In the beginning, there was blog. Then came vlog (video blog). Then Amazon came along with--and even trademarked--Plog (personalized web log). Now Dan Fost at SFGate.com alerts us to "flog," a mashup of "forum" and "blog" developed by Emeryville, California-based communications company Lithium.
Ouch.
Fost helpfully points out that according to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, flog means "'to beat with or as if with a rod or whip.' Other definitions include 'to criticize harshly,' 'to sell (as stolen goods) illegally, 'to promote aggressively' and 'to move along with difficulty.'"
Today being Independence Day, we ran "flog" up the flogpole. Nobody saluted.
You'll be relieved to know that Lithium is in neither the flagellation nor the mood-altering business, but rather has "a passion for providing customer community solutions that drive sales and lower customer care cost."
When food blogs first started out a few people began calling them "flogs". Didn't last long. Who wants to pour their heart and soul into building something that is synonymous with a whipping? Blog is an ugly enough word to begin with, no need to make it worse.
Posted by: Elise | July 07, 2006 at 08:58 AM