Whitman Award winners announced

4 December 1998 (DNN) -- The editors of Savoy magazine, drawing from the suggestions of a handful of prominent diarists, has announced the latest round of winners of the Whitman Awards. The Whitmans are one of the more established awards for online journals. This year, Savoy magazine hoped to improve the legitimacy of the Whitman Awards by working with a panel of judges. However, according to editor G. K. Nelson, few of those invited to participate actually submitted nominees. Later this month, a special group of "Editors' Choice" winners -- chosen entirely by the Savoy magazine staff -- will be announced.

'The Journal Baby' arrives

23 November 1998 (DNN) -- North Carolina diarist Renee gave birth to a baby girl at 9:22 p.m. 'The Journal Baby,' whose name has yet to be announced, weighs 6 pounds, 10 ounces, and is 10-inches long. Renee's pending motherhood was honored recently by a 'Virtual Baby Shower' thrown by several fellow diarists. The birth announcement was made on Renee's behalf by friend Mary Carter in an announcement on the DIARY-L mailing list.

Anonymous diary host hits 1k

22 November 1998 (DNN) -- The Open Diary, a site that allows people to publish online diaries anonymously, is now home to over 1,000 authors. The Open Diary uses a web-based interface that allows entries to be posted entirely through a standard web browser, eliminating the need for HTML coding or file transfers. "In its first thirty days online, The Open Diary has already been hugely successful, with 1.1 million pages served to over 50,000 visitors," writes Bruce Ableson, who runs the OpenDiary site.

California diarist returns

12 November 1998 (DNN) -- Danny McGuffin, the diarist behind the "Asians OnLine" and "Tattoo Parlour" journal lists, has restarted his web diary. The new title, "JD Journal" (Jocelyn and Dan Journal), reflects McGuffin's decision to write with the full knowledge of his girlfriend. "my life involves her and keeping something like this from her is very difficult," he writes. "I do not want to keep secrets from her."

Web diarist cookbook in the works

8 November 1998 (DNN) -- Alaska diarist Jackie of "Estrogen" is putting together the "Cooking with the Online Journallers Cookbook," to be built entirely of recipies submitted by current and former diarists. "As of yet, there is nothing tangible that represents us," Jackie writes. "'Cooking with the Online Journallers' is my effort to create just that." Appetizers, vegetarian recipies and desserts are still wanted, as are cooking tips. The deadline for submission is Dec. 15. She estimates the final cost of the cookbook to be under $10, excluding shipping. A notification list has been set up to announce its eventual publication.

Journal survey results released

31 October 1998 (DNN) -- Catherine deCuir has posted the results of a survey of journal keepers she conducted last summer. Nearly 100 responses were tabulated. The results revealed, in part, that Anais Nin and Anne Frank were the most frequently cited inspirations for diary keepers. deCuir is the guide for The Mining Co.'s "Journals" site, which focuses on both conventional and online journaling.

UK diarist takes website award

3 September 1998 (DNN) -- Dom Penfold a web-diarist in Wolverhampton, England, took second in the YISCA awards. Presented at the IL98 conference in Edinburgh, Penfold's site, "One More Face in the Crowd," was the only online journal among the last six finalists. There were more than 200 initial entries. He takes away £2000, and his college at Cambridge University gets £1000.

Brazil newspaper highlights web journals

14 July 1998 (DNN) -- "Folha de Sao Paulo," Brazil's largest newspaper, recently printed "A Glass World," an article examining the online diary phenomenon. The Metajournals site and diarists including Justin Hall and Julie Peterson are featured. Author , who writes the paper's "Mundo Digital" column, has granted Diarist.Net permission to make an English translation (courtesy Viviane Vaz de Menezes) available.

Pacific net lines blocked

10 July 1998 (DNN) -- A malicious "smurf attack" on the University of Hawaii's upstream bandwidth provider on Thursday left much of the state's internet sites inaccessible for over a day. As a result, DIARY-L went silent and most e-mail sent to diarist.net addresses bounced. The link was restored at about 3 p.m. PST, and full access should be restored by the weekend.

Diarists have home on NewHoo

9 July 1998 (DNN) -- Online journals now have an alternative to Yahoo! thanks to the "community directory" approach of NewHoo. Three volunteer diarists -- Amanda Page, Dreama Lynn and Elizabeth Badurina (Vindictu) -- maintain the new category for online journals. Subcategories include resources, webrings and collaborations. NewHoo's goal is "to produce the most comprehensive directory of the web by relying on a vast army of volunteer editors."

Virtual baby shower announced

7 July 1998 (DNN) -- Planning for the "Welcome the Journal Baby" shower is underway for North Carolina diarist Renee, who is due November 24. The "surprise" event is being organized by Lizzie of California, and participation is open to anyone. "This is absolutely a co-ed endeavor," Lizzie writes. For details, see the site (unless, of course, you're Renee).

IRC channel for diarists gets home page

2 July 1998 (DNN) -- The fledgeling #journals IRC channel now has a home on the web thanks to founder and Illinois diarist Katie. "Please, stop by sometime," Katie writes. "Whether you have an online journal, or if you want to start one." The channel, managed by Katie and Oregon diarist James, is hosted by Undernet, which has several regional servers.

Salon features online diaries

2 July 1998 (DNN) -- Reports of the death of the online diary have been greatly exaggerated, reports Salon Magazine. Simon Firth takes an in-depth look at the phenomenon in the July 3 issue of 21st Feature. He writes: "The genre shows plenty of signs of life -- of blossoming, even, into something remarkable: a new literary form that allows writers to connect with readers in an excitingly new way."

Mining Co. fills "Personal Web" slot

1 July 1998 (DNN) -- has taken the helm of The Mining Co.'s "Personal Web Pages" franchise. Roeder replaces Pamela O'Connell, who was an avid fan of online diarists and provided regular coverage of the community. While Roeder has retained a sidebar link to "Personal Journals, etc.," she has other plans for the site. "I would like to focus on teaching basic HTML," Roeder writes. "to help others build their own homepages and make them attractive and successful." Diarists still have the hidden archive to O'Connell's work, as well as TMC's Journals franchise, which focuses on both paper and online journaling.

Wired previews Metajournals.com

1 July 1998 (DNN) -- Veteran Wired columnist confirms that he has written "a big article on Metajournals" for tomorrow's edition of Wired News. Silberman discusses some of the treats in store, including a "Mystery Diarist" feature. Otherwise, Metajournals.com staff have remained tight-lipped about the site's content. It debuts on Friday.

Seattle diarists on television

30 June 1998 (DNN) -- The public-access show "Don't Quote Me On This" has invited online journalists from the Seattle area to appear as guests on its July 2 broadcast. Luke McGuff, Bluejack, Anita Rowland, and Julie R are planning to be there, according to host and diarist Wally Glen. Calls will be taken on air at (206) 421-5004 during the 1010:30 p.m. (PST) program.

Gay diary list launched

30 June 1998 (DNN) -- A new mailing list focusing on homosexuality and journaling is being formed, Paris diarist Lohengryn announced today. Discussion will revolve around the place of sexuality in one's identity, although less serious topics are welcome as well. "it is a 'cool' list open to any new and constructive ideas," Lohengryn said. The list is open to everyone, regardless of orientation. Contact for more information.

Metajournals debut postponed

29 June 1998 (DNN) -- The much-anticipated debut of Metajournals.com has been postponed two days to July 3, according to site designer Gabby Hon. The site, built by a handful of volunteer diarists, will be devoted to "the art of online journalling." A notification list has been set up for those who want to know the very second Metajournals.com is up and running.

Diarists reflect on riches

28 June 1998 (DNN) -- What would you do if you won the $195-million Powerball lottery? Katie couldn't win if she wanted to, but if she did, it wouldn't be long before her brand-new home would be overrun with dogs. Justin wants a flying mobile home. See more answers in this month's Diary Collaboration.

Ginkgo Week raises eyebrows

25 June 1998 (DNN) -- At least 34 diarists are celebrating Ginkgo Week, dedicated to "honoring this talented artist and gentle spirit." With some digging, Virginia diarist Gus discovered earlier this week that the whole affair was sparked by a critical e-mail from a reader named Chel. Ginkgo, who runs The Mandlebrot Set webring, remarks on it in an May 19 entry. Chel has also posted a statement on the matter.