Blogger Beware
There is no denying that the bloggers are a powerful force in the information world.
But at least for now, they are no substitute for mainstream journalism, despite its flaws. A great many bloggers are either too self-absorbed to focus on keeping the public informed or too skewed by ideology to put factual accuracy front and center.
Esoteric Wombat is going to love this article. Such disrespect! But here's a cautionary tale.
posted by Presley Bennett @ 3/07/2005
6 comments
6 Comments:
heh. You know, there isn't actually all that much there that I disagree with. I also like how they shared my estimation of bloggers as the descendants of the Good Doctor Hunter S Thompson.
Here's the thing... They describe bloggers as unreliable, and it's true, they are. But so are an increasing number of mainstream journalists. Sure, you're bound to find more bias, rumours presented as fact, and libel in a blog, but thats not the only place to go for it.
In light of the large number of recent articles I read I've decided that when I do journalize in my blog, I'll Gonzo it up, but keep the important facts straight.
Thanks for the link, both to my site and to the stories.
During a presentation at the Library of Congress, David Weinberger was asked about whether blogs can be trusted. His response was that he wouldn't trust any single weblog, but he would trust weblogs as a whole. I highly encourage you to either get the free audio download of his speech at audible.com (just search for 'Library of Congress'), or you can stream video of it from CSPAN here.
Cant blogs just be for fun? I dont expect any on to read anything I say and think... wow, now that was a great/informative news story!
Blogs seem to have multiple purposes for different people, some for fun, some to rant, some to push a product, on and on. And if I read something on a blog that was interesting, I appreciate that. Mine of course serves no real purpose other than as an outlet for whatever random thoughts I have or what catches my interest. But hopefully it's kind of fun some of the time.
No one is saying that a blog has to be anything. This is more about what they can be.
I've probably said this a few times by now but that's the beauty of blogs. There are no rules or guidelines that tell a person how to blog. It's not just the content of the blog that defines the 'voice' of the blogger, it's how that person blogs.
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