One of the many ways Bruce Sterling is brilliant is his ability to churn out useful analogies. In this interview he explains the ephemeral nature of blogging in a way that resonates strongly with me:

I’m a blogger and I’m very keen on randomly-assembled narrative chunks, but I’ve always known that blog content has a short shelf-life. It’s like doing stand-up comedy.

Just so. I take him to mean that a blog post has a moment and a context and an intended audience. Even if it “works” on the moment it’s delivered, it isn’t designed or intended to make sense or offer amusement a year later. Sometimes, though serendipity, it may; but that’s neither the intention nor (usually) the outcome.

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