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Recommend an IT Blog

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by charliespencer

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I've had a pretty low opinion of blogs since I first heard of them three or four years ago. At that time all I found was adolescent angst and Dave Winer's apparently random babblings.

I'm sure the form must have matured by now. I'm soliciting recommendations for blogs worth reading on a regular basis. I'm defining "worth reading" as:

- IT related, with an emphasis on front-line support in a Windows environment.
- A minimum of "personal life" posting.

I'm also looking for a blog written by someone whose company is replacing MS on the desktop with Linux and open source apps.

If you've got a recommendation, please post it. It would be useful if you included a couple of sentences about why you recommend the particular blog, and what criteria you use for adding a new blog to your "must-read" list.

Thanks!

46 replies

by charliespencer

Thanks.

"Worth reading" was probably a poor choice of wording, but I couldn't think of another phrase. I looked at your blog a couple of weeks ago, but you're right, the personal side is just not what I'm looking for.

by jdclyde

"prefered reading"?

"reading interests are"?

"none of that personal misery crap"?

Don't worry, I don't take it personal. I know what my blogs are, and what they aren't. What they are is a place where I can vent, rant and rave to get out my many issues without bugging anyone else or causing physical harm to anyone.

The only people that would get bugged by my blogs are people that choose to go there and be bugged.

After next month, things will take shape. Have a few IT projects that will work there way up so I can get back in the swing of things.

Cheers!

by mrs1622

I consider Slashdot.org a blog, tho some may argue that it's a forum. Despite the size and activity, the moderation keeps most of the cream at the top, so you can get some value out of the discussion without burning your entire work day.

by jmgarvin

:-)

Ok, so I don't post to it as often as I'd like and deadlines slip, but I do try to post step by steps for setting up things and getting things you might need at least working.

On that note: You might check wikipedia, they are kind of like blog (in some ways) and have some good IT stuff in there.

by firstpeter

Matt Moran's "Notes from the Toolshed: Developing Aptitudes for Dynamic Professional Growth":

http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/pm/career/

Matt talks about issues that are at the heart of business in a different type of prose (right word?) than you typically see it. He also manages to effectively pull everyday topics into the discussion (the latest as of this post managed to combine Hurricane Katrina, his wife and politics into a discussion on business and project management).

I won't put in a pitch for mine ("The Consultant In Third Person" - I happen to like it, but I'm probably a little biased in that regard *grin*) at http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/km/consultant/, but feel free to check it out. Since my career is working with small business solutions (IT-related) that's pretty much what I focus on. My writing style is probably a little off-beat unless you don't mind the occasional short diversion to an 80s song or the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy...

by stress junkie

I looked at the subject lines in your blog at ittoolbox. Looks interesting and funny. I look forward to reading the posts.

by apotheon

1. I agree that jmgarvin's blog here at TR is a good choice. He's been creating tutorials for common sysadmin tools and the like. I've learned from it: so can you.

2. Not to toot my own horn (not quite that flexible), but you might check out mine. It has been moving very slowly as my life undergoes major upheaval, but I'm (slowly) working on a series of posts dealing with exactly the issue you bring up, migrating from Windows to Linux. I call the series, appropriately enough, Windows->Linux. I don't have much posted for it yet, but I have about four different posts for the series half-finished and sitting on a hard drive waiting for me to do more work on 'em, between twelve-hour days at work.

My TR blog might be moving too slowly to be of much use for you, I suppose. Maybe you'll get some use out of it, though.

by charliespencer

2. I've been looking at yours for a while and I look forward to more in the Windows to Linux series. Get off your butt and post," said the non-blogger. You have an addicted audience to support. We don't care that you're moving across the country; get a laptop and type while you drive with your knees!

by apotheon

Thanks. I'll make an effort.

Give me an idea of what, if anything in particular, you'd like to see next/soon. I don't promise to give it to you next/soon/ever, but I'll at least consider it.

by jmgarvin

Ya, get off your butt and blog...ignore the fact I haven't posted in almost a month!!

by islamslmy2

i have one but im do that for my just ... as im understand i have say that and i have moore 13000 users realy very hard work just in 3or 4 monthe i have get that num but thx GOD

maby u think im crazy lol im just have feeling to rplay ur post im anyway must avery day visit here

happy day for u

my blog free from space msn right here

www.spaces.msn.com/members/islamahmedslmy

thx for ur time

by skennedy10

I was trying to do something for an Access database, and I wrote to my newsgroup where I get rapid answers and I can hunt for things "Only Access related" (a problem I have previously expressed about TechRepublic and TechProGuild). When I asked how to do a particular action, I was told by 5 wonderful people of a better way to do the same thing--and several slightly different varieties of that.

The particular item was to quickly put a date into a textbox.

A wonderful blog would be just a list from everyone, maybe titled "Here's a suggestion of how to------." The information I needed would be in a section "How to make 2 clicks and put a date in a textbox in Access."

There are many, many websites out there that you can search through, but this would be different--this would not be under "Calendar Control" but would be under a title relating how it would be used, such as "putting a date into a textbox with a click on a calendar."

There are books that use this approach, but again, it is difficult to search through all the words to find what you need.

This would give a lot of us ideas on how to do things better.
Susan

by malcolm davis

Rather then thinking in terms of blogs, think in terms of community. For Java developers, Java.net is a community. Each morning is fresh new look at blogs, articles, new projects, etc? The community has over 100K members. I have a blog on Java.net, as well as many known authors. Artima is also a big author site http://www.artima.com/weblogs/

by mukul.dharwadkar

Mine is an attempt to address Information security concerns. It has really evolved from dabbling in blogging to a focussed effort to provide security related tips, opinions, and consultancy. There will be some personal posts, but mainly I restrict it to security related works.

http://mukuldharwadkar.blogspot.com

by apotheon

What's up with the slew of recommended blogs and other sites that have nothing to do with what Palmetto asked?

by c6h12o6.booger

A former co-founder of ArsDigita (and various other tech-sites) who also had a pretty low opinion of blogs has decided to try one of his own (launched late August 2005). Content is mostly related to web and application development, but feel free to visit and post suggestions for what you would like him to write about/research. He checks his comments daily and replies very quickly.

by peter spande

Check out BlogPulse.com. This is a search engine that only searches blogs. I tried a couple of different searches and found nothing on the windows to Linux destop migration process but it would surpise me if there wasn't one out there somewhere.

Finding a blog on a specific topic is either really tough (there aren't any) or too easy (there are 1000s.) TechRepublic is working to provide some tools in its Blog section that will make this somewhat easier soon. Stay tuned.

Hope you find what you're looking for.

by lucky7

There's a pretty decent community of professional IT blogs at ITtoolbox: http://blogs.ittoolbox.com

For front-line support or using open source apps, perhaps:

The Power of a Network Admin
http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/networking/power/

The Open Source Enterprise
http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/linux/opensource2/

Look around, there's probably others close to what you're looking for. Personally, I was drawn in by Security Monkey's blog, so I have to recommend checking that one out as well - read a few entries and you'll understand why...

http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/security/investigator/

by ceohmsg

Hello,

I?ve recently posted a blog, hoping to spark the interest of stirring individuals interested in fostering human relations. If you feel that you are up to it, lets hear from you??..SOON!

I am a college graduate, well traveled and a multilingual person in a continuous pursuit of knowledge.

Claude

http://alienanobis.blogspot.com/

by charliespencer

I've been off line for a couple of days and haven't had time to check all of the suggestions yet. I'd like to thank everyone for their contributions, and I'll look at all of them this week. Y'all keep those cards and letters coming!

by rallcorn

I'm still not entirely sure what a "blog" IS? And with an exciting, altogether yet stimulating and enticing name (ho-hum) like "BLOG" ... my interest was not really that "peaked" to find out.

Any ideas that would help me understand "blog"?

by johnaaa19

A blog is a website that is powered by a content management system, and allows readers to comment on any blog posts. A blog also includes a web or RSS feed, allowing the syndication of content from any published articles.

As blogs are powered by content management systems it is very easy for non-technical people to post content. The relative ease in which people can post content is part of the reason for the growth of blogs. Another is the increasing use of websites by customers to compare products and vendors using online community websites, forums, blogs etc.

by charliespencer

Blog? I've always thought it sounded like something Capt. Kirk nail with a phaser. "Spock, duck! There's another alien blog!" <>

John, I spent some off hours for a couple of weeks in '03 trying to determine what made a blog web site different from any other web site. Some people told me it was defined by the software used to create the page, i.e. Blogger, etc. I wasn't comfortable with the concept that end product was defined by the tool used to create it. Others pushed the "chronological entries with newest on top" definition. I didn't see why a page layout required having a name of its own.

Yours is the first definition I've seen that has included the phrase "content management". That still has some element of "the tool defines the product", but it is the best definition I've seen yet.

(Please excuse the use of the universal "you" in this paragraph. I'm not referring to John directly.) I'd probably read more blogs if more people generated their own content instead of a bunch of links to someone else's blog. I don't see the value of posting and reposting links back to an original source. One problem is this results in a scad of third-hand entries clogging up search results. Another is it just feels lazy to me. If I read your blog, I want your own opinions, not a link to the views of some other guy. If I wanted the other guy's point of view, I'd be reading his blog in the first place. If you want to post your views on the third guy's opinion, why not post them as your comments on his site? It give me the impression you're afraid to post your comments on his site. You post them on your site where they're less likely to be seen by the author or his other readers, then feel good about yourself because you blogged that day.

by apotheon

Who isn't a Pratchett fan? That'd probably be a shorter list, at least among the intelligentsia of the world.

by apotheon

Actually, I'd disagree with the "content management" software requirement, the necessity of the presence of RSS feeds, and so on. A blog need not even involve the capacity for accepting comments.

A blog, from the longer term weblog, is in fact basically just a chronologically ordered vanity self-publishing site on the web. Individual log entries are made by the blogger in often essay-like chunks, and tend to be identified by time/date stamp.

The tools used are mostly irrelevant, as long as the end result presentation is accessible through a web browser (the defining concept behind the "web" part of "weblog").

Ultimately, you can use that Shatner reference to help understand the comment.

Example One:
"TR Blog, date: 09/14/05"

Example Two:
"Captain's Log, stardate: 231897934857349.3"

These are, in short, something like public diaries designed with an audience in mind. That means that the content won't be strictly the same as in a typical diary, but there's a significant bit of crossover in the feel of the thing. Memoirs, I guess you could call it.

by johnaaa19

I think you are right you don't have to have a comment or even rss feed. At least I have seen blogs that do that in the blogosphere. But I am unlikely to return to the website if the blogger does not allow me to comment or provide a feed. I also think the definition is evolving. So I am going to stand by my initial definition as that is what I think a blog should be.

by apotheon

I think Windows "should be" a true multi-user OS with some vague sense of modular design and security awareness. That, or perhaps it simply "should be" consigned to the garbage heap of computing history. We all have to suffer the indignities of life, I suppose. Heh.

by charliespencer

The asteroid where blogs originated. I think Chekov took it out with several photon torpedoes during the third season.

by johnaaa19

Thanks for the good comments on the definition. Maybe it's because I am a non-technical marketing/pr person the content management systems seems to me to be the critical element of blogging. It's easy for non-technical people to use, and its actually easy for technical people to update without too much hassle. Having worked with content management systems for several years, I am amazed by the complexity and richness of the blogging platforms out there for their low price.

I also agree that just linking is a little annoying; though I do have a perspective on that, think of all the linking as an organic news network. If you have read the "tipping point", the book describes mavens, connectors and sales people. bloggers are influential people who if they link all the time are basically connectors in their group, or people who provide a useful role in connecting people to people and ideas.

I've always preferred to write longer thoughtful articles. I just don't have the time it seems to keep up with the flow sometimes. But I do value other bloggers sometimes notifying me on news events that I might have missed otherwise.

Lastly, as you work in tech support, I think your the perfect person to blog, you probably answer questions all day long, why not answer them on the blog, and let more than one person see the answers?

by charliespencer

Lack of material is the first reason. I work in a manufacturing plant in the southeastern U.S. The majority of our manufacturing employees have limited computer experience or training. Most of the questions I get asked during the day are relatively simple questions with answers that wouldn't be of interest to anybody who's been doing tech support for more than three months. I don't think the web needs another site on the subject of "Stupid User Tricks".

Lack of specific knowledge in depth is another. We've got experts in lots of disciplines at our IT headquarters. I've spent my career as a generalist at a remote site. I don't consider myself a subject matter expert on too much besides the care and feeding of the average Windows end user.

I don't want to take the time to do it right. I'm something of a stickler for details and verbal accuracy. I feel it would take longer to get my facts straight and express them clearly than it would really be worth.

Opportunity costs are also a consideration. I already feel a bit guilty about the time I spend on this site while at work, but I can justify it to myself as professional interaction. I don't feel the same about original authorship on company time, and I'm not going to do it on my time at the house.

I don't have any motivation to start a blog. I can't believe anyone would be interested in my rantings. I'm always surprised when I get a response to a posting here. I don't see any reason to try to compete with other blogs for a share of the reader pool; there are better authors than I. If no one else is going to read it, why am I writing it? I occasionally benefit from writing ideas down so I can brainstorm them, but I don't feel the need to do that in a public forum.

There are people who start blogs because it's the cool new thing to do, just like vanity web sites were a decade ago. Feelings, personal activities, family stories? I'll keep them to myself and out of the media, thank you, and I wish others would do the same. Nobody gives a rat's fanny about your Aunt Mabel's hip surgery.

Thanks for asking :-)

by charliespencer

"Thief of Time" features the traditional lineup, plus Kaos, who left before the group hit the big time.

"Good Omens" is the one with the Pestilence / Pollution replacement.

My bad. I'll just go call the Librarian a monkey and take my beating.

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