A couple of weeks ago we linked to a weblog by Beth Goza, the marketing manager at Microsoft responsible for selling PocketPC to the world. Bravely, Beth used the blog to wrestle with her conscience over whether it was OK to cheat at XBox games.

Since then it's become compulsive reading: it has all the hallmarks of the truly quintessential blog: there's the 352kb picture of her cat, for example, and lots of lower case stream of consciousness ramblings about... well, we're not quite sure.

Now a satire of Beth's blog is raging like a contagion on the web, and this could have all the makings of the Ellen Feiss cult. If that doesn't mean anything to you, Ellen Feiss is the Xanaxed-out Apple switcher who has spawned a host of tribute sites. [like this or target="_blank"> this].

Beth may be heading for similar celebrity. She has her own maddeningly infectious catchphrase, too: "i dunno".

("nuff said" and "nap time" also figure fairly prominently).

Compare and contrast the real thing with the parody

my dog is great but sometimes he bugs me cause he wants to go on walks all the time. am i essentially saying that at those times my dog isn't great?, asked Beth recently.

Last week she had us on tenterhooks with the following tease:

technovelty. more on this later. just need to get my blog thoughts down for when i have time to write.

chat speak.

more on this later too.

But we only had to wait a couple of days to read the culmination of her thoughts:

technovelty. not sure if this is the first use of this term; it struck me a couple of days ago that there are certain technologies that are currently only used for their novelty factor i've taken a picture with my cell phone and sent it to someone before. the thing is, i did it though just to see what would happen, what the picture would look like, would it work? i didn't do it because i was driven to capture a moment and there was a need to share it. don't get me wrong, there is no value statement being made here. i think cool technology for coolness sake is a-ok, however, i do think there is a difference between true technology and kewl technovelty. aye - there's the rub. ubiquity, alas, may be the marked difference bwtn the two. i'm a little fuzzy 2night from a little too much xbox live last night (can you say whacked rocks?) so i'm sure there is a more eloquent way to say this...how about a little math? need + kewl (novelty) = ubiquity.

The parody captures the rambling Gen-X gone rich and bored perfectly:

I like the sopranos. I like words too tho. i read. i used to be an english teacher. oh my gawd do you remember that episode of the young ones when neil was sick? i work for microsoft.

Real Beth:

i remember one time my dad said something - and i actually corrected his grammar (i was an english teacher less than five years ago). he looked at me and said - did you understand what i said? he had a point. i did. so why all the fuss about grammar and rules? i dunno. do u?

Parody:

i need external forces to make me active. there should be a club of binary babies.

The parody Beth easily be identified: there are too many upper case letters.

Of course, you'll argue: we're just being mean. Online journals give a billion people who can't write and who have nothing to say the means to publish. It's good!

To which I reply: here's a mechanism which allows a billion people who can't sing, can't write a song or make an original beep, and have nothing to express, the means to deafen me with their tuneless, boring cacophony. Get a producer! ®

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