Blogging From Mt. Olympus

August 31, 2006 |

The USA Today is a pretty cool newspaper.  I like it because it doesn’t waste my time, and it does a good job of giving me the most relevant news.  I like to read, I just don’t have time to sit down and go through a paper as voluminous as the New York Times, that is why I love RSS.  The USA Today is like a print version of RSS.  Heck, I even get the RSS edition of the USA Today.

In yesterday’s edition, I came across an interesting article in the editorial section (the 2nd section that I read, after the sports).  The article was titled, "Lieberman, ‘Snakes,’ and the seductive mythology of the blogosphere".  Anything about blogging is going to catch my eye, and this was no different.  The author, Bruce Kluger, makes the point that blogs might be popular, but they aren’t necessarily a good barometer for public opinion.  He cites as his examples the recent campaign of Connecticut candidate for Senate, Ned Lamont, and the poor box office numbers for the recent release of "Snakes on a Plane."   Apparently, both Lamont and "Snakes" were highly touted by bloggers.  His point about the Lamont campaign is that it didn’t unseat Joe Lieberman, not yet anyway. 

Kluger makes his point in the second half of the article:

what appears to be a coast-to-coast juggernaut
on a 17-inch monitor is, in the real world, simply an elaborate
PC-to-PC chain letter — enthusiastic, but not necessarily the national
mindset.

"There isn’t much point in detailing the chest thumping of the various blognut extremists," wrote Time’s Joe Klein in his analysis of the Lamont victory. "Their reach is minuscule."

For those who think Klein is underestimating the power of the blog, I have four words: Howard Dean for president.

But it is the underwhelming response to Snakes that reveals the real peril in relying on bloggers to take the nation’s pulse.

"There were a lot of inflated expectations on this picture, with the Internet buzz," New Line’s David Tuckerman told The New York Times after Snakes‘ lukewarm bow. "But it basically performed like a normal horror movie."

Tuckerman hits the problem squarely on its
blogging noggin. Ever since the first smarty-pants posted his first
unsolicited opinion on the Internet, Americans have become captivated
by blog-o-mania — for good reason. For once, we own and operate our own
public medium. Power to the people. Vox populi. Yadda-yadda.

And yet, as the scrambling suits at Lamont
headquarters and New Line Cinema now know, it’s easy to be seduced by
one’s own hype, especially when that hype is preceded by a "www." Now
it’s time to play catch-up ball. Lamont’s handlers will have to face a
candidate who will surely try to have it both ways on the campaign
trail; New Line will have to sell a boatload of popcorn. That’s the way
the blog bounces.

As an occasional blogger myself, I’m still wary
of the phenomenon. On one hand, it can be liberating to log on and
spout off, unencumbered by editorial oversight.

On the other hand, as August 2006 clearly demonstrates, bloggers can just as easily get it wrong. That’s worth remembering.

The whole thing reminds me of child-rearing. As
the parent of any toddler can tell you, the younger the child, the
louder the screams for attention — and quite often, the degree of the
crisis is in reverse proportion to the decibels of the bellows.

To that end, it’s important to remember that the
blogosphere is still in its infancy, and like any kid, it needs to be
watched very carefully.

Kluger is making a valid point.  Blogs can most certainly get it wrong.  But then again, who can’t?  Even the most respected journalists aren’t above getting it wrong.  Does anyone really assume that blogs and bloggers are the be-all end-all authorities on anything?  Every blog has an editorial flavor.  No blog that I am aware of is merely a recitation of facts about a particular issue.  Anytime you are dealing with opinions, someone is going to be wrong.

There is also the issue of subject matter.  No amount of blogging in the world was going to save the Howard Dean campaign in 2004.  You can blog all you want– but the tape don’t lie.  People are going to read blogs, sure, but no one is going to base all their opinions solely on the posts that float around the blogosphere.  Personal experience and observation still counts for something.  What makes the blogosphere different is that the opinions are unfiltered.  They are being shared directly from person to person, instantly.  They aren’t going through the hands of editors or the marketing department.  One can try to make light of the vox populi, but it sure makes for interesting reading. 

So how does all this relate to this blog?  The Charlottesville Area Real Estate Blog has plenty of facts and information, but even more opinion.  I’m not conceited enough to believe that I am the expert on all things real estate, or that my writings are edicts from on high.  I am just one guy trying to carve out a little space in the universe because I think that some people might find my opinions and the information that I share to be informative and interesting.  I’m not necessarily trying to change the world; although that would be a most welcomed side-effect. 

My point is that you shouldn’t be worried about or abandon reading blogs just because some of them sometimes aren’t the best at prognostication.  That isn’t why they exist.  What blogs certainly do accomplish is giving a voice where it might not otherwise have been heard.  That’s a good thing.

And if there is a "mythology of the blogosphere," then I would like to put my hat in the ring for the part of Zeus. 

 

 

 

 

Posted by Daniel | Filed Under Blogging, Fun Stuff 

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