tuque /tūk/ n Canadian English, var. toque [19th c. Canadian French, from the French toque, from the Basque tauka] 1 A close-fitting knitted cap, often with a long tapering end or tassel or pompom. 2 fig Something quintessentially Canadian.
souq /sūk/ n from the Arabic سوق var. souk 1 An open-air marketplace. 2 fig A central meeting place for the circulation of news and ideas.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Blog Fodder: Two popular blogs go down the economic drain

At the Tuque Souq, we blog for fun, for cheeky infotainment and the occasional heart-felt call to arms (along with the odd research query). We're happy with a comment here and there, and our mere hundreds of page hits.

Some blogs have a much greater reach, with readership in the many thousands (or hundreds of thousands) per month, and aspire to provide a greater service to the public as collective newsgatherers and online communities. And to get to these ends they require a modest bankroll to be as successful and ingenuous as they are, though they provide what is essentially a free service.

Therein lies the rub for two popular Canadian blogs that have announced they are closing as of the new year. The popular Torontoist blog is closing down after more than 4 years of being the most popular blog in the GTA. And one of our all-time favs, MediaScout - put out by the great folks at Maisonneuve magazine in Montreal - is also folding its shutters indefinitely, citing lack of sustainable funding.

R.I.P. blog sisters and brothers. May you find happy days in blog heaven (or blog hell).

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