Is this the end of the blogger? I don’t think so and certainly not of political bloggers who are now an essential component of our democracy preserving our freedoms to challenge, monitor and communicate with the political class.
Do politicians hate (political) bloggers? Well, yes of course, because they have been responsible for destroying several high profile careers (such as Peter Hain) and are on the way to destroying Gordon Brown. They are also afraid of it – afraid of committing to a blog anything that might be construed as ‘off message’. They are also afraid of the speed with which mistakes can be escalated into major news stories and how simple posts or comments can be twisted by opponents into the opposite of what is meant.
This fear is a good thing and testament to the success of some of the political blogs at getting under the rhinoceros-like skin of some of our political masters.
Is this the end of the blogger? Aug 8 2008 by Robin Turner, Western Mail
THEY write about everything from their toddler’s first steps to politics, the credit crunch and the state of Amy Winehouse’s tattoos.
But are bloggers, the digital diarists of the 21st century, a dying breed?
There was once a time when blogs abounded – even politicians were clamouring to leap aboard the blogging bandwagon. But with some bloggers running into legal problems, and a rise in social networking websites, the blog (short for web log) is showing signs of decline.
Is this the end of the blogger as we have known it? Maybe. There is (some) truth in the contention that many people who used to blog have now migrated to Facebook and other social networking media. This is a good thing in many ways because it gets rid of most of the rubbish that clutters up the serious blogosphere.
There is also truth in the fact that legal issues (defamation, libel, contracts of employment) are starting to bite into the casual non-thinking aspect of blogging. For example , we have already been informed that this blog is being monitored hourly by a large Cardiff legal firm on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government. But then true freedom of speech has never really existed. There are always consequences to what you do and this should always be factored into whatever you say, print or do online . It’s just that blogging diseminates this much quicker than people are used to and some people become a cropper as we have seen recently with Pippa Wagstaffe.
The function of the blog is now changing somewhat – it is no longer really appropriate for socialising nor does it have the tools and widgets available in something like Facebook. or MySpace. Blogging is now evolving into a much more professional activity as the software tools that support it become more sophisticated. It is no accident that serious political bloggers are now migrating from the excellent free Blogger (Google) and Wordpress systems to their own hosted Tyepad, WordPress (this site) and other solutions that allow monetisation through advertising and have better administrative tools, more security and less vulnerability to being closed down by the authorities and agents of the anti-Christ.
The term blogger is now increasingly being qualified by what sort of speciality /interest is being blogged, hence the term ‘political blog’ for sites like Cambria Politico. In fact, it might now be time to invent a new name for political blogs. Why not tell us what you think in the comments. Some suggestions to get you started: polblog, pollog, politicog.
See also Peter Black, Ordovicius and Cynical Dragon on this topic.
What a load of shitlog, bollockog, chutzpalog.
Robin Turner of the Wasting Mule is typical of a past generation of third rate, down-at-heel, talentless hacks spewing out low grade, badly written rubbish. He personifies the real ‘dying breed’ of which he writes – dirty mac, peppermints-in-the-pocket, half empty glass of stale Brains SA. Why give this little rat the time of day? He has nothing whatsoever to contribute to Welsh life – and never has.
Rarely have I read such utter and complete tosh!
“The term blogger is now increasingly being qualified by what sort of speciality /interest is being blogged, hence the term ‘political blog’ for sites like Cambria Politico. ”
Cambria Politico is NOT a political blog at all!
It is source of bile, venom and hatred. There is NO politics here. It is a vehicle for delivering the small minded, drunken bigotry of the sad person who writes it!
If you don’t believe me – read his postings and try and find some politics or political debate here.
If the Trades Description Act applied to political blogs, this one would be closed down immediately!
Poor dab Dewi – hiding behind your clever pseudonym, sounding off in a childish manner and frothing at the mouth – you are yourself proving the very point you are presumably trying to make. Leave sensible argument to others fy machgen i.
Dewi is a drunken twat.
There is no politics here. There is no debate here. Why pretend there is?
Why call it a politcal blog when its patently not? Simple question? Now if the author, Defynog or Hywel are intellectually capable doing so – answer it!