Apologies to those Thanet bloggers that did not get a visit from me and a comment in my Tuesday Evening Roundup of blogs. The problem was down to your chosen host (blogger.com) having a technical fault with the commenting system. Blogs not on this platform might have seen me but as most Thanet Bloggers are on Blogger (still)...

There is something to be said for variety within a population. Not only does it insulate against global devastation (ask any farmer) it also leads to better innovation and less copy-cat sites. We've not seen too much of the later yet but as this niche grows I am sure we will.

If you need help establishing yourself on a hosted solution with your own domain name you can always contact me. Just click my name on any article that I have written. Easy.

The biggest issue on the minds of bloggers in Thanet seems to be that all prevailing (British) obsession - the weather. Over at Zumi the discussion at least comes with the good news that there are no immediate warnings for the area to come with the high winds and heavy rain.

In a related story The Big Blog talks of a power cut in Ramsgate that was more selective than normal with the houses failed. Unfortunately with bad weather and a rather questionable work ethic from the energy companies means that this time of year power cuts are all to common. Fortunately being a programmer with a laptop I can carry on working (without internet access as the router has no back up) but it is still a drag.

On that topic Mrs Tara Plumbing has a post about a burst boiler. It seems that a land lord was remiss in his maintenance and someone got hurt (ouch!)

But just because we are lucky other parts of the world are not doing so well. The BBC reports that the next 48 hours are the critical time frame in which we could see some very bad flooding or worse. "A repeat of July 2007's devastation is feared after rain began lashing western England overnight."

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» Continue Reading: A very rainy day.

I have noticed from the site's stats that a lot of people visit without saying anything. Which is fine, after all this is a "free" country (for given values of free) but at the same time there is no special reason hold back. say what you think both for and against the article) or even pulling it up for grammar violations if you really wish).

So long as we remember that we (mostly) all live within about five or six miles of each other and might have to share a room one day I think we can all get along just fine. Disagreements and all.

so here is the lowdown on comments.

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» Continue Reading: Please feel free to comment

As we look back over the year that has ended and towards to potential for 2008 I thought it a good opportunity to ponder where Thanet blogging has come from and where it can yet go.

Back in 2006 there was not even a scene worth talking about. Yet come 2007 we had blossomed to a point that the local news actually took note. This is quite significant given the level of ICT illiteracy in the Thanet and the limited number of users with Internet access.

And so they should. Blogging is widely held to be "the people's journalism" allowing the voice of all levels to be given a platform with a relatively even footing. Currently, of course, as a young blogging scene (blogging has existed in some form since at least 1983) we have a way to go before coverage or even readership is in any way significant. When I talk of significance I talk of readership I refer to the global readership of blogs by members of the Thanet population rather than the micro successes of some blogs.

But what territory have we yet to cover?

This is my breakdown of the most obvious challenges still before the community. Challenges that will be filled in one way or another leaving only the question of who will take the success first.

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» Continue Reading: At the start of 2008