365questions.org

Since I re-started blogging after 3 years, with the ambition of raising at least 365 meaningful questions, this hobby gradually took a larger part of my days.

So it started to make me think of that infamous little toy of the nineties.

(Definition : “For anyone who spent the 90s living in a lunar crater with their entire head submerged in porridge, Tamagotchi (Japanese for lovable egg) were pocket-sized electronic gizmos containing an animated pet that ‘lived’ on a little screen.”)

So can Blogging be like raising a Tamagotchi ?

Yes, it can.

• Just like Tamagotchis, Blogs are “hard to raise, they need near-constant attention”.

• Just like Tamagotchis, Blogs “evolve in their lifetime depending on how well the user takes care of it, and which version of the Tamagotchi the user has”.

• Depending on the time you spend feeding it, your Blog will vary in its lifetime from “Hello World, this is my first post” to xujinglei BLOG or whoever the most popular Blog is at the moment according to Technorati.

• Just like Tamagotchis, Blogs “immediately start squeaking and crying for attention from its owner”.

• Just like Tamagotchis, there are several ways in which you might customize your blog. For Tamagotchis, “the most obvious being to paint it a different color, or draw designs on it with paints or markers”.

Same with Blogs, you can change the layout of your blog in one single click, add custom plug-ins and widgets, edit the CSS style.

• The Tamagotchis, like Blogs, “have distinct personalities, ranging from happy, long-living creatures to selfish little bastards”

• Tamagotchis 2.0 are under way :

“Advanced Tamagotchis can interact with fellow pets over a nifty infrared connection”, (the Rss equivalent of your standard Wordpress Blog).

“Tamagotchis can become friends with other Tamagotchi owners and store a ‘friend list’ of up to 50 friends”.

Just like your average Blogroll.

But on the other end, no, Blogs are definitely less advanced than Tamagotchis :

• “When your Tamagotchi goes to the bathroom (leaves a pile of poo on the screen), you must use the duck icon to clean it up”. Blogs leave the screen clean.

• “Tamagotchi will be very happy after the mess is cleaned up”. Blogs don’t have feelings.

• “Occasionally, a predator (one is a foot and one is a frog from the ocean) attacks, and the care taker has to use the voice and touch-sensitive functions by shouting or tapping at the screen to scare away the predator”.

Occasionally, a spammer wants to ruin your blog.. But do not fear. Nothing can hurt a Blog, except your own negligence…And it’s no use shouting and tapping at the screen.

• “Tamagotchi, the popular digital pet from the 90s, is coming back, and this time it will be able to date, fall in love, and even have babies.”

Blogs, as far as I know, still don’t reproduce themselves, even if they proliferate.

• “For those who are hesitant to take the step toward parenthood, the mobile version of Tamagotchi is now resilient enough to withstand prolonged neglect.”

Not your kids. Turn off the computer NOW !

• “A Tamagotchi is a “cyber creature who has traveled millions of miles from its home planet to learn what life is like on earth”.

• “When it is time for Tamagotchi to return to its home planet, there is nothing you can do, but don’t worry, you can always hatch another egg”.

You can also say “Good Bye Tamagotchis, Hello World”.

PS : Facts from Factbites

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 19th, 2006 at 11:12 pm and is filed under Blogging, Real Questions, Unusual. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.