[thechat] Deconstructing blogs

[Shirley Kaiser, SKDesigns]

At 04:20 PM 4/14/2002, you typed:

>rudy wrote:
>
>>dvorak has had that particular bee in his bonnet for months
>>
>>   http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1107-829478.html
>>
>>meryl.net, amongst several others, used to poke fun at him by including cat
>>photos every once in a while
>>
>>the general consensus amongst bloggers is that dvorak is an idiot, a sad,
>>lonely old white guy that doesn't get it

I've seen several journalists who've written stuff about weblogs that shows
that they don't get it.

>>his original articles were probably well intentioned but came across as
>>being snotty and defensive and so traditional, e.g. "how can bloggers call
>>themselves journalists when they haven't got the credentials we journalists
>>have?"

I don't recall seeing any bloggers calling themselves journalists anyway.
So I haven't seen what they're getting so indignant about.... silly, IMO.

>Right, it's not journalism, but that doesn't make it a useful and
>interesting phenomenon. Dvorak still thinks there's such a thing as an
>official source, I think. I tend to think any of us , at any time, could
>come through with important news for the whole planet.
>
>Blogging is not the whole story - but it's a useful part.

I've found the comparison between blogging and journalism rather
interesting and amusing. Like anything, there are lots of good ones out
there and lots of lousy ones out there. In general terms here, I don't know
that bloggers are TRYING to be journalists. So it seems even more silly to
me that a few journalists like this are knocking apart blogs for not
meeting the standards of professional journalism.

Well, I suspect there's a need to find a niche for them, find a definition
for them, figure out what they are and aren't and what their role actually
IS compared to other forms of media information. I think that's still being
played out, though, and I don't think they can necessarily be put into a
box that's a catch-all, either. They vary so much in content and style. And
that's also one of the things I think so many of us enjoy about reading
them, too.

>I think of the 9/11 blogs which were interesting to me. Fascinating to
>see instant history like that. This is altogether new, the ability to
>put a message out to the whole planet, by anyone.

That especially captivated me as well. I was taken back and very moved by
the outpouring of sharing all the information, people sharing their
stories, and how well the technology was used to communicate. It was/is
phenomenal.

>I certainly think dismissing it is the wrong move. But thinking it will
>replace tv or newspapers is just silly. Hell, we still have radio news,
>right?
>
>There's room for lots of media in the world. :-)

I couldn't agree more. I see it as another media, not a replacement for
anything. I think it's also good that journalists are at least recognizing
that they exist.

Warmly,
Shirley

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Shirley E. Kaiser, M.A.,  SKDesigns  mailto:skaiser1 at skdesigns.com
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