Death Of A Blogger: The Passing Of Mike Wolf
It seems unfortunate that I never met Mike Wolf. I learned about him through a blog. I learned more by reading his blog. And I eventually learned about his passing suddenly by reading a blog.
What is most eerie, is HIS blog.
It’s still there, almost living and breathing as would have been 48+ hours ago. I’d imagine that no person has access/knows how to login and post a full article, so on his last post all of his friends and cohorts have all chimed in as 30+ comments. The internet, in this most peculiar form of communication - the blog, is serving it’s original purpose of disseminating information. What makes it odd is the nature of the info and the context of its presentation. His blog seems to be a living testament to him and his friendships and more.
This could very well be an inflection point for the medium of the blog format.
The nature of blogging and the design of this digital medium has evolved into fleeting artistry. We designers (usually with the not-so altruistic intention of paying our bills) push redesigns every 6-10 months, overwriting one art with another and it’s all as easy as dragging a file from one folder to the next. What if Da Vinci’s master sketches, designs, and journals were overwritten by my simple sketches? How many designers have exact working copies/prototypes of designs from years ago? Design, websites, and even blogs can and should elevate, if not aspire, to being cultural artifacts (this is after all, the purpose of www.Archive.org)
That being said, I am certain that there was more to Mike Wolf’s life than his blog, but the fact that his blog still exists is eerie: an empty house when you still hear (and read) his voice of days yore. An abrupt end acknowledged by the digital emptiness to follow. Mike may go down as the first blogger in history to have passed away??? May he rest in peace.
