There's someone in LA that likes blogs...
Nice refutation, and well-deserved kudos for the TPM crew. Thanks, TJ!
Interesting that the writer of that piece was obviously sitting at a desk basically doing what bloggers do... write their opinions. I have to wonder if, after submitting that commentary for publication, he got up, went out into the world, and did something good for the homeless.
Wow, I never realized how unreasonable it was for me to connect and interact with my peers - you know, liberal-minded expat women who are raising bicultural families around the world - online, through our blogs.
Thanks, Scott Anderson, for pointing that out.
Yo, somebody. Whip up an eye-rolling smiley, wouldja?
(To say nothing of helping my parents be involved in my children's lives on a daily basis, despite living half a world away.)
Anderson's bitterness is showing, no doubt, but it isn't bad advice to tell people to actually step away from the keyboard and interact with their fellow inhabitants of this rock.
There's far too little of that going on these days.
Still, I started a blog, inspired to do so by the frightening reaction by the Right to Melissa's employment with the Edwards campaign, in order to add my voice to the millions of common sense Americans who have something to say about way things are going to fascism in a brown-clad handbasket.
Maybe ol' Scott would make a decent blogger if he could lower himself to such a base form of communication.
Let's be serious kids, bloggers are for the kool-aid drinking, wannabe crowd. Bloggers are generally those with radical ideologies who have lost touch with the pulse of society. In any case, no one listens to the bloggers, except hum.....maybe the other bloggers. Real news is gleaned from, well, real news people. I certainly encourage you bloggers to keep on blogging because it is a nice hobby and is better than sitting in front of the t.v. But don't be deceived, your inflated sense of self worth is not founded simply by the fact that you post ideas on the Internet. Don't you think that if you were really good you'd actually get a legitimate job at a news service. I rather think so.
Interesting that the writer of that piece was obviously sitting at a desk basically doing what bloggers do... write their opinions. I have to wonder if, after submitting that commentary for publication, he got up, went out into the world, and did something good for the homeless.
konagod | Homepage | 03.18.07 - 10:33 am | #
Do you people realize how self-righteous you are?
Still, I started a blog, inspired to do so by the frightening reaction by the Right to Melissa's employment with the Edwards campaign, in order to add my voice to the millions of common sense Americans who have something to say about way things are going to fascism in a brown-clad handbasket.
Maybe ol' Scott would make a decent blogger if he could lower himself to such a base form of communication.
Maadas Hel | Homepage | 03.18.07 - 10:55 am | #
Number 1.: Melissa deserved to be shit canned because she made intolerant, and frankly, downright hateful, nasty comments about Catholics.
2.: Your post here speaks to the rampant paranoia that is pervasive in the radical left crowd.
3.: You did get one thing right. Blogging is, in fact, a very base form of communication. Do we consider pubic forums where people express their opinions as "journalism." The answer is NO, however, somehow the radical leftists in their typical self-righteous way consider blogging to be some sort of art form. Let's get real, blogging is nothing more than individuals writing down their ideas instead of discussing them in meeting. It's time you liberals grow up.
So apparently:
A. Bloggers are only listened to by other bloggers. (And, it seems, our anonymous commenter.)
B. There are an estimated 60 to 70 million bloggers, expected to as much as double in the next year.
If position A weren't so absurd, all it would mean is that our pool of potential listeners is limited to tens of millions of individuals worldwide. I can live with that.
Do you people realize how self-righteous you are?
Anonymous
Do YOU realize how... anonymous you are?
Philip, you are such a troll magnet. 
In fact, you are on the verge of stealing JackGoff's thunder.
Real news is gleaned from, well, real news people.
And yet your opinions seem to be gleaned straight from Faux News, Anonymous.
From "real" news people I learned that Iraq had WMD's, and was on the cusp of deploying nuclear weapons. From blogs I learned that this was false.
From "real" news people I learned that there is a great deal of controversy about man's role in global warming. From the blogs I learned that in fact the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community was that human activity posed a major, if not primary, role in global warming.
From "real" news people I learned that George Bush was a moderate, and Al Gore was a compulsive liar. From blogs I learned that George Bush is a compulsive liar, and that Al Gore was being honest in just about everything that the "real" news people were claiming he was lying about.
Given the relative importance of those three paragraphs alone, I have to say it's not looking too good for the "real" news people there, Anon. And I'm wagering other commenters could come up with maybe one or two (hundred) other examples.
Anonmyous,
If the Catholic church did not behave in such inhumane ways they would avoid scathing criticisms. Their actions and policies have been proven to put people lives in danger and at risk.
The problem is not that they do not know this, but rather that they like and enjoy being inhumane and indifferent to human life.
Well, an anonymous dogooder has put me in my place. I'll never again publish an opinion that offends anonymous, righteous representatives of the common good.
Thank you so much you brave anonymous caretaker of my freedoms for pointing out the uselessness of my "hobby" and the lack of validity of my opinions. You have saved me.
Oh, no, wait. What I meant to say was:
Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. I love spineless people. They make me look soooooooooooo good.
Jasper just can't leave, can't he?
(... can he?)
Heh heh heh, he said "pubic" forum.
Sorry, years as an editor and proofreader. It's a habit.
(yes, anon, that's right - I was a real journalist.)
The LA Times piece is much closer to home.
Do you people realize how self-righteous you are?
The kind of self-righteousness that got you banned, jasper.
"...you'd actually get a legitimate job at a (legitimate?) news service ..."
...and you would suggest ...which news service....?
Any Mouse is Jasper ...really?
Every time someone posts multiple times in a comment thread to call everyone names because they post in comment threads. . .let's just say it adds a few years to my life.
So thanks, jasponymer!
Any Mouse is Jasper ...really?
He's shown up repeatedly under multiple names for the last month when virtually no other wingnut has. I find it a reasonable guess.
The truly hilarious part of this editorial? I would never have known about it unless I had read it in a blog.
The truly hilarious part of jasper's drunken ramblings about how blogs are for chumps? That it tried to make it's point in a blog's comments.
And yeah, I think every single anonymous troll who comes here from now on should be known as a "jasper". 
Phillip,
I'm still waiting for the editorial that decries that most evil of devices: the moving printing press.
It all started with those darn liberals in the cave painting business.
Why is it if blogs are so unimportant that the traditional media
talks about them so much?
...every single anonymous troll...Jasper
Heh, heh, heh....... 
It's such a tired, boring old argument, saying that bloggers are not professional, that they are somehow less able to write than "real" journalists. Never mind that many bloggers actually are (or were) traditional journalists, too. Many are freelance writers. Many are published authors. Ahem.
Our local newspaper (the St. Pete Times) has blogs now, where columnists and staff writers can informally express themselves and interact in real-time with the community, as opposed to simply publishing a piece and waiting for the community to read it and respond via letters to the editor. Many, if not most of the bigger newspapers are doing this.
Blogs are not replacing traditional journalism, they are improving it to no end. They are holding it--the MSM--accountable in the most immediate way. They connect us--giving forum to our dreams and goals, our disappointments and peccadilloes, our support and our outrage--and they're here to stay.
As for jasphole, ignore the git, I say. Eventually he'll go away. Not soon enough, but eventually.
I like it. All anonymouses are jaspers. Cool.
"Whatever you say, jasper"
"ok, if you don't want anonamouse, my name is not jasper, its dahinkleflibber"
"Gotcha, jasper."
"im not jasper!i dahinkleflibber!"
"Sure thing, jasper. Whatever you say."
"im leaving an neverr cumin bak!!@!"
I've been working with computers for a while... 4 decades this year... helped start a freenet with the advent of the internet... went out into communities and taught individuals and groups to interact with content driven internet communication... all this before browsers. When the graphics user interface showed up, I stepped in by demonstrating how easy it was to build websites and constantly encouraged others to add content to the internet. Content was sparce and relatively static back then. I demonstrated how easy it was to update with current content and to link to others who shared similar interests... very primitive stuff at the time, but people got it. I also encouraged the advent of html generators, so almost any non-programmer can add meaningful content now just by pointing and clicking. I was not alone in this effort, by any means.
Here's the point: The personal blog is the culmination of all that effort and in my estimation will be (and is now to a significant degree), the driving force behind a new democratic resurgence... based not upon the 'mocracy of top down, corporate owned information dissemination, but on a communication model that is radically different in comparison to any other that we have experienced to date. It is one of a hyperlinked 3-dimensional sphere as opposed to a two-dimensional pyramid or hub-driven wheel... and offers almost immediate access and control by individuals.
It's different... and a lot of people are having a difficult time adjusting. It scares the hell out of some to the point of backlash... especially those who have a stake in protecting the older models. It's true that most blog content is currently "reactive" to reports generated from traditional media sources... but that too is changing. One of the recent examples is onsite blogging at the Libby trial that demonstrated bloggers could not only compete with corporate media, but scoop them. When "live" camera feed (news video) is not allowed, blogging is the next best thing... and in some real aspects is even better, as a relatively permanent record is afforded by the sender, to be accessed at the convenience of the receiver. By the way, that factor is something that is not lost on traditional media, as they are rapidly following suit by actually deemphasizing the models to which they have traditionally adhered.
I was amused at one of the main contentions of DeLay's new whiney book, in which he states in regard to the 2004 GOP election tragedy: “I would suggest that Republicans lost because they did not communicate their message and their victories with enough strength to overcome short-term, media-fed issues that arose right before the election....”
Translation: The GOP could not devise a means to shut out the effect of the blogosphere on the election outcome. As the Jasperite suggests "self-important"... to a certain extent yes, but we are only seeing the start of this participatory shift in the democratic paradigm and although undeluded assessment should be a key factor for growth, at times you should all congratulate yourselves, and make a lot of noise doing so. If for no other reason than it totally pisses of those protectionists who are threatened by the growth and impact of the blogosphere. Stick with it. Don't let the liars suggest that you are doing anything but a great job.
By the way... here is a link to a NYT piece that is related to Waveflux's effort to rekindle interest in the death of LaVena Johnson, in that it offers some detail into the plight of many military women today... it's long... and depressing... but perhaps the best background piece I've read on the subject in some time.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/1...ver.html?
ref=us
"The Women’s War"
Interesting that the writer of that piece was obviously sitting at a desk basically doing what bloggers do... write their opinions.
My thoughts exactly, kona.
And why is it I never see bloggers pumping up their own importance, only "reputable" columnists trying to tear them down? Like every blogger somehow claims to be a journalist. As Litbrit said, some bloggers are journalists and some journalists are bloggers.
Bravo, toast sir.
You said it far more eloquently than I could (and with techie chops to spare)!
No, bloggers are realistic about our effect and our readership. So realistic, in fact, we underestimate ourselves at times--who would have thought we'd be able to get the panties of practically an entire religion so hopelessly twisted?
Yes, toast, right on.
And I'm sure you know what the real problem is... more people are blogging. More people are reading blogs. Fewer people are reading the papers. Circulation rates aren't exactly setting any records these days.
Those folks aren't too happy about it. So they have to get condescending and bitchy.
This is a test, because Hell-O-Scan ate my last attempt to post. [We need an angry smiley for situations like that.]
Awww, we better call the WAAAAHHHmbulance for Anderson and Anonymous. Poor babies, they just can't stand us uppity peasants expressing our opinions like we were, oh, CITIZENS of a DEMOCRACY or something impious like that.
Get used to it, bitchez! The Revolution will not be televised; it's on the Net! Selah.
We can't rely on the "professional" media because they are owned by the corporate misruling class, and the well-paid and well-groomed serfs on the boob tube and the dead-tree tabloids know what lies their lords and masters want them to put in the Kool-Aid.
This just in: KSM confessed to convincing Shatner that he could sing.
Live long and prosper, IBW
From the linked Op-Ed:
..blogs are first and foremost the epitome of one-way chatter..
Not like newspapers; not in the least...
Eeesh.
Newspapers, on day, might actually get that this whole bloggysphere thing is a conversation, complete with references to what we talk about...Trying to fit what (good) bloggers do into the same conceptual framework as a daily newspaper's opinion column ignores the capabilities of the medium a blog is presented in. People like this Anderson guy or George Will just don't understand what's going on.
It's one part cluelessness, one part jealousy, and one part fear of replacement...same thing has happened with radio since the debut of Sirius and XM...I keep hearing these crappy "Radio - You shouldn't have to pay for it commercials" that try to give satellite providers a black eye because many terrestrial radio stations can't compete on product.
Ditto with blogs - larger sites like Atrios get more comments in a day than most newspaper columnists get in a year...Shakes prolly has more page hits and comment feedback daily than a non-major market paper's editorial section has in a month.
Over at quizopolis.com, they have a "How Will I Die" quiz. I took it, and learned I will die at 99, of sexual exhaustion.
This just in: KSM confessed to having shaved Britney's head, among other regions. [Or have I already used that one here?]
From the swamps of Arkansas, IBW
"This just in: KSM confessed to convincing Shatner that he could sing.
Live long and prosper, IBW"
Ivory Bill Woodpecker
Ever hear his CD with Ben Folds? It friggin' RRRRUUUUUUUULZZZ! Funny, catchy, tender, touching. Great senses of humor, FIVE STARS!
'Course, it's not for jaspers...
Not to be a killjoy, I'm a blogger m'self, after all, but I think we're comparing apples and cheese doodles.
The St. Louis Dispatch is talking about casual, household bloggers. People typing/prattling on about their day to day lives or simply spouting off at the keyboard. He wasn't referring to professional bloggers, full time journalists and social critics like those at TPM Media.
I confess that the line is sometimes blurry but the comparison to the corner tavern is a valid one. The point is that, were we to live in a blogless world, most bloggers would simply be without a platform other than the church newsletter. Others, like TPM Media would find another outlet.
I think we're making a mistake by concentrating on blogs as a phenomenon, not the information being conveyed nor the individuals involved.
It could possibly be that the proliferation of blogging is directly related to the totally usless "information" we got/get from the MSM, especially since the Neo-Nazi's took over power in Washingotn. Printing Govt. handouts IS NOT Journalism!
And one of the nicest things about most bloggers is that they don't have to kiss any ass to keep their job. That strike a note in all you with the flexible necks?
And as far as going out and interacting, from what I know of the so called journalists is that they go to the same bar with all the other scribblers like themselves and there they "interact" with the same people who feed them the rumours they print.
Personally, I speak 3 different languages EVERY day. I have also been to 3 different Universities, have lived (not visited) in 5 different countries and had to make my living in all of them in their launguage. Plus I spent 6 years on active duty in the US Military during two wars. So please come back and tell me who has the experience to write about what is going on out in the world? You or I asswipe.
The thing I found the most humorous about the P-D editorial is that the P-D has several bloggers who are columnists in its online edition (they were columnists in the hardcopy edition, too, until they twisted too many peoples' knickers...)
But we must remember that the P-D has a group of "opinion writers," locals who have applied and been accepted as guest-editorialists. Mr. Anderson owns a health-care consulting firm, and prefers to do his blogging in print.
And apparently reads so few blogs that he doesn't realize they come with commenting capabilities.
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