Bug Me Not Demise Brings Up Other Issues
August 19th, 2004One of the problems that I face with writing an column devoted to the Internet for a print publication (Public Libraries Magazine) is that the articles are published almost 4-6 months after the final draft has to be in. In Internet time, that is an eternity. Case in point. My Nov/Dec column is about our favorite online resources and tools. I spent a great deal of space on Bug Me Not, an incredible resource that allows users to bypass annoying registrations for online newspapers (and other sites that require registration). Today, I learned that Bug Me Not has been taken offline due to hosting issues. There is no mention of whether it will be back online or not, but it would be sad if it doesn’t, but that’s not the point of this post.
The point is that I probably have to be a bit more discretionary when choosing resources to write about in my column because of the aforementioned lag time between draft and publication. It’s sad really. I want the column to be cutting edge, discussing new technologies and resources that librarians can use to assist their patrons and staff, but now I’m afraid to mention anything new as it may disappear within a month of my writing about it.
I think I’ll be able to retract my Bug Me Not mention in my Nov/Dec column (as I just handed it in last week - I’ll contact my editor in the AM), but this is a perfect example of why weblogs and other online publication mechanisms work when discussing cutting edge topics. Because they are in real time. If Bug Me Not comes back on tomorrow (and if the man above is in a good mood, it will), then I can just post it here. I won’t have to worry about waiting another 4-6 months to print a addendum to an column.