Part One | Part Two | Part Three
by Scott Schrantz
August 7, 2003
In Part One we looked at how to set up a blog using the new AOL Journals service. In Part Two, we got down to the task of actually using the in-browser editing to add entries. But you can do things like that with any old blogging system. What new things does AOL bring to the table? How do AOL Journals interact with other parts of the AOL empire? That’s what we’ll be finding out on this page.
As always, my own AOL Journal is online at journals.aol.com/yinandyangtwins/AOLComputerVet, so you can see how these things behave in the wild.
A new bot is added to your Buddy List.
Probably the feature that has gotten the most press is the Post From AIM feature. When you set up an AOL Journal, a buddy called “AOL Journals” shows up in your buddy list. When you write anything to this buddy, it recognizes that you want to post an entry in your blog and does everything for you. If you have more than one journal set up, it pops back a response to you, with a list of all your journals. You have to tell it which journal you want to post to by sending it a message back with the number of the journal. Once you’ve done all that, the post gets entered into the system, and the entry is created. The IM bot then lets you know that you can add to the entry by sending another paragraph. If you do send something else, it gives you another choice: Do you want to add to the last entry, or start a new entry? Again it gives you a menu, and you respond by sending a message back with the number of the what you want it to do.
Posting by AIM can really streamline the whole process of writing blog entries. It’s probably one of the best ideas AOL had in this whole Journals endeavor. With this feature, there’s no need to browse to an editing application, create a new entry, and go through that whole process. Most people that will be using this probably go through the whole day with their AIM windows open and running anyway. They can just use that window, already sitting there on their desktop, and fire of a quick message just like they’re used to. Only instead of sending it to a friend, they’ll be sending it to AOL Journals and, in effect, sending it to everyone that reads their journal.
This has also been vilified as the feature that will kill blogging. Most instant messages are insipid little snippets of bad grammar, sorely lacking in substance. If we let people post that kind of content to their blogs, weblogs will quickly disintegrate to the lowest common denominator. They’ll become just a way to say “LOL” to all your friends at once. It just adds ammunition to those critics who already think blogs are nothing but vacuous ramblings. I don’t think it’s an issue, though. Weblogs will only be as good as the people doing the writing. That’s true whether you’re using Blogger, Moveable Type, or AOL Journals. The thing about blogs is that it’s easy to tune out the garbage and only focus on the good. So if one out of every hundred AOL Journals has real, compelling content, then those few will rise to the top and give an outlet to people who might not have started writing otherwise. Adding more people to the blogging pool can only be a good thing, and if it takes the simplicity of sending an instant message to get them started, then that’s what it takes.
Comments are only open to people with an AOL ScreenName.
AOL Journals does have commenting built into it. That’s the good news. Only people with an AOL ScreenName can write comments. That’s the bad news. Now, this doesn’t mean people have to have an AOL account to write comments. The ScreenName service will accept a free AIM account, if that’s what you have. I guess AOL figured these journals would be written by AOL members, for AOL members, so they didn’t need to worry about locking out people on the outside world. A little shortsighted, maybe, but I think we’re at the point where nearly everyone has at least an AIM account, so I don’t think it’s worth making a huge deal over. If you really have to speak your mind, you could always send a private e-mail.
It is a pain, though, if you’re not signed in to the ScreenName service. You can read the journal, and you can read existing comments. But if you try to write one, you’re taken to the ScreenName login page. You have to log in before you get to the comment editing screen. And when you do get to the screen, all you are given is a text box for your comment. There is no place to enter your name. It uses your screen name. There is no place to put in your web site or e-mail addresses. Instead it makes your screen name a link, using the aol:// protocol, which opens up the Buddy Info window for the comment author in the AOL client. Again, if you don’t have AOL, you’re out of luck here. But, if you don’t have AOL, you’re not important to AOL. So you get what you can.
Comments are shown right on the blog page, underneath the entry. But, they’re hidden unless you specifically request them. You click on the link that says “Show Recent Comments”, and the page uses DHTML to show you the comments. Fundamentally, I guess that’s an easier concept to grasp than pop-up windows or permalink pages. Of course, AOL Journals does have permalinks, similar to Moveable Type’s. One entry per page, with the comments shown underneath it.
You can post entire photo galleries, since AOL Journals is tied into My Pictures. Again, though, viewers need a screen name to see anything.
More to come...
AOL Journals has a basic but effective archive system. Simplicity, once again, is the name of the game.
More to come...
One feature that seems out of place in this “Blogging for Beginners” system is the presence of RSS.
More to come...
Part One of this series covered the process of creating a new AOL Journal. Go there!
Part Two of this series covered the mechanics of actually using your AOL Journal, adding and deleting entries, customizing the sidebar, and changing the choices you made during the setup routine. Go there!
Part One | Part Two | Part Three
