Ooooh. Heller just asked "What's the difference between a Design Observer post and a Speak Up post?"

Getting a little snap-tastic with the blogetition?

Michael's talking about getting comments... sometimes they get really interesting ones. "We probably value links as much as comments."

Armin: It's clear what the difference is. I think I better shut up now before I stick my foot in my mouth. There's a certain seriousness to Design Observer, but we're more loose, more relaxed in a way.

Heller: Speak Up has evolved. You used to say "fuck" alot, which I'd never heard on Design Observer. When did you become a little less colloquial?

Armin: There's no use in just being obscene.

Michael: I worked it out earlier. Deisgn Observer: big words, Speak Up: dirty words.

SH: What about you, Jen?

Jen: The reason I enjoy blogging, is from one of the issues I had with writing with a capital W, which is that there are all these conventions about how you're supposed to write. With blogging I can express myself in a way that's very fluent.

SH: Do you filter it at all?

Jen: I think the thing that's the most shocking is how excited and surprised people are when you have an opinion. Just before I stopped writing unbeige I did a series of posts about the Nike store in Soho, right around the corner from the gallery. I said it was Bullshit! This is bullshit! It's very far to me from the brand that it had been. It just wasn't interesting and innovative. And I just said It sucks! The response was huge! I was like it's not anything that no one else hasn't said to me. I got all this supportive email.

[side note: we have mad opinions! where's the love???]

Jen: Another thing I like about blogging is it's not yet so beholden to advertising. People aren't like Oh, I have to not piss off my advertiser. There are blog businesses -- Gawker Media...

SH: Gawker's the parent company of Unbeige, right?

Jen: No, that's umm....Mediabistro... I think they have a business plan. Actually, I have to say, business plans about blogging, it bugs the shit out of me.

EEPS!!!

Talking about blogger etiquette:

Kottke: I don't write anything that would upset my mother. And I don't write things about people that I know without asking them.

Er... not so sure we got that memo...

Things have calmed down now, so we're gonna just get back to making eyes at Michael over the conference room chairs while Sidekick falls asleep.