:: Mike sent an e-mail reminding me that Arianna Huffington's new blog debuted this week on the web. It gained notoriety weeks before it began, when it was announced that the blog, part of the new web site, The Huffington Post, and known simply as "The Blog," would feature up to 300 "celebrity" bloggers, including the following who have already contributed brief entries: Larry David, Walter Cronkite, Tina Brown, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall, Mike Nichols, John Cusack, Ellen DeGeneres, David Mamet, Harry Shearer, Paul Krassner, and David Frum. The group (so far) leans heavily to the left, and features mostly members of the entertainment industry. I love John Cusack (I want to BE John Cusack!), but I'm not sure what qualifies him and the others from film, tv, and music, to be blog columnists. Then again, doesn't that define blogs - anyone can write about anything at any time, without the worry of a deadline or an editor? In this instance, the posts are edited, according to Mike, but I can't find anything on the site to confirm this.
One thing missing from the blog are comments - readers cannot respond to the posts. Another section of The Post, The News Wire, does allow comments. It's unfortunate that comments are not allowed on the blog. Comments on blogs are what make them interactive and worth revisiting. Comments make a blog lively and challenging by allowing for discussion and discourse.
I was talking recently with colleagues who like myself, contribute library-related blogs to the field. There are many good blogs covering many different aspects of librarianship. That said, I wondered out loud if we are approaching the moment where library blogs experience some kind of dot-com bust, wherein we reach a critical mass, and the library blogosphere does a self-correction and reduces in size. Might the same thing happen to other subject-related blog communities?
My Bloglines feeds currently number 143 - there is no way I can keep up with following most of them. Arianna Huffington has created a community blog, with up to 300 handpicked contributors, perhaps the highest profile blog of its type. Will it be possible to keep up with so many contributors, or will it be easier because all are contributing to the same site?
The politics notwithstanding, I'll be interested to see how this new template of a blog is received and how it will develop. If only she would add comments to the mix.
Article comments
1 - Nicolette Rivers
I think you hit the nail on the head: what qualifies any of us?
I think it's a shame there are no comments, while at the same time knowing that it would probably be ugly.
2 - gonzo marx
"what qualifies any of us"
interesting..i might agree that there needs to be "qualification" as far as fact checking, or in fields that would require some type of expertise...but for the most part isn't anyone qualified to have their own Opinion on a topic?
to me..the Blogosphere represents the next iteration in Freedom of Speech
originally only the well to do could have books hand copied and published...Gutenberg's creation of the printing press spread the ability of more people to publish their thoughts and works as well as allowed even more folks to read it since the "books" were not such rarities
with the advent of the Internet and now the explosion of blogs we see a further democratization of publication...an exponential increase in peoples ability to publish and share their works and opinions..
and that's a good thing
nuff said?
Excelsior!
3 - Nicolette Rivers
gonzo-
That was pretty much my point. Few of us have true qualifications other than being willig to put ourselves out there. And each of us have an equal amount of right at the next person.
Now that does not guarantee we will all do equally well -- the pen is truly mightier than the sword here -- but we all have come to this speculating that people will want to read what we have to say.
I've heard criticisms of the Huffington Post that celebs already have the platform to be heard, just by being celebs. However, except for the very most politically motivated, we don't hear from celebs on anything other than who designed their dress. (I know for some people this is a good thing!)
There has never been a better time in history for the average person to be heard; for people to act like this new enterprise will change that seems slightly paranoid, and simply does not hold water.
I don't care how much I like an actor, or anyone likes an actor -- if they are full of crap, or a poor thinker, it will show. And anyone who would be swayed by a famous name could be taken in by anyone with a thimble full of charisma.
I consider this as close to a level playing field as we are ever going to get.
4 - randy
Nicolette and Gonzo: I agree with your points. I do believe the 'net has leveled the playing field, and that aside from fact checking and fields requiring expertise, who's to say which of us may or may not comment on the proceedings of the day? With Huffington's blog, she's chosen a number of respected academics, politicians, and entertainers to populate her site, and the name recognition will bring people to it.
Most blog postings are shyte, poorly written, of little substance. But more power to those who are writing, because they are writing! They are engaging in something creative and exercising their minds. We can sort through the shyte and find the quality.
Nicolette said, "There has never been a better time in history for the average person to be heard; for people to act like this new enterprise will change that seems slightly paranoid, and simply does not hold water.
I don't care how much I like an actor, or anyone likes an actor -- if they are full of crap, or a poor thinker, it will show. And anyone who would be swayed by a famous name could be taken in by anyone with a thimble full of charisma.
I consider this as close to a level playing field as we are ever going to get."
I agree, but we could get one step closer, which would be, in this case, the ability to comment. If the celebrity or the politician or the academic is using the blog for a platform, let us write back with comments. Some may be nasty, but such is life on a level playing field.
Thank you both for taking the time to comment on my humble post.
5 - Nicolette Rivers
If comments were allowed, would moderation/deletion of the more amusive comments be acceptable, or should it be allowed to be a flamewar if that's where the conversation goes?
6 - randy
It could be either. We all moderate comments, I do so on my site, deleting spam is the main reason to do it. I suppose if Huffington allows comments, ground rules could be set such that profanity and name-calling weren't allowed, and so on. I believe good-natured, lively and informative discourse could be the result.
7 - Nicolette Rivers
I would hope that would be the result, and I would love to see it attempted. With so many volatile issues, I'm not sure that it could stay civil, or that people would not scream censorship if moderation was not too heavy handed. Not that they would have "a leg to stand on."
8 - Dawn
Well I got my blog-certificate from ITT, so I don't what you people are talking about.
9 - The Bagged Beaer
Yup, comments are what defines blogs. Openness of communication.
Did I misread that The Blog got something like 8m hits? I think I'm doing well if there are occasional randon spikes to 30. Ah well, maybe I should get Tom Wolfe to guest on mine.