Part 1 here
The unholy combination of smartphone tech and clever software has brought about another cultural change. Facebook is only just older than this Blog. Not that many would have known about "The Facebook" 15 years ago. In many respects, Facebook has made the Rhuthun/Ruthin Blog superfluous. Yet, if I once felt that damaging public comments on the Blog were divisive and destructive, they were nothing compared to the bile for a time unleashed on FB.
In the climate of social media, is the Rhuthun/Ruthin Blog still relevant?
This blog takes up a good deal of my time. It isn't made public and, as such, if hardly anybody's interested or reading, why bother? The alternatives, especially Facebook, offer instant feedback and that's available to anyone who tend to be self-publicists (and, sometimes, don't we know it). The short form and the image are king. Most people spend their free time looking at family photos or watching comic videos or even looking at what their contacts are having down the pub or restaurant. Responses are via emoji. So, in a virtual world akin to that of bundling down a Big Mac, why bother writing anything, when nobody has time to digest it?
In spite of this, I'd argue that this blog is still relevant. It cannot give instant updates like other social media. If you want to know if the parking wardens are in town, FB’s your site. But what the Blog can do and I believe still does is offer much-needed literate, fleshed-out, unbiased comment and a pre-written history of Rhuthun that continues to be unmatched elsewhere even today—except perhaps among the pages of the excellent post-December 2017 Town and Around, of course!
The Rhuthun/Ruthin Blog was the first to report the chorus of colour that is our double yellow lines. In its time, it’s been falsely accused of "an air of despondency". And why back then Tesco employees had short-sightedly lambasted the blog when all we’ve ever tried to do is mark the changes taking effect in town. The blog's still appreciated by those who follow it and, who knows, we may yet outlive Tesco, the original reason for our being here. For, these days in retail, anything’s now possible.
Rhuthun/Ruthin Blog, since February 2005
No. of posts to date: 1,504
The unholy combination of smartphone tech and clever software has brought about another cultural change. Facebook is only just older than this Blog. Not that many would have known about "The Facebook" 15 years ago. In many respects, Facebook has made the Rhuthun/Ruthin Blog superfluous. Yet, if I once felt that damaging public comments on the Blog were divisive and destructive, they were nothing compared to the bile for a time unleashed on FB.
In the climate of social media, is the Rhuthun/Ruthin Blog still relevant?
This blog takes up a good deal of my time. It isn't made public and, as such, if hardly anybody's interested or reading, why bother? The alternatives, especially Facebook, offer instant feedback and that's available to anyone who tend to be self-publicists (and, sometimes, don't we know it). The short form and the image are king. Most people spend their free time looking at family photos or watching comic videos or even looking at what their contacts are having down the pub or restaurant. Responses are via emoji. So, in a virtual world akin to that of bundling down a Big Mac, why bother writing anything, when nobody has time to digest it?
In spite of this, I'd argue that this blog is still relevant. It cannot give instant updates like other social media. If you want to know if the parking wardens are in town, FB’s your site. But what the Blog can do and I believe still does is offer much-needed literate, fleshed-out, unbiased comment and a pre-written history of Rhuthun that continues to be unmatched elsewhere even today—except perhaps among the pages of the excellent post-December 2017 Town and Around, of course!
The Rhuthun/Ruthin Blog was the first to report the chorus of colour that is our double yellow lines. In its time, it’s been falsely accused of "an air of despondency". And why back then Tesco employees had short-sightedly lambasted the blog when all we’ve ever tried to do is mark the changes taking effect in town. The blog's still appreciated by those who follow it and, who knows, we may yet outlive Tesco, the original reason for our being here. For, these days in retail, anything’s now possible.
Some basic cosmetic work at Tesco Rhuthun in late 2019, tarting the place up ahead of celebrating with us 15 years of the Rhuthun/Ruthun Blog
Rhuthun/Ruthin Blog, since February 2005
No. of posts to date: 1,504
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