Blogging seems to have entered its midlife crisis, with much existential gnashing-of-teeth about the state and fate of a literary form that once seemed new and fresh and now seems familiar and tired. And there’s good reason for the teeth-gnashing. While there continue to be many blogs, including a lot of very good ones, it seems to me that one would be hard pressed to make the case that there’s still a “blogosphere.” That vast, free-wheeling, and surprisingly intimate forum where individual writers shared their observations, thoughts, and arguments outside the bounds of the traditional media is gone. Almost all of the popular blogs today are commercial ventures with teams of writers, aggressive ad-sales operations, bloated sites, and strategies of self-linking. Some are good, some are boring, but to argue that they’re part of a “blogosphere” that is distinguishable from the “mainstream media” seems more and more like an act of nostalgia, if not self-delusion.
And that’s why there’s so much angst today among the blogging set. As The Economist observes in its new issue, “Blogging has entered the mainstream, which – as with every new medium in history – looks to its pioneers suspiciously like death.”
well, yeah.
Anything that can be exploited will be. But even well run blogs, watched over by a team (thank you elves) can be open and freewheeling
Also, the presence of commercialy conceived and run blogs does not in any way shut down the individual blogger. That net continues with all the glory and garbage it ever had.
[url=http://rericsawyer.wordpress.com]R. Eric Sawyer -playing in the shallow end of the pool[/url]
Somebody has something to say.
Somebody else is willing to read it.
Another somebody is will to pay for an ad.
The first somebody get a little money to spend some more time writing.
Sounds like a good idea.
I am sort of burning out on BLOGs. I used to keep up with several every day, but now just this one and Townhall. I read this one to watch the train-wreck that is destined to happen to TEC, the church I dearly loved and faithfully supported until Aug 2003. Townhall is pretty-much conservative heaven. Despite the election, I am proud to be conservative, Christian and patriotic. We lost. Oh well. I love the USA, I will support the elected government and know America will survive. I just hope B. Hussein Obama doesn’t do too much damage.