Coast to Coast Like Buttered Toast
After a two-year hiatus my favorite Web site (and the only "webzine" I've ever followed) is back. Yes, folks, if you have never experienced The Plug, you're in for...some weird but strangely funny stuff. Follow the adventures of Atlanta-based Jay, Patti, Jason and more as they delve into such topics as how to make a fort in your living room and experiment with what will and won't be delivered through the mail. There are now January and February issues available. Unfortunately Jay has removed the older issues from the archives, presumably to get you to buy his book (which I will). That's too bad, though. If I could send you to the series on "Mystery Can", "Mystery Wardrobe" and the sub sandwich challenge, you would spend the rest of today reading and laughing and getting nothing else done.
One minor note - The Plug's navigation, especially within a series, can seem, um, "obscure", although once you get the feel for how they tend to set up links it's fine. But if you find yourself reading something and think, "That's it?", look for links near the bottom of the page that may lead on to more. Or not. You'll see. Also, it doesn't look like RSS is available, which is too bad.
Anyway, go check it out. You will either love it and be hooked immediately or go "Huh" and never return. You can guess which camp I am in.
One minor note - The Plug's navigation, especially within a series, can seem, um, "obscure", although once you get the feel for how they tend to set up links it's fine. But if you find yourself reading something and think, "That's it?", look for links near the bottom of the page that may lead on to more. Or not. You'll see. Also, it doesn't look like RSS is available, which is too bad.
Anyway, go check it out. You will either love it and be hooked immediately or go "Huh" and never return. You can guess which camp I am in.
8 comments:
I don't really see how you could put a site like that in RSS. I sort of think the minimalist layout is part of the desired effect of something pointless-but-entertaining like that site.
I created several different sites a lot like that in the early days of the web. Spent many hours crafting carefully thought-out nonsense, and in the end probably mostly entertained only myself, and confused random passers-by.
But it's cool. I just wonder if they really have a lot of visitors. Seems like a pretty eclectic niche.
But that's the beauty of the Web. The entry cost is so low that if you're willing to do something purely for the vanity of it, then you can, and you will probably find SOMEBODY who will like it. As my friend Aaron says, "It's not that it takes all kinds, it's that there ARE all kinds."
And really, blogging the same thing. If I had worried about the number of visitors when I started this thing, I wouldn't have started it. And as it is I don't have many, but enough to know I am not "speaking to the empty room", at least not usually, and that's enough for me.
No, when you participate in the internet, you're never "speaking to the empty room", really.
You're teaching The Machine to think.
(Bonus points if you understand what I'm referring to there)
1) You haven't seen the Google Analytics and Technorati stats to my other blog. :-) Of course, I don't whore that blog as far as link love goes as much as I do this blog, because this blog has more of the personal me in it.
2) It's late, I'm tired, and without extensive googling I have to admit I don't get the reference. Which is fine - I am the prince of obscure references (my friend JimP, who has no Web presence, is the Emperor of obscure references, so I can never lay claim to that title - and after seeing am master at work, why would one want to? :-)
Here are a couple of things I had in mind with that obscure reference:
We are the Web
The Machine is Us
The first is a fairly long, but interesting, perspective on the history (and future) of the web. The second is a clever video that incorporates some of the same ideas and concepts in more of a "classroom" style.
Have to check it out...
C'mon - we can scrape it and provide RSS! Not that I've done it but just recently was reading about it one of my technical blogs.... I'm quite sure some webapp somewhere online would provide the capability, and of course for free :)
Yeah now that site *would* be a challenge to convert into RSS!!!
Chris,
So you will just have to remember to return every month, like I do. Gee, how HARD that seems, now that we're all spoiled by feeds. :-)
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