David Weinberger of JOHO writes about the claim by AlwaysOn that they are a “SuperBlog”, and David points out that there’s not really a way for members to “write” in an area that is “them” (that’s how I understand what Weinberger is saying, and that’s what blogging is for me as well:  a place that’s “Me” on the Web.)

The part of AO that might be considered bloggy is pretty clearly a commenting or letters-to-the-editor capability. That’s good to see, and people are writing trenchant commentary. But it’s missing some core stuff that’s central to understanding why bloggery is important: Members don’t get a home page where I can go to read what they’ve written today. The “members profile” page doesn’t count even though it has a linked list of previous posts. This matters (to me, anyway) since I think the most important effect of weblogging is that it creates a persistent place on the Web that comes to stand for the person; a blog site is as close as we’ve come to having a Web self.

Tony is obviously a great marketer. Every time he proclaims AlwaysOn as a “super-blog,” he’s having an actual effect on the world. People who go to AlwaysOn thinking that it’s a prime example of a weblog are going to hear interesting voices — good — but are going to miss what to me is the most important aspect of blogging: the creation of a web of Web selves. That objection is political, not semantics. | see the whole article, AlwaysOnDebate

This is also where I think Church organizations are missing the point.  (Read on in “Churches missing the point”)  

They see the Blog world much like Weinberger perceives Always ON as seering it: That on AO there is no place/space for the persons to be them. It is simply another form of magazine, with multiple contributiing writers. It is EDITED and selections are made.

This is the way Church entitities still think about the Web, and about Weblogs. I had an editor/director of a Website of the theological/Church variety tell me that he doesn’t see the potential in Weblogs for “revenue”. He obviously sees it in the collection of articles on issues related to the topic of their site (it’s a value of aggregated content that attracts people to check back—and I am one who dos read this site. Excellent articles. Meaty stuff. Important stuff). But to stand before Weblogs and say “I don’t see the value” is to approach Weblogs all wrong. It’s like asking the same kind of question in the Church. For example, we don’t ask: “Is there revenue in the idea that we try and figure out how to get people to share themselves, and get to know one another?” We don’t ask that because we are aware that the things that make us “Church” go the very heart of the matter, and that when we become more like “Church”, then support happens. People give. The members commit to being there, and working at it, and supporting it. We don’t ask : “If we do this, will we bring in more budget money?”

So when I hear people look at Weblogs and say “How can we make a business model out of this”? , they are jumping the gun just as badly as those who would have the gall to ask “What money is in it for us” as prerequisite to attempting relationship building. I think we all realize (don’t we?) that the benefits come from the community that is experienced when we commit to learning about each other so that we can support one another in this journey, and help one another to discover what God wants from us. When we set about on the task of finding out how to do this, trying various ways to “get at” this, then community stuff begins to happen. So let’s think abkut this like Church people, Okay? as David weinberger says here, Weblogs are our Web Selves. Churches need the Web Selves of its people as elements of their Church as represented on their Websites. Not brochures about the Church, but some actual representations of the people.

A huge problem is that these skeptics are such because they simply haven’t “explored” enough to get a sense for the “Voice”. Once they do, “aha” happens. That’s what happened to me. After I read Samll Pieces Loosely Joined and Gonzo Marketing, and all the accolades about how Weblogs are helping “spread voice”, aI had to check for myself. I don’t remember how much it took for me to see it. Maybe I’m “quicker” to search for and recognize voice in a web setting than the average “Church person”, but it didn’t take long.