Yesterday I revived a mailing list I started in 1995 when I was working at IBM. It has nearly 5,000 subscribers, though I hadn't posted to it in well over a year. I sent a simple message -- some of them have reached 3,000 words in the past -- basically saying hello, how ya doin, and inviting these "Valued Readers" (a long-standing joke) to check out this blog.

Well, pardners, I don't think I've ever gotten as many replies in a single 24-hour period in the whole time I've been online. And that's been a long old time (e.g., my email address turned ten this year). Even more amazing, this mail tsunami was 99.9% positive. Usually, given half a chance, people will kick my ass just for the hell of it. But everyone's been real cordial and sweet. I'll have to do something to rile them all up again. Don't worry, I'll think of something.

One thing that stood out in these responses was that many folks still prefer lists over blogs. I've been thinking about this for a long time now, as has my friend and co-author David Weinberger. Lists and blogs have differing strengths and weaknesses, and not all these are patently obvious at first glance. Plus, many of these differences relate not to the form itself, but to readers' proclivities (sometimes referred to as "likes and dislikes," in case you don't have a dictionary handy).

At any rate, I'd like to thank all of you who've started checking out the CBO site as the result of my mailing. I can assure you that I'll be listing & blogging both in future -- and that yes, I did take that bath. <g>