{"id":396,"date":"2009-08-03T01:32:00","date_gmt":"2009-08-03T05:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=396"},"modified":"2009-08-03T01:32:00","modified_gmt":"2009-08-03T05:32:00","slug":"wedreamedincolor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=396","title":{"rendered":"Wedream(ed)incolor"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s the job of the Coroner’s office to make an official pronouncement of death<\/center><\/p>\n

I’m filling in at the Coroner’s office while he’s away on vacation.\u00a0 That is, the Internet Coroner’s office.\u00a0 That’s where the virtual, online dead go.\u00a0 I was told to just “tag ’em, bag ’em and put ’em the fridge till I get back”, but I thought I’d leave a few notes about this one particular cadaver<\/a> that came in recently since\u00a0 I’m sure most pathologists aren’t too well acquainted with the fractal art world and will appreciate some expert help regarding the cause of death.<\/p>\n

He’s going to need some help with this one.\u00a0 I can see the Coroner staring at the body and wondering, “Why would such a young blog with such a bright future and so many friends end up DOA?”<\/p>\n

Well Doc, basically, blogging is all about writing stuff that people want to read.\u00a0 The internet puts thousands of high quality newspapers, magazines, even movies and not to mention specialty websites and also online encyclopedias like the Wikipedia in easy reach of everyone with internet access.\u00a0 You have to write about things that no one else can (or will) write about.\u00a0 It’s that “niche” thing.\u00a0 And for that you have to be a bit of a freak.\u00a0 They didn’t have a single freak.<\/p>\n

Normal people write about normal things and freaky people write about freaky things.\u00a0 On the internet, most visitors are by default disinterested.\u00a0 Like I said, they’ve got plenty of great places to go (and online games too).\u00a0 Good blogging attracts and holds the interest of complete strangers who don’t know who you are (or don’t care) but they’re interested in what you have to say because it’s rare and special.\u00a0 In fact, a good blog will appeal just as much to its enemies as it will to its friends.\u00a0 Maybe even more.\u00a0 Wedream(ed)incolor had way too many friends, a sure sign of early onset terminal conditions in a blog (more commonly referred to as “hyper-irrelevancy”).<\/p>\n

Good blogging is fresh, insightful commentary on topics that are rarely discussed (or better yet –taboo).\u00a0 It’s not a group thing and most people aren’t really interested in giving raw, honest commentary about things (and posting it on the internet for everyone to read and react to).\u00a0 It’s the same as art criticism or any sort of criticism; you have really get excited about it because the social fallout wouldn’t be worth it otherwise.\u00a0 How many people actually get excited about writing<\/i><\/b> criticism and not just reading it?\u00a0 Yeah.\u00a0 They didn’t even have one of those over there.\u00a0 It’s like kidneys; it’s good to have two, but you’ve gotta at least have one.<\/p>\n

A blog made up of self-conscious backslappers trying to produce something worth reading was just bound to fail.\u00a0 Of course, some of them never even posted anything once.\u00a0 That’s a definite warning sign of blogging cardiac arrest.<\/p>\n

I’ve been through all this before: blogging just isn’t for everyone.\u00a0 Commentary (public and published) might attract a lot of readers, but it doesn’t attract a lot of writers.\u00a0 Of course, I would have thought that Orbit Trap’s own experience would made that fairly plain, but I guess everyone has to experience these things for themselves.\u00a0 Morgue’s are full of those.<\/p>\n

“If you\u00a0 build it… they will watch!<\/i>”\u00a0 Too much work by any single person on an internet site doesn’t inspire others to join in and help out, it inspires them to stay out of the way and not touch.\u00a0 If you want to be a real masochist then try asking for donations as well.\u00a0 Better still, accept the fact that good blogging requires a strong vision and intense focus and that’s not likely to be found in a group of people like it is in a single person.<\/p>\n

What else should I mention to the Coroner?\u00a0 Oh.\u00a0 Some of the next of kin are likely to come around and insist on doing CPR\u00a0 despite the obvious stiff and bluish condition of the cadaver.\u00a0 “It’s the summer!” “It’s just getting started!”\u00a0 “Everyone’s just busy with other things at the moment!”\u00a0 “Orbit Trap poisoned it!”\u00a0 It’s a traditional custom of mourning in the fractal art world: a last ditch attempt to resurrect a social project that lacked a society.\u00a0 They like to think that they did everything they could, although they didn’t actually do anything at all when it was alive.<\/p>\n

Maybe a forum would have been a better idea?<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s the job of the Coroner’s office to make an official pronouncement of death I’m filling in at the Coroner’s office while he’s away on vacation.\u00a0 That is, the Internet Coroner’s office.\u00a0 That’s where the virtual, online dead go.\u00a0 I was told to just “tag ’em, bag ’em and put ’em the fridge till I … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1867,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=1867","url_meta":{"origin":396,"position":0},"title":"Can you really copyright an Ultra Fractal parameter file?","author":"Tim","date":"10 November, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm not an Ultra Fractal user but I do follow the daily exchange of information on the Ultra Fractal mailing list. Up until recently I never thought anything of those copyright notices, but after giving myself an award winning internet education on copyright, I've begun to feel that those copyright\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 8 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 8 comments","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=1867#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/sample-UF-parameter-file.png?fit=558%2C345&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/sample-UF-parameter-file.png?fit=558%2C345&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/sample-UF-parameter-file.png?fit=558%2C345&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1711,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=1711","url_meta":{"origin":396,"position":1},"title":"Copyright and Fractal Art: What the Law really says","author":"Tim","date":"5 October, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Copyright: the word that launched a thousand fairy tales! Let's see what the US Copyright Office says about copyright: \u00a7 102. Subject matter of copyright: In general28 (a) Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 3 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 3 comments","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=1711#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2486,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=2486","url_meta":{"origin":396,"position":2},"title":"Parameter File Sharing For Dummies","author":"Tim","date":"4 February, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. biblegateway.com The most recent \"discussion\" about parameter file sharing on the Ultra Fractal Mailing List has reminded me how\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/param1.jpg?fit=500%2C264&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1880,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=1880","url_meta":{"origin":396,"position":3},"title":"Is it too late to patent your fractals?","author":"Tim","date":"12 November, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"In a previous post, Can you really copyright an Ultra Fractal parameter file?, I questioned the validity of copyright protection for parameter files.\u00a0 I based this on my observation that what parameter files do is categorically different from what\u00a0 image files do and more in keeping with the types of\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 14 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 14 comments","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=1880#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/patent2.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1204,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=1204","url_meta":{"origin":396,"position":4},"title":"Privately Owned Algorithms?","author":"cruelanimal","date":"18 May, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"It's mine!!\u00a0 All mine!! [Image seen on nikadon.com.] Can one patent abstract ideas?\u00a0 Or claim equations as intellectual property? The U.S. Supreme Court will likely make a decision in the near future concerning the constitutional scope of patents.\u00a0 The decision could have profound implications pertaining to the legality of free\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Mine. 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