10-4 Good Blogger

It s always kind of a weird feeling to have an idea or observation pop into your head and then suddenly realize others have already had the same idea or made the same observation. I had just such a moment last night when I read this post on Eric Zorn's blog.

You see, I was in the shower a few days ago when, out of nowhere, I thought, "Blogs are the new CBs". I believe that thought grew out of a general feeling of familiarity I've had since starting my own blog just over two months ago.

If you are old enough to remember the mid-1970s, you will also remember the CB (Citizen's Band) radio craze. The popularity of CBs hit just about the time I acquired my own, something I had wanted to do for a year or two before that. Since I was just 14 and had limited resources, I went in on it with a friend (sometimes TEH reader JB) and financed it through the Bank of Dad (who we actually made monthly payments to).

There is just something about doing this blog that reminds me of that time. It's a new and cool way to communicate and everyone seems to be getting their own blog. It feels like a "craze". Also, many bloggers (and those writing comments) don't reveal their own identity, often choosing anonymous "handles" as they were called in CB jargon (my 1970s CB handle? -The April Fool). That's about as far as the comparison goes, I guess, but it was enough for me to make the connection in my own mind.

I thought about blogging about my new-found cultural comparison but passed thinking it sounded pretty silly. And there were other things to blog about. However, judging from Zorn's post, I wasn't alone in my thinking.

BUT...Zorn disagrees that blogs are the new CBs:

The prediction that the blog phenomenon will quickly all but flicker out
like the CB phenomenon before it is already false.

CB radios grabbed the attention of the American public in 1974 during a
truckers' strike. Sets sold literally by the millions, and the fad reached its
grim heights in January, 1976 when the song "Convoy" was absolutely unavoidable on the radio.

But the downward slide was precipitous, and by 1980, just six years
after their heyday began, CBs were once again virtually the sole province of
commercial truckers.

(This online history has more detail.)

The blog-splosion began with the introduction of such free, easy-to-use
blogging programs as "Blogger" in 1999. And now, nearly six years after it
began, the number of blogs worldwide is estimated at 7.7 million and still growing rapidly.

[snip]

Will the growth taper off and stop? Eventually, sure. But not until that 60
percent of the market is exposed and tapped.

Those who write blogs will burn out, but others will take their place.
Those who read blogs will replace old sites in their favorites lists with new
ones.

OK, blogs aren't CBs in most respects but the whole thing does have a similar feel. All we need now is C.W. McCall to come up with a bloggers' theme song.

UPDATE: Eric Zorn in a follow-up post today admits to a CB/Blog relationship. Says Eric:

Blogs, in their way, address part of the same desire that sparked the CB radio
boomlet -- a desire we also saw in the rise and fall of computer bulletin
boards.

Told ya.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Kevin Drum uses the phrase "10-4, good buddy" in a post today. Tell me again how blogs are unlike CBs.