008

KarenSwim — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:21:36 -0000

Marcus, on my top 10 are the daily devotionals. I love getting those from you in the morning, always a thought provoking insight that challenges me to go deeper in my faith. Thanks for sharing these posts, I had missed many of them and look forward to reading.

Re: Facebook and Disqus Lead the Way to Transparency

Unclaim My Heart — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:57:59 -0000

I am not sure what you mean by transparency online. A DISQUS profile is only as transparent as the creator of it allowed it to be...And an application like that encourages people to work harder at being anonymous and maintaining different aliases. (Thanks for the tip DHCBR)

Really though, this isn't about transparency, it is an objection to an over-controlling application and to having everything said in it compiled together. When I roll over a profile and see a bunch of comments unrelated to the blog posting I am on, it is actually confusing and gives me a feeling of having walked in to someone else's conversation. I do not feel the need to be in on everything you have to say to everyone else.

This would however be a nice way for me to keep track of everything I am commenting on.

Re: 10 best high calling blog posts of 2008

Lorrie — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 22:27:37 -0000

Great list! Congratulations everyone :-)

Re: 11 minutes with a great Christian poet - Jeanne Murray Walker

L.L. Barkat — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:53:16 -0000

And... if we don't fancy ourselves to be poets? Um, what then?

(I took the liberty to listen anyway and liked it. : )

Re: Google says books beat websites in credibility

Diane L. Harris — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 12:51:17 -0000

I love the internet for the volume of information I can easily obtain. I'd love to have something like the Kindle one day, just to save space when I need to have several books with me; for instance, it would be a great tool during Bible study, or in any class or study situation. But to truly enjoy reading, I need books. I need to feel the paper pages between my fingers, be able to take my reading to bed and use it in any prone or sitting position until I fall asleep, and I need to be able to make notes in the borders, and underline favorite lines.

I don't believe books will ever go away. Their enjoyment will only be enhanced by new tools which make it easier to find them and reference them at will.

Re: Two Fun Friday Links: Nietzsche Family Circus and Garfield Minus Garfield

goodwordediting — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:40:10 -0000

Hmm. I used the "press this" function of wordpress to insert that image, and it seems to be defaulting to steal bandwidth from that site. Bizarre. Is image etiquette changing?

Re: Google says books beat websites in credibility

Tom — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:50:52 -0000

OK, so I am a book purist. I love the feel of the book, relishing its broken binding, knowing how many pages remain before the book comes to its climax, and being able to throw it across the room when I've finished it. (I'm pretty sure only guys do that.)

I'm a library and Half-Price-Books connoisseur. There's nothing like wandering the stacks and coming across that "bluebird" find that I didn't expect. I hold it tightly and caress it gently, whispering "my precious," ala Gollum, all the way home.

But then Santa brought me a Kindle. And overnight my world is upside-down.

Suddenly, whatever I feel like reading, is instantaneously (or faster) available. Read a book review that sounds interesting? WHAM! I own it. Hear an author speak on NPR? BAM! I own his entire collected works! Make small talk at a party and someone mentions what they're reading? I sneak off to the corner and order it. Suddenly, I have the power to own anything my heart desires!

And my reaction? I'm freaked out! Way back when I delivered newspapers, I scrimped and saved for every Hardy Boys mystery in my collection. I spent hours in the library until I discovered Michael and, later, Jeff Shaara's historical accounts of American wars. And then I languished in each volume. But that is all such foolishness now. What a colossal waste of time! Today, Amazon tells me what I should read. And everything else that everyone else read when they read what I read. We've moved even beyond instant gratification. It's like simultaneous gratification - think it, and it's yours.

Is this a good thing? I love it, but yet... I can't help but feel I've been able to satisfy my desires at the expense of something greater. When something doesn't really cost anything, how valuable is it?

I love my Kindle. It's makes reading very efficient. But where's the joy?

Re: Google says books beat websites in credibility

Bill Cash — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:26:54 -0000

Marcus,

I’m with you. I write in an electronic medium because I can. However, reading something on a monitor, regardless of how big it is, just doesn’t seem quite as “real” as reading it from the pages of a book.

I’m sure there will come a day when words on paper have gone the way of horse draw carriage. Call me old fashion if you like but I’ll stay with the printed word on a page of paper for the time being.

Bill

Re: Google says books beat websites in credibility

BibleDude — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:22:09 -0000

I agree that books beat websites in credibility. Think about the cost involved with printing compared to going to the web. Sending things to print costs money... before a dime is ever actually made on sales. If something makes it to print, then that means that somebody thought that it was credible enough to invest in it. And with the tightening economy, many publishers are tightening up on what they print which means that it must be of even higher standards now. I think that when you see something in print, that it would have gone through much greater scrutny than something that just goes to web.

I use digital reading only as a 'window' into what I buy on paper. Any extensive reading for me is much better on paper than online (or a Kindle).

Online does however offer the opportunity to reach a wide audience with very little investment...

Re: Google says books beat websites in credibility

AndyC — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:00:51 -0000

I'm in trouble! My comprehension is never higher than when I read a book held in my hands. Reading on a PC screen is just not the same for me.

If all goes digital, I become a literary dinosaur overnight.

Re: Google says books beat websites in credibility

goodwordediting — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:18:20 -0000

AndyC, Kindle is never meant to replace books. At least not for awhile. I'd
argue that books are the perfect machine, in fact. But if I have to choose
between carrying 20 books with me and carrying one Kindle type device, then
I'm more likely to choose the Kindle. I don't think books will ever go
away. TV didn't replace radio. Radio didn't replace newspapers. Even the
web isn't replacing newspapers.

But publishing is going to look different 20 years from now, that's one
thing I'm willing to predict.

Re: Facebook and Disqus Lead the Way to Transparency

sam van eman — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:21:12 -0000

funny exchange between hcb reader and l.l.

i'm still too green to know what's really going with this topic, but i enjoyed reading about it.

Re: Facebook and Disqus Lead the Way to Transparency

L.L. Barkat — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:05:34 -0000

I love your idealism. :)

And, at least for my part, I'm not so interested in being anonymous (though that can be fun sometimes). I just like the idea of being able to choose whether or not my comments are mini-blogged.

Re: 3 Christmas Gift Themes

facebook-513401767 — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:58:08 -0000

We dealt with the commercial Christmas in two ways this year:

1) My wife made about 3/4 of the gifts we gave to friends/family. I wish I could claim some of the credit, but she's the crafty one. There's something cool about handmade gifts, especially when they're well-thought out for each person and not just a tea cozy (whatever that is).

2) For our immediate family we redefined Christmas so that half the money that would be spent on gifts for us had to be given away. So if we were going to spend $40 on my daughter for Christmas, we'd buy her $20 in gifts and then she had $20 to give away as she saw fit.

Since my daughter is just turning 3 I'm not sure she completely grasped the concept, but in a few years I think she will. As for my wife and I, it was great. It meant a smaller Christmas but also more giving to the people who really need it. I found freedom in having a small of wad of cash I could just give away.

Re: 3 Christmas Gift Themes

goodwordediting — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:03:13 -0000

I really like the idea of giving the kids money to choose what charity it
goes to! That's so simple, but also makes generosity feel like a treat.

Re: Facebook and Disqus Lead the Way to Transparency

goodwordediting — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:56:22 -0000

Interesting discussion here. For some reason, as owner of the blog, the
annonymity still bothers me. For me social media is about being social. How
can we be social if no one knows who we are? More and more, I'm becoming an
advocate for transparency online.

That doesn't mean we don't still allow ourselves privacy. But we shouldn't
expect a published comment on a public website or blog to be a place where
privacy is an option.

When you visit glass houses, people will see what you do there.

Re: Good Words for High Calling Bloggers

goodwordediting — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:50:16 -0000

Jesse and Sarah,

We're glad you've joined! If you haven't filled out the application form at
http://highcallingblogs.com/about/join/ that will help. L. L. Barkat will
get in touch with you about adding your RSS feed to the site.

The main thing is to read the featured posts and comment on blogs in the
network.

We also encourage people to install Lijit and Disqus. Both tools help the
network connect more closely through search and comments.

Re: Good Words for High Calling Bloggers

Jesse and Sarah — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:46:34 -0000

Newbie here; I joined but I'm still not sure how to make my own posting.

Since I have my own site elsewhere do I just post there and it shows up on High Callings?

Where do I post on High Callings, and can it also be something from my own site?

Re: Facebook and Disqus Lead the Way to Transparency

Devoted HCB Reader — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:27:18 -0000

L.L., no problem [he says, just as innocently].

Which one would you like?

And remember, before you try this trick in the privacy of your own home, you might want to come up with a different name than your own real name. Otherwise you and I and Venerable Blog Owner may become one, which may or may not be of interest to you.

Re: Facebook and Disqus Lead the Way to Transparency

L.L. Barkat — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:09:53 -0000

Devoted HCB Reader... so, like, hey, what's your email? ;-) [she says innocently]

Re: Facebook and Disqus Lead the Way to Transparency

Mischievous Devoted HCB Reader — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:47:54 -0000

It works (just click the profile for VBO and see how we're linked. [fanfare and squeals of equal volume to yours, L.L.]

Mischievous Devoted HCB Reader and Venerable Blog Owner are now as one. Good thing Mischievous Devoted HCB Reader doesn’t atually know VBO’s email. Yet.

Re: Facebook and Disqus Lead the Way to Transparency

Venerable Blog Owner — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:43:32 -0000

Here I am trying it out.

Re: Facebook and Disqus Lead the Way to Transparency

Mischievous Devoted HCB Reader — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:41:44 -0000

L.L., so you like that trick?

Here’s another good one. Or maybe actually a bad one--which serves to make the point about the need for greater commenter control.

Let’s say that the name of the blog owner here was not “goodwordediting” but rather “venerable blog owner.”

Let’s say that, just for kicks, Mischievous Devoted HCB Reader comes along and wants to razz Venerable Blog Owner. MDHCBR would have to know VBO’s email to accomplish this, but the following could happen (mischievously, or, less likely, accidentally)…

MDHCBR could leave a comment using VBO’s email and… magic of all magic… MDHCBR could become part of VBO’s comment thread, as if the two were one.

But enough of trying to explain. Let’s try it out so you can see.

Re: Facebook and Disqus Lead the Way to Transparency

L.L. Barkat — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:09:14 -0000

Oh, oh, oh! It works!!

I feel so...

opaque. : )

Re: Facebook and Disqus Lead the Way to Transparency

L.L. Barkat — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:08:33 -0000

Okay, here I am trying it.