Is the word 'blog' ugly?

Yes. I have to admit to being reluctant to describe Virtual Philosopher as a 'blog' - I'm more comfortable with 'weblog' and have completely resisted the word 'blogroll'...Im pretty sure this is because it sounds like 'bog' which was school slang for toilet/loo in my day - 'blogroll' is 'bogroll'. Apparently Im not alone in disliking 'blog' - editor of US Vogue, Anna Wintour has banned the term from their website...

There are some other nasty neologisms around weblogs too (just nasty, not because they are neologisms - I've no problem with words like 'email' and 'Internet'): for example  there are numerous theories about how to 'monetize' your weblog. That word 'monetize' should be treated with the same disdain as the pretentious 'problematize' ('problematise'?)  in the area of philosophy. Anyone who uses either word without irony should be ridiculized.

Comments

[Andrew]

"Vodcast" (video podcast) is pretty ugly (and the whole point of "podcast" is that it's derived from "iPod"), but worst of all is "vlog" (video blog) which is barely even pronounceable.

[David Sucher]

What word would you use instead of "monetize?"

[Felipe G]

I think that "blog" may seem an ugly term because also remind that of "frog". As a spanish speaker both terms seems to me very funny.
Coulb be a ugly-funny term because, here, "blooog" is the common onomatopoeia of the sound of someone about to vomit.

[outeast]

As to monetize itself, it may be ugly but I'm pretty sure it's been around a lot longer than blogs. It also means something different from, say, 'profit from' - as David asks, what would you use instead? Or is it the concept rather than the word that is anathema?

[Tim Lacy]

It is ugly. The only time the word 'blog' appears at my site (History and Education) is by accident. I completely, totally, and forcefully prefer 'weblog'. Aside from aesthetics, for some reason I also think that weblog simply sounds more professional. But I know that feeling's just a product of my associating the term 'blog' with the online diary phenomenon (ugh!). - TL

[nigel warburton]

What's wrong with 'make money from' as an alternative to 'monetize'?

[David Sucher]

"Make money from" and "monetize" are very different concepts.

For example, whenever I find myself in a commercial dispute, I "monetize" the issue in my own mind i.e. I try to think before I respopnd and I ask myself "How much is this dispute worth? What is at stake financiallly?"

Even if I think that the other party has been a dishonest jerk, I have learned through hard experience to not get into arguments over trivial amounts. The emotional and legal wear-and-tear is not worth it. So "monetize" (the way I understand the term) is very different from "making money from." It is an attempt to evaluate an issue in $$$ terms.

•••

BTW, I think the word "blog" is exactly what we need:
http://citycomfortsblog.typepad.com/cities/2003/08/dost_thou_blog.html
or
http://tinyurl.com/2mazoo