Does the broken windows theory hold online?
http://www.kottke.org/08/12/does-the-broken-windows-theory-hold-online
windows theory
But what about a site's physical appearance? Does the aesthetic appearance of a blog affect what's written by the site's commenters? My sense is that the establishment of social norms through moderation, both by site owners and by the community itself, has much more of an impact on the behavior of commenters than the visual design of a site but aesthetics does factor in somewhat. Perhaps the poor application of a default MT or Wordpress template signals a lack of care or attention on the part of the blog's owner, leading readers to think they can get away with something. Poorly designed advertising or too many ads littered about a site could result in readers feeling disrespected and less likely to participate civilly or respond to moderation. Messageboard software is routinely ugly; does that contribute to the often uncivil tone found on web forums?In defense of Twitter
An interesting article justifying twittering as an activity
A great post concerning how there is nothing inherent to the banality of Twitter updates; this banality exists in "real" conversations as well. It's a good point and one that I've been trying to make recently with friends who "just don't get Twitter."
Heraclitus would have had a f***ing Twitter feed.New Gladwell book: What the Dog Saw
Gladwell articlesThe Wire Bible
This is quite a treat. Someone got ahold of some scripts from The Wire and posted them online.
original pitch doc in the middle of the pageThe world's best pancake recipe
The world's best pancake recipeRemembering David Foster Wallace
via kottke.com, dozens of links about the late writer, david foster wallace
A collection of links to resources related to, anecdotes about, and eulogies of the deceased author. NB: he loved The Wire!
Jason Kottke assembled a set of links commemorating DFW.
kottke's list of remembrances, because I, too, need to close some of these tabs
Kottke rounds up quite a few links about David Foster Wallace, the acclaimed writer that died recently. I've never read anything by Wallace, but all the outpouring of sorrow makes me wonder if I should have been.Rocket Bomber - article - retail - commentary - Rethinking the Box: The Seven Types of Customer.
"...a bunch of good writing on weblogs, creative work, and online media."
"Merlin Mann has been on a tear lately. He's been rethinking what he wants to do with 43 Folders -- a site he started four years ago to think in public about Getting Things Done (and other stuff) -- which rethinking has resulted in a bunch of good writing on weblogs, creative work, and online media. Some links and excerpts follow."