Incite -- (v) 1: give an incentive; 2: provoke or stir up; "incite a riot"; 3: urge on; cause to act |
Monday, July 19, 2004
Written by: BeckThe LA Times seems distinctly uncomfortable about the rising power of blogs to influence ideas and draw eyeballs. Their most recent bit of pontification only goes to throw into relief the concern of old media over a millions-strong army of independent writers whose favorite phrase of all is "fact-check your ass." The Democrats and the Republicans are inviting a limited number of bloggers -- those witty, candid, irreverent, passionate, shrewd and outrageous Internet chroniclers -- to their 2004 conventions. It's a gesture of respect for the growing influence of the blogosphere, and if ever there were events ideally suited to bloggers, the heavily scripted and tensionless conventions top the list.Uh-oh. I haven't heard any bloggers referring to themselves as journalists lately, so I can only the assume LA Times "reporter" suffers from an acute case of defensiveness. However, bloggers, with few exceptions, don't add reporting to the personal views they post online, and they see journalism as bound by norms and standards that they reject.Pardon? I mean, hell, the most successful blogs out there are journalists. What in hell is this guy talking about? I'd say there's a direct relation between blogging success and the journalistic qualities of the blog author. That encourages these common attributes of the blogosphere: vulgarity, scorching insults, bitter denunciations, one-sided arguments, erroneous assertions and the array of qualities that might be expected from a blustering know-it-all in a bar.Umm... ok, he has a bit of a point there. Not that I would have a leg to stand on if I did decide to argue the case, but it doesn't help that my previous post prominently features use of the word "clusterfuck." In these early days, blogging still has the charm of guileless transparency, which in the blogosphere means that everyone -- no matter how cranky or hysterical -- is presumed to be speaking his or her mind with sincerity. It is this air of conviction that makes bloggers such potent advocates.The author has another good point here. While I suspect that most of the predictions made thus far about the blogosphere are grossly inaccurate as such things tend to be; nonetheless, the medium is definitely enjoying something of a honeymoon of authenticity and at the moment. While a few frauds have been exposed thus far, so far they're of the elderly-man-posing-as-college-girl variety. At some point there will be some big kerfuffle when a major name completely fabricates some news. It'll be interesting to gauge the severity of collateral damage as a consequence. (Hat tip: The Corner)
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