On-Topic Blogging
At TalkLeft I read
There's cat-blogging (see here, here and here), basset blogging, orchid blogging and all sorts of off-topic blogging in the blogosphere on Fridays.
I find that a curious thing to say: ".. all sorts of off-topic blogging…". And what, precisely, would be "on-topic blogging"?
I told Isaac last night that I knew I'd been reading too many political blogs when, while reading some science headlines, I saw this headline (or something like it, since I haven't recovered the link*)
Evolved Newt Threatens Garter Snake
and my first thought was: …so they're calling Tom DeLay "Garter Snake" now.
There are lots and lots of people who use blogs to write on lots and lots of different topics — I find more every day, and I'm not even looking. Myself, I find it a useful and inspiring outlet for writing out all manner of thoughts that, I'm pleased to say, don't fit terribly neatly into just one topic. My mind feels like that most times, and I'm afraid my blog is a messy reflection of what's going on in my mind.
So: "off-topic blogging"…?
There was an interesting study released recently, with a fascinating and highly decorative graph showing connections (as in links and references) between various blogs. The connection graph, done in red and blue (some surprise there!) showed a big red blob and a big blue blob, with very few cross-over connections.
The conclusion was that "liberal blogs" linked predominantly to "liberal blogs", and — wait for it! — "conservative blogs" connected mostly with "conservative blogs".
A pretty graph, but not a surprising picture really. Political blogging is like that: lots of people reinforcing what each other says, apparently in an effort to see which side can say it the loudest and get the most points (what I think of as "junior debating points", since it's usually accompanied by the sophomoric attitude that one "scores points" against one's opponents, and democracy is the prize). After awhile all the shouting becomes like so much brainwashing. I know that my own eyes start to ache and blur, and my independent mental processes start to vanish.
The presumption that blogs are either "liberal" or "conservative" reinforces the idea, unspoken but prevalent, at least among political bloggers, that the only true blog is the political blog.
Political bloggers take themselves very, very seriously. They all imagine that they are doing work without which our democracy would already have crumbled. They all seem to be just waiting for the chance to yell "I broke that story! I broke it!" with embarrassingly childish glee and adamance. I suppose without this remarkable energy and self-esteem no one would bother, but would that be so bad? Oh, yes, I overstate my case somewhat. I like reading political blogs well enough, but they can get tedious the way that cocktail parties overflowing with self-important people can get tedious very quickly. If only we could talk more about things that really matter.
How can you tell when you've stumbled into a serious, political blog? One of the warning signs I've noticed is that in addition to mentioning each other frequently (either positively for those of the same persuasion, or derisively for those of the opposite persuasion), they always refer to each other by their first names. It's very tiresome, in the manner of faux Hollywood insiders, or those breathing the rarified inner-circle air inside the Beltway. What's interesting is that outside those rarified circles that some toadies will kill to get in to, most people don't care a lick and go about their lives none the worse for their deprivation.
Sometimes the "conservative blogs" (plus the rest of the "conservative media") are referred to as an "echo machine". I see that easily, since it's my own observation that these red and blue groups spend a lot of energy reinforcing what the other one's saying.
But, along the lines of the old chestnut "suppose they gave a war and nobody came", suppose Anne Coulter (just to grab an example) wrote her drivel and no one read it? One can choose not to read her (or some of the other equally execrable political hyenas) — I do. Choose not read her, that is. NB: I would never have heard of her if it weren't for the unseemly rush of her detractors (i.e., those of my own political persuasion) to smack her down a good one.
In much the same way that one frequently gets the impression that the main job of lawyers is to create work for other lawyers, it sometimes seems that there would be no point to political bloggers (i.e., real bloggers) if it weren't for other political bloggers of opposing views. I know, I know, they all believe that they're providing vital analysis on important topics. I just have trouble believing that there's that much to analyze. It's similar to the way I think our economic system has suffered because of far too much scrutiny, fart too many radio and television programs analyzing "the market" (you know which one I mean).
So, I think I will continue on breaking tradition with real bloggers and make everyday an off-topic day. All I need now is a catchy little tune to go along with the idea.
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*[11 April 2005] Found it: "Deadly newt no match for highly evolved garter snake".