Blogging Metaphor - The "Party Line"

Recently Liz Strauss (professional writer and Blogger) asked her readers to create a "Blogging Metaphor".  Here is the link to the post go ahead...take a look, we'll wait.

Friday, at the Central Iowa Bloggers Meeting Mike Sansone encouraged several of us to consider the challenge and write what we thought might be a good metaphor for blogging.  Here you go...

When I was a kid and lived at 720 Manordale Court in the village of Milford we had a rotary phone like the one in the photo.  (We had only one phone...imagine.)

Unlike today, our telephone was not the only phone on the line.  We shared phone service with several neighbors.  (I am NOT making this up...)  It wasn't uncommon to pick up the "receiver" (that's what we called the thing we talked in and listed to) to make a call and hear another conversation going on.

If you wanted...you could listen in. 

If you had to make an emergency call the first people to learn the reason of the call wasn't the intended party...it was the two people already on the line talking:  "Hi, I have to make a call to find my brother.  He said he was over at Bill's house.  I need to call have him come home."

Sometimes they would offer the desired feedback:  "Oh, Hi Michael you're looking for John?  I just saw him ride his bike past the house it looked like he was headed home."

No need to make the call...just go look out the door.

Blogging is the "party line" of today.  If you choose, you can listen in...maybe even join the conversation.  You can communicate ideas, information, feelings...with, not just the neighbors, but the world.

And you can be polite..."Just click the receiver twice if you want to use the phone".  Thanks for the advice Mom...it still works.

Michael P. Libbie - Insight Advertising, Marketing & Communications where you can always join our party line...by clicking here.

Comments

[Liz Strauss]

Hi Mike!
A Party Line -- that explains a bit of the "blogger synchronicity." We're mentally looking out the same "window." :)

[Rush Nigut]

That's a great metaphor in an Andy Griffith sort of way. (I am kidding you of course). Well said.

Rush

[Nic Darling]

I like the metaphor. It's my first time here but this made me smile so I'll be back. I like the ability to connect the old (rotary phone) with modern technology. Hmmm, party line cell phones . . . probably wouldn't catch. There has been a strange growth of both community and privacy hasn't there. Virtual communities valuing personal privacy. Anyway, thanks for the smile.

[Michael Libbie]

Hey Nick...thanks for coming by for a look. Glad we could help turn the corners of your mouth a little. One wonders what the next day may bring in our world of communication. MPL