Just wondering...
Alix and Patrick obviously had some well intended plan and added the blog to the many other possibilities of DA. They are also posting a number of interesting things they find in "designland", but somehow it looks underused.
I for one does not understand very well the difference between the blog and the forum, but that's to a large extend due to my ignorance about the new media. I wonder waht everybody else is thinking...
I think it has to do with...
I think it has to do with the fact that most people on the forum is more interested in Modern design than Contemporary... -But let's wait and see, maybe it will catch on. I have read every post so far and I enjoy it.
Like azurechicken I have also wondered why there aren't any personal reflections by P&A. Isn't that what a blog is all about? Now it is more of a Newsreel than a Blog in my opinion.
The blog enables us to add...
The blog enables us to add fresh content, on a regular basis. We are using this space to offer you some snapshots about the design news. Our interest for design is not limited to one period or one specific area, it is thus a way for us to open the field which is very often limited to mid-century design in the forum.
We are quite conscious that it would be more interesting to read our personal reflections in the posts. For reasons that we have mentioned often (English is not our language) and because of a lack of time, we cannot invest ourselves more. We are devoting much time and energy to try to offer effective tools to you, but the blog and the forum will become what you will make of them. We hope to be able to post very soon, on this blog, some essays and articles that will be more consistent than the short daily information than we are delivering to you for the moment. Some of you have already offered to contribute on specific subjects, so as soon as we receive their texts we will post them on the blog. If you wish to contribute to the blog, do not hesitate to contact us!!!
It always takes a little time before a new section of the site starts to work like the others. If regulars from the forum are less interested by the contents of the blog, which is often devoted to contemporary design, some new visitors will end up by showing up. Just be patient.
"Point n'est besoin d'espérer pour entreprendre, ni de réussir pour persévérer" 😉
Maybe I'm wrong, but...
the forum is supposed to be free form, while the blog is supposed to be a place where the web masters (or others) can frame slightly more structured, and extended, contributions about design. The forum is a place to go kibitz about anything including the endless questions about where to get the missing part for an MCM chair. The blog is a place to go to read and post mainly about design in a somewhat longer and more structured way. No doubt there will be some overlap. But I think it will prove an increasingly logical evolution of the site as time passes.
I'm hoping that some of the designers many of us greatly respect will choose to follow Koen's lead and contribute something of substance occassionally to the DA blog. I can understand their reluctance to post their thoughts in the free format of the Forum, because it is easy for that format to veer wildly off the subject (note: I am one of those that often trigger the redirection of the forum threads) and a working professional has to be a little bit careful about what exposition his comments become wrapped up inside.
I would be in seventh heaven, if I could read in the DA blog a bit of exchange between say Koen, and Renzo Piano, or Koen and Konstantin Grcic. And I think their exchanges would benefit from posts by DA regulars, provided that DA regulars promise to stay on topic in the DA blog, and go to the DA Forum to get more impulsive and improvisational. Observing this sort of distinction between the two formats would, I believe, offer working professionals generally the comfort level of context they and their learned, experienced comments deserve.
Critique
The blog is a better forum for presenting some thing and letting people freely critique it. It's a bit awkward when people you kind of know post pics of their favorite chair or the new living room decor and we've probably all seen one that made us cringe, but we bite our toungue to be polite. In the more personal forum I think that's OK. But in the blog we are given the cream of what the professional design world is up to. We should absolutely criticize it and hard. Ostensibly most of these products, be they floor lamps or bus depots, are products for the use of consumers. This is a rare chance to tell a designer, who is after all getting paid for making this stuff by and large, that "ick your new lamp is ugly and doesn't solve any of my problems".
The blog however is so far eliciting a higher level of critique (present company excepted) that may deter the more humble readers from posting their own simple, small observations.
... and now for something completely different.
Read Richard Dawkins "The god Delusian", It's the feel good book for atheists.
I would never put this on the blog...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_God_Delusion
just quickly becuase I'm in...
just quickly becuase I'm in a rush... I do like the way it is presenting contemporary design, much as I loathe a lot of it, it really is more important to think about the new stuff and look at it closely rather than sit back and ruminate about what we're all comfortable with already.
There is a huge explosion in designed consumables (just look at any of those 'tree-hugger' type blogs). There has never been so many domestic products on the market at any one time and its almost impossible not to be seduced by all the goodies but I am curious about why the moral obligation seems to be allways on the consumer, whearas the the state, designers and manufacturers still have carte blanche and constantly have to be told by lobbyists how to do things, there are a few honourable exceptions but not many.
One other thought, there are such things as trend forecasters (and I don't mean which shade of magenta bikini will be fashionable in 6 months time) who no doubt look at such things as the blog and the forum to get information, perhaps the whole site could be thought of as a maven trap and we might have more influence than we think but I fear that just affects marketing more than design itself.
ok babbling, not so quick, late!
I like blogs, and then this thread.
I like blogs in general and DAforum in particular,
I visit lots of blogs, and this is the only forum I post.
I.m reading Daforum since 4 years ago, and blogs 3 n 1/2, and I don,t know why, it,s more easy to me to manage in blogs than in forums.
But wait, DA forum have more than 6 years and DAblog a bit more than a month!
When DAforum born, blogs didn,t exist, so to many of us used the forum as the only tool available. Indeed many threads are excellent blog-posts, that need to be translated into blog shape.
On the other hand, If there is no comments no necessary means that ,s something wrong. It,s a news, I read it keep informed and that,s all.
Blogs are more like a magazine, are more like the old News section, ONE gives a news, and the readers could make a comment or not.
I agree with azure and alexand that some ,personal reflections, could help. Although other times a new fresh news as it is, and not availabe in no other place, it,s OK as just a news.
Any way it,s seems this thread woke up many of us, and produced a comment,s storm Welcome them!
What,s the difference between a blog and a forum? I think
Blogs are OPEN and forums are CLOSE.
In blogs people are more free to make comments and do them once and then disappear, no need to know the own rules that I think forums have. And when they comment, generally link it with his/her own blog, (and is required by most blog servers-and as a way to promote his/her self blog) Which makes it a richer experience.
The first moment I felt in DAblog the "blog sensation" was was in ,,Laica,, post:
http://www.designaddict.com/design_addict/blog/index.cfm/2007/10/25/Laic...
That was the blog spirit,
There the new Bronwyn (from South Africa) gives new air, new perspective, then I linked to her blog, and saw and learned from her and from there. Then a post form Francesco, the designer , good opportunity to comment anything, all in a carefree way.
Then I linked to Bronwyn post
http://smokeandochre.blogspot.com/2007/10/super-cool.html
read her comments, and then linked to one of her comments.
And then I arribed to Maryam form Marrakech (provably I arribed there because I could be so interested in ,Laica, that needed to know everything and everybody linked to Laica)
In forum, always almost the same people, that know each other very well.
Here is were I arribed then:
http://www.moroccanmaryam.typepad.com/
Pt2
That make think that:
Blogs are as Traveling as a backpacker Vs. staying Quiet at home with friends(forum)
Although there are very active blogs, I find
Blogs are more PASIVE and forums more ACTIVE.
A post in a blog means: comment if you want or have something interesting, if not just read it and enjoy it.
A post in a Thread means: YOU HAVE TO comment, if you know a bit about it.
I don,t have the exact numbers, but I think are about this:
A FORUM-thread, it,s read it for about 35/80 readers, can post 3/10 posters-most regulars.
A BLOG-post can be read for 100/2500 and could post 1 / 2 or none and there are almost no regulars (or at least compared with forums).
FORMAL vs INFORMAL (as P&A n CDWil said).
What kind of blog do you want?
Many blogs have their own ,spirit,
DAforum have it,s own ,soul, (that once I asked , and I,m trying to describe, but not now)
I think DAblog will find IT?S OWN place, and we could help it to find the direction.
James C., I don,t think as much as you. When you said , presenting some thing and letting people freely critique it, and , We should absolutely criticize it and hard,.
(any way I absolutely agree with your comment about Bloosom by Hella Jongrius lamp), But I,m afraid we could end desperately looking for what,s wrong.
I don,t say this because of you, but I noticed that,s the way it,s turning the comments in general.
May be you said that because you think are professional established designers,
But you,ll see, I think most blogs are used to promote FRESH , new design/designers, That,s the only space they have to show them. I think it,s not for established design/designers, that can be found in any printed magazine.
Who are we criticizing then?, the new fresh emerging designer from Slovequia ! Yes, he will provably do 90% wrong. So will be easy to do it.
Isn,t more interesting to find the 10% top brands do bad?
On the other hand, if we follow that route,
I feel we will kill the blog before it born.
It wouldn,t be comfortable for a new DAblog reader to see how 25 DAforumers , from the DAgang have fun attacking a stupid first prototype Newly graduated 24 years designer.
I find it more brave to do the opposite, being harder in forum than in blogs. We know each other almost very well, so at the end could agree. Why to be hard with someone it,s not here?, And in that way if he is, I think will disappear immediately.
(Or may be could want to turn to a critical blog for designers maybe, I don,t know any like that) But I think I don,t want that kind of blog.
I,m happy we could have fresh air(contemporary design) in DA with DAblog, anyway, if DA is very mid century, it,s not a bad idea to cover with posts with that, for all mid century fans. (But please, just left a little space for ,fesh design, : -) )
Pending to see:LINKS, What about links?
I,ll end with a memorabilia, the DAforum first steps,
Some vintage threads:
http://www.designaddict.com/design_addict/forums/index.cfm/fuseaction/th...
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