Blogcritics: Comments on Make way for the bloggers

Comment by RJ

Sun, 25 Jul 2004 00:45:06 EDT

"worse than many porn sites" - this is hardly an insult. As RJ says, what the major news sites have is visibility and built-in marketing via their other media outlets, hence, traffic. We are less than two years old, have zero marketing budget, are where we are strictly based upon word of mouth. I am very pleased with our progress and anticipate increasingly better things ahead. Better said than what I was talking about, Eric, but we essentially agree. I just hope that, when BC becomes even MORE successful and is purchased from Eric by a major media conglomerate, Eric will be kind enough to demand a sort-of "grandfather clause" that allows ACTIVE amateur BCs (such as myself) the ability to continue contributing. I think it would be great fun to "compete" with professional critics on this site. Whose posts do you think would elicit a stronger response? Some dork from Rolling Stone, Vogue, or SLATE, or me, Mac Diva, and Al Barger? ;)

Comment by Gene

Sat, 24 Jul 2004 18:51:27 EDT

Yeah I meant "worse" and wrote "worst". It wasn't intended as an insult it is merely a fact. Every post turns in to a lberal crying over something whether it is a gay issue or just "feeling bullied by conservatives". Kind of like this is a haven for the persecuted democrats to come and lick their damned wounds. If this was more balanced with right and left it would be one of the greatest sites for reasonable debate of current issues. Unfortunately I have noticed how people are labled as bigots, homophobes, racsist etc if their views aren't in line with the extreme left. Very sad. This nation consist of more than a few angry gays who don't eat meat. [edited]

Comment by Eric Olsen

Sat, 24 Jul 2004 13:56:49 EDT

Comment by jim andrews

Sat, 24 Jul 2004 12:24:53 EDT

Thanks for reading the column. I'll have to oil my spel chek more frequently.

Comment by Gene

Sat, 24 Jul 2004 08:38:08 EDT

Try a one sided view with more censoring than cartoon morning on network tv. Mr. 80 year old what is crredential? Or were you just straining to shit while spelling credential, kind of like crrrrrrdential! Aw, I feel much better. I guess that is why the last time I checked with various web ranking sites all major news providers were ranked in the top 250 or better while blogcritics ranked around 23,000, worst than many porn sites.

Comment by geekgirl2

Sat, 24 Jul 2004 02:45:03 EDT

The blogging phenomenon is like that of pamphleteers in the late 18th & early 19th centuries. We provide an alternate news & discussion source to a recently literate (technology-wise) society. Over time big media will try to take over but as long as we can retain a free internet there will be a place for open discussion of all types. Once a free internet disappears we will be forced to move to peer-to-peer networks. Silencing the voice of the people is not easy.

Comment by RJ

Fri, 23 Jul 2004 23:52:44 EDT

The reason the mainstream media is successful has just about nothing to do with how good they write or how insightful their opinions are. The fact is, they have a large audience. The hundreds of thousands of Bloggers out there can never hope to have such an audience. The few Blogs that DO have a massive audience wind up forming some sort of alliance with Big Media. Blogs are like a farm team. The cream of the crop will rise to enter Big Media. The rest are just talking to a small number of people, and will get little or no attention. That's why I'm so proud to be a member of BlogCritics. This is a major Blog. We get real attention. And I play a small role in that. The mainstream media will perhaps one day absorb BC. If this occurs, BC will not have "sold out" but merely proved its success. That being said, my own personal Blog gets less than 10 hits a day, but I still enjoy posting there. It's a form of venting, a public diary of opinion and anecdotes. Viva La Blog! :)

Comment by mike hollihan

Fri, 23 Jul 2004 15:19:21 EDT

The speed with which cable television news is absorbing blogs now is leading them to do it the same old way. Bloggers are there to give "edge" and "attitude," to speak truth to power the way that political discussion shows once were thought to do. Bloggers are the new "panel of experts" that anchors will throw to for "expert opinion." Tom Brokaw will intone to the panel moderator, who will be an established network commentator or talking head, "Bob, what is the blogosphere saying about John Kerry's performance here tonight?" As it does with everything, the broadcast news media is deforming blogs to fit into an already established template. How many bloggers will resist and how many will fall for the allure of an audience of millions?