Folks, it’s pronounced “wee blog” not “web log”. First, just think about it. If the word was pronounced “web log” then why would it ever be shortened to “blog”. Second, and probably more importantly, ask the guy who came up with the concept.
“Suddenly a community sprang up. It was easy to read all of the weblogs on Cameron’s list, and most interested people did. Peter Merholz announced in early 1999 that he was going to pronounce it “wee-blog” and inevitably this was shortened to “blog” with the weblog editor referred to as a “blogger.”
— “Weblogs: A History and Perspective” by Rebecca Blood, September 7, 2000 as published in we’ve got blog Perseus Publishing, 2002.
Even better, I found a blog entry from Mr. Merholz that backs this up!
As such, it’s weird to experience how my love of words and wordplay has actually made an impact. Sometime in April or May of 1999 (I can’t say for sure when I exactly did it), I posted, in the sidebar of my homepage:
“For What It’s Worth
I’ve decided to pronounce the word “weblog” as wee’- blog. Or “blog” for short.”I didn’t think much of it. I was just being silly, shifting the syllabic break one letter to the left. I started using the word in my posts, and some folks, when emailing me, would use it, too. I enjoyed it’s crudeness, it’s dissonance…
I realize that I might be fighting a loosing battle here but it’s just like Greg Schwartz ranting about when people use the term podcast to describe plain ol’ downloadable audio content. (In fact, hearing “web log” over and over in the ALA Library 2.0 podcast that Greg was complaining that led me to write this post.)
Additionally, and least importantly, pronouncing it correctly is what makes the title of my blogging workshop funny. (“I blog, you blog, weblog!”) Usually one person in the room gets it without explanation. Everyone else gets it about 10 minutes into the class, once I’ve explained it.
