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Marc Canter: Korean Blogs Filled with Scraps, Lack Uniqueness

Marc Canter: Korean Blogs Filled with Scraps, Lack Uniqueness

Posted July. 22, 2005 06:11,   

한국어

Korean blogs are filled with scraps and do not show much unique character in the eyes of American bloggers, according to Marc Canter, known as “the father of blogs” among Internet users.

On the afternoon of July 15, a middle-aged foreigner and nine Koreans had a discussion on blog culture at a Korean barbeque house in Jong-gak, Seoul.

The foreigner was Marc Canter.

A blog is a type of a personal Internet bulletin board, very popular in the U.S. and Europe, on which various kinds of articles, photos, and essays on certain topics are posted. Canter is leading a campaign of sharing and openness, the most important values of blogs.

Blogs and Mini-Homepages–

SK Communications initiated the boom in “mini homepages” with “Cyworld” and it seeks to advance into the U.S. market. Canter’s visit to Seoul this time was to consult on the matter. The meeting was arranged by Canter, who showed a unique way of inviting people as “the father of blogs.”

During his week-long visit to Korea, he left a message on his blog, saying, “I’d like to invite bloggers from the Seoul area to come on out and party!”

In the Korean way of speaking, it was the equivalent of a “lightning meeting” or a sudden meeting, but he used the expression, “Bloggers’ Dinner.”

Cyworld has had great success with its “mini homepage service” with over 13 million subscribers in Korea.

A Mini homepage is a type of a blog with the added twist of compatibility with a unique service that lets users form networks with friends.

Canter seemed to have found the service rather strange, as there is no such culture in the U.S. to form a personal network in this way. So he said he could not understand why the friends formed through this network swap other friends’ photos and articles and post them on their mini homepages.

Canter explained, “As American bloggers go seriously deeper into topics of their interest, their blogs are filled with good information. Most bloggers are maniacs in certain fields with deep knowledge.”

By contrast, Korean “mini homepages” are special in that they are decorated with eye-catching multimedia. Most mini homepages have photos, videos, and music available, but this flashiness is not something that is found in American ones.”

Next-Generation Blogs–

For the American version of Cyworld, Canter is thinking of a service where not only articles and photos but also voice and videos can be posted and shared among users.

Korea already has abundant services providing voice and videos. The problem here is it costs money.



Sang-Hoon Kim sanhkim@donga.com