Life in Connecticut
Blogging, The Final Frontier
I spent the early morning at a forum on political blogging. It was put on by the Courant and had a panel of local bloggers. These bloggers included two locals: Chris Bigalow, aka, Genghis Conn of ctlocalpolitics.net and Melissa Ryan, aka cgg, caffeinatedgeekgirl.com. It also featured Colin McEnroe, a local radio host and blogger on the Courant’s site. McEnroe also teaches a blogging class at Trinity. The panel was rounded out by Wasington blogger, Matt Stoller from mydd.com and Tim Targris, who was a major part of Ned Lemont’s recent senatorial campaign.
I found it all very interesting and it gave me some great food for thought. As McEnroe put it at the forum, and in a recent commentary of the Courant, blogging is like the new frontier. It’s uncharted territory when a lot of people shoot from the hip. It’s instant. There’s no editor or publisher to get approval from. McEnroe said it’s a matter of “think it, write it, click it.” It’s a “raw” place. It also makes a lot of people instant “newsies” and publishers. Some are good, some are mediocre and some are horrid. But you know what, I love it all.
76% of the bloggers out there, like myself, blog their personal experiences. The rest I believe have a method to their madness, just like the local political bloggers. I found it pretty interesting to see that one panelist blasted the media for being unfair and that blogs are a way to get new information that regular people aren’t privy to.
Hold on. While we all know that many journalists aren’t fair in their reporting and writing and don’t cover all sides, bloggers have their own agenda. After all, it’s why they started their sites. They have a specific reason and a focus. Are they bloggers really and truly trying to supplement the news that’s out there and putting forth new information? I call bullsh*t. It’s a matter of the blogging pot calling the media kettle black.
While I commend ctpolitics.com for being a true “major” in the world of political blogging, I have seen many political blogs swaying to one side or the other. But while the media needs to keep their sources and facts straight, bloggers have an audience that will keep them honest. “Your readership is your checks and balances. They will come down on you,” said Ryan. I believe it’s the one advantage that bloggers have over the media. Their readers are like loyal baseball fans. Tell them what they want to hear and they are there to cheer you on. When you mess up, they’ll turn on you like Sox fans on Schilling’s worst day. You give up three home runs, they are going to blast you. But then again, as Stoller put it, many readers subscribe to a blog because they believe in what the blogger is “selling” be it pro-rep or pro-dem. If the blogger prints what they want to read, the readers aren’t going to hold their bloggers accountable for slandering the other side. They live for it.
It’s truly a new frontier, this blogging world, and I can’t wait to see how the West is won.
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