Friday, November 12, 2004 12:09 PM
I have been following with interest the efforts of some bloggers to obtain a International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) for their weblog. An ISSN is a unique eight digit number assigned, often by a country's main library or research body (in the U.S., the Library of Congress), to every serial publication.
These weblog authors believe that their blog is a serial publication that simply uses a different medium than print on paper. To this point, the governing bodies which issue the ISSNs have basically said the jury is still out on the issue.
For a good starting point on the ISSN question, here are a couple of blog posts [post 1 | post 2 ] from which you can dive into the blogosphere.
At the very least, it is evident that the international ISSN community recognizes that some serious discussion of whether a blog is a serial (and thus qualifies for an ISSN) needs to take place. Stay tuned...