Blogger needs your help. It what is an undoubtably unusual yet somehow refreshing move from a dot.com, Blogger is asking for donations from its users to help them build much needed server space. I generally blog when I’ve finished work, and as I live in London this co-incides with California going online in the morning. As a result, blogging can be an extremely frustrating, not to say time consuming business. Filled with the spirit of the season I decided to donate $100 to the cause – if raising money from it’s users leads to a more efficient system, then I’m happy to contribute. Sadly, despite Blogger’s conviction that the method they’re using to collect money (PayPal) is “international”, it’s impossible to insert the required information if you live outside the good ol’ US of A. So they’ll just have to wait.
Today’s Open Letters reports on a real downside to the dot.com coin. The piece starts “The writing has been on the wall for about six weeks now. In about two more weeks, the writing on the wall will come to an end”, and signs off by saying “I think it’s easiest if I just blame computers. I fucking hate computers.” The author, Scott, is refreshing in that he refuses to blame the failure of his company on the boom and bust nature of the digital market, or a sudden reticence on the part of his backers, and instead applies the responsibilty fairly and squarely to his own shoulders. “I’m twenty-eight years old. I don’t belong at the helm of a company, and it’s clear to me now that that’s one of the major reasons our business plan met with such little success.”