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What BikeSnobNYC can teach us about writing for the web

In just a few years, Eben Weiss’ BikeSnobNYC blog has become one of the most popular humorous cultural anaylsis blogs on the ‘Net, albeit from a cyclists’ point of view. BikeSnobNYC’s writing is humorous, poignant, and merciless all at the same time. His brazen style has paid off, for in 2010, BikeSnobNYC became a regular columnist for Bicycling magazine, the blog was nominated for best sports weblog on the weblog awards (a.k.a the bloggies), and he released a book: Bike Snob - Systematically & Mercilessly Realigning the World of Cycling.

Even though some may argue that BikeSnobNYC’s focus is narrow and his purview is somewhat provincial, I believe his writing style has much to teach us about writing effectively on the web.

Purpose

First off, BikeSnobNYC writes with a purpose: to offer an common-sense alternative voice to the consumeristic world of cycling. In a recent interview, Weiss said “A lot of cycling media exists to tell people about awesome stuff they need or should want. And there is awesome stuff we all want. But it’s important to have a voice that says, ‘You don’t need it. You don’t have to want this.’”

Audience

Beyond this, BikeSnobNYC knows his audience, for he’s a self-describe “mediocre” amatuer racer with Gotham Bikes in Brooklyn, New York. But that doesn’t mean he’s snooty about it either, far from it - Snobby, as he’s affectionately known, loves to take shots at the “fixerati”, those cyclists who eschew brakes and ride fixed-gear bicycles. Snobby thinks riding in the streets of New York City without brakes is one of the stupidest things a cyclist can do.

BikeSnobNYC’s intimate familiarity with the bicycling “scene” allows him to mockingly criticize at will, from those who pine after the latest and greatest gear, to those who believe that steal-framed track bikes from the 1970s are the epitomy of bicycle technology. He derides DINKS who express concern that their grossly-expensive carbon fiber bicycles might deteriorate from too much heat and cold. He also pokes fun at professional cyclists who like to “fingerbang”.

Story

BikeSnobNYC’s bi-weekly posts are similar to taking a short journey with a sarcastic, likeable tour guide through the oftentimes bizarre world of cycling.
BikeSnobNYC’s readers send him numerous examples of the consumeristic-bent of modern cycling (and contemporary culture) that include outrageous Craigslist ads to artistic concept bicycles that eschew spokes and are made from wood.

Furthermore, there are characters, both real and fictional, that appear throughout the blog, from Vito the Helper Monkey to Spencer, his ironic intern. There is also a peculiar BikeSnobNYC vocabulary in place: “doucherati”, “fixerati”, “AYHSMB”, “fingerbang”, “Dashhound of Time”, “pant yabbies”, and many others.   
 
These elements encourage one of the best aspects of blogging: the comments. Some people only read blogs for the comments, which are often more poignant and witty than the blog itself.

A Personal Reflection

I’ve been reading BikeSnobNYC for a few months now, and even though I don’t own a fixie, commute to work on a bike, or have ever served as a bicycle messenger, I’m addicted to the blog. It’s like an inside joke that you get, or a cold splash of common sense. Snobby knows who he’s writing to and what he has to say, and that’s a lethal combination that’s rarely found on the Web today. 

 

Posted by Jesse on 05/31 at 06:47 PM

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Tired of Talking About Web Fonts

And if you read the forums or follow any popular designers/developers (Zeldman, Cedarholm, Clarke, etc.,) they pretty much all agree = @font-face is gonna change the game. Once the CSS3 spec is broadly implemented, you can use whatever fonts you’d like in your webpage (provided they’re available, of course). And with Typekit, you don’t even have to wait - with the Trial library, you can embed fonts into your website for free. I tried it and wasn’t too impressed but that’s just me.

Sure, I see the appeal, but I’d rather use an extensive font stack than rely on a bit of JavaScript trickery. Granted, my website will never be known for its’ font selection, but that’s not my intention. Remember, it’s about the content, people. Fonts may deliver the content, but if you’ve got nothing worthwhile to say, it doesn’t matter how pretty the fonts are. 

Posted by Jesse on 03/06 at 09:51 PM

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If at first you don’t suceed…

Yeah, I’ve decided to do a triathlon. The Great Illini Challenge in Mattoon, Illinois, on September 4, to be exact. I’m still deciding on the distance, though my wife is urging me to do the shorter, Olympic distance. We’ll see.

Of course, this is a departure from my regular post content. I’m not talking about web-related stuff, though it is related, if only indirectly. I’ve determined that I need to write often about things that interest me, even if it doesn’t concern web development. Trust me, since it’s my nine-to-five job, I’m surrounded by plenty of web development content, though it’s not my life. Hence, this post.

If I’m going to do a triathlon, I need a tri-bike. So I bid on and won a “new old stock” 2002 Cannondale Multisport 2000 on eBay for $610. Yeah, that’s a $2400 bike for $610, though it’s almost eight years later. This bike really is in new condition, albeit it has been sitting on the showroom floor for the last eight years (one wonders how much they were charging if it sat for that long). Anyway, one of the main reasons I bid on it was because online reviews of the model stated that the 2002 Ironman World Championship was won on this bike. Oh, the dreams…

Hence, the Internet. Without the research tools afforded by Google, I probably wouldn’t have bid on this bike, much less this fiercely.

But here I am. With a “Made-in-the-USA” handmade aluminum frame that’s eight years old, compliments of eBay. Full Shimano Ultegra 6500 drivetrain, with Dura-Ace shifters. And yeah, I swim three times a week in a pool. It’s a triathlon, after all. 

Posted by Jesse on 03/04 at 02:45 AM

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CSS Zen Garden FAILS

Don’t get me wrong, you can still view the CSS Zen Garden. It’s just that the newest entries are over a year old, with nary a hope for more.

Why is this? Well, first off, IMHO, the CSS Zen Garden has run its course. It has served its’ purpose, and is no longer needed. Dave Shea started the CSS Zen Garden in order to demonstrate to designers what could be accomplished with CSS2. This mandate has largely been fulfilled. We’re onto CSS3 (which has a slow and steady adoption).

When I first started out, the CSS Zen Garden was included into the staple of web standards perfection, a body which demonstrated what could be accomplished with CSS alone. Nonetheless, with the advent of various JS libraries, CSS adoption by itself looks to be pretty uninspiring. Sure, CSS works when JS is disabled, but how many of you know users who browse the web with JS disabled? And use a sub-par browser, at that? I didn’t think so.

CSS Zen Garden, rest in peace.

Posted by Jesse on 01/19 at 03:42 AM

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