At a blogging panel with Terrance Heath, Pam Spaulding, Digby, Tracy Russo, Chris Bowers, and Ari Melber, the message seems to be that the blogosphere's role has become not that of the watchdog, but more like a dogwalker with a very long leash. When the media tends to go out too far on a limb -- one example that keeps coming up is Chris Matthews' sexist commentary -- the blogosphere tends to rally around that cause, writing and encouraging the readers to take action. Eventually, the dog (media) runs out of rope and (hopefully) comes snapping back, tail between its legs.
Heath began to talk about how there's not just The Blogosphere, but there are many smaller orbits that focus around an issue or identity. Some stories just wouldn't exist if these small orbits didn't exist. Bowers noted that linking patterns indicate there are many different blogospheres. The spheres themselves have become more diverse.
I'm blogging about a panel about blogging. Whoa. Meta.
I was informed of this via a journalism e-mail list I'm on, and I can't vouch for it, but this site appears to be giving away $2,000 scholarships to political bloggers. Might be worth a look.
Over at Kevin Drum's blog, Political Animal, you can vote for the wingnuttiest blog posts of all time. The polls are only open for one more day, so make your picks while you can. One of the candidates is entitled "The Pussification Of The Western Male," which should tell you all you need to know about the blogs in question.
Our own Zach Marks, having finished up his internship (though hopefully not his blogging) for us here at CP, has now been given a pretty sweet gig - blogging at HuffPo. Regardless of what you think of HuffPo, they don't pick nobodies to blog for them. His first post went up yesterday (and he then stopped by the office in the afternoon, yet didn't tell us about it...so modest). Our congratulations to Zach, and we hope you show his new blog some CP love.
Also, to read about Zach's culinary skills with a microwave, check out this NY Times story.
According to The Boston Globe, my hometown was the "bloggiest city" for March and April in terms of blog posts per 100,000 residents. This fact, which the Globe reported in one of its blogs, is being relayed to you via this blog. If your head didn't explode when you read that sentence, you are made of sturdier stuff than I.
I'm here on the South Side of Chicago (only a mile from where I grew up! only a few blocks from the White Sox stadium!), to participate in what is essentially the largest gathering of progressive bloggers and new media activists in US history.
There is excitement in the air... well, a nerdy sort of bow-tie / 'impeach bush' t-shirt / coffee & cigarettes kind of excitement- but there's definitely something in the air here in the windy city, and it's not just the smell wafting over from nearby China Town.
I'm heading out now to go get some of that Low-Mein right now, but I'll be posting interesting updates here throughout the day.
I’m relatively new to the blogging community. I started writing here in the end of April, with a good amount of anonymity: my profile picture was a cartoon (it’s now my actual photo), and I chose a screen name nowhere close to my own name (by the way, my name’s Beth. Nice to meet you). But what doesn’t cease to amaze me is how important blogging has become in discussing politics, culture, and so on and so forth.
The first time I ever had heard about blogs was in my AP Government class my senior year (yeah…I know, I took a while there). My teacher showed us different political blogs, and how they were getting the information out there quicker than the news. We never got a chance to write a blog as part of a project, but we could use them as a source.
Now fast forward three years (it’s been that long already?): I have a weekly habit of checking craigslist for writing gigs, and a lot of them are for blogs (and nothing that pays…I’m going to end up eating ramen this summer). I’m now a contributor to the Feminist Review, which reviews books, CDs, products, etc…on a blog. I also do a lot of my news reading on different blogs, since I’m without a TV this summer, and the mail is a bit irregular (and it’s the previous tenants’ mail).
And then there are those blogs that are just for humor…has anyone ever seen Go Fug Yourself? It’s probably one of the most commonly seen pages when sitting in the computer lab at Trinity. That one and the Daily Puppy are my friends’ favorite; let’s just say when we’re looking at these, there is no work getting done…or anything in the near future.
Yet, there are still places that don’t have blogs. I’m trying to convince my office that the Women’s Commission needs a blog, and that more of us need to get on Campus Progress (gotta do the promo). Well, technically, the IRC has a blog, but I’m looking for an excuse to write more before I head back to school and start my editing duties again. I just hope I don’t get too addicted! (^-^)
Paul Waldman asks "Does Live-Blogging Suck?" and basically answers in the affirmative, noting that there are few situations (if any) in which second to second description and commentary is more useful than reasoned reflection an hour or so after the fact. I agree with Paul; I find most live-blogging hopelessly slogging. I've done it myself, too, and can't say it has ever motivated many comments or debates.
The Politico's interactive map of the blogosphere is fun stuff; roam around from "I.F. Stone's Glasses" to "Reagan's Belt," with a stop for some "Snark" "Inside the Beltway," and, if you're brave, venture out to "Ann Coulter's Whip." A few of my favorites are missing: Feministing.com, Ezra Klein, Echidne of the Snakes, and the feminist blogosphere in general. But all in all, amusing.
She vs. He. No, I'm not talking about the battle of the sexes, but how often these actual words appear on news pages. This fun Google tool can count those stats for any site. CNN.com, for instance, is 78 percent "he." CampusProgress.org is 73 percent "he." I think this reflects the gender breakdown of "newsmakers" in our society. And although I was disappointed to see CP's numbers, I'm confident that our "shes" are an impressive and substantive lot. And of course, this tool doesn't count the number of content creators who are women, which at CP is very close to 50 percent.
And speaking of women online, check out the new issue of Barnard's Scholar and Feminist magazine, which is all about women in the blogosphere. One of the co-editors is Feministing founder Jessica Valenti, who'll be speaking at the Campus Progress conference this year on my super awesome and exciting "Embedding Feminism" panel, which is about making the entire progressive movement more responsive to "women's issues." If you haven't already, sign up for the June 26 conference.
Please remember that Campus Progress' terms of use do not allow promoting or endorsing any particular political party or candidate for office. Posts or comments that do this will be deleted.
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