Blog bashing and other (un)healthy offline trends

I read with interest and a certain amount of humour, David Bullard's latest column in the Sunday Times. The title of the article was, ‘Name and Shame Offensive Bloggers'. Despite the cursory research usually underpinning his missives and the ‘Bullard in a China Shop' style of writing that we have come to expect, Mr Bullard has well and truly stirred up a hornet's nest... or in this case, a digital spider's web?

If you have not read it yet, here is a taste of the article. A link to the full story can be found at the foot of this article. "Most blog sites are the air guitars of journalism. They're cobbled together by people who wouldn't stand a hope in hell of getting a job in journalism, mainly because they have very little to say. It's rather sad how many people think the tedious minutiae of their lives will be of any interest to anyone else. It's even sadder when someone reads them," laments Bullard

The outraged South African blogger community has launched a full scale crusade to defend their little digital kingdoms. Why all the fuss? Is this article any more provocative than his usual offerings? I think not. The reason there is voiced outrage is the fact that the people who Bullard attacked have a voice; unlike the multitude of voiceless readers that stew angrily in silence over his commentary every Sunday morning, like a cold bitter pot of coffee. Bullard has surely not missed the irony of the response to his article.

I am on record as having said, with the rare exceptions, that I am not totally enamoured with blogs used in a business or commercial sense. That being said, I think the whole blogging and social networking connectivity is amazing and we should embrace it for the overwhelming effect it has on life as we know it. Blogging and social networks are an extremely powerful and positive entity, even despite the odd elements of badness that is obligatory when dealing with human beings.

Blogging and social networking is not going away. Like anything new, particularly a revolutionary communication enabler like print and newspapers centuries ago, radio and television last century, it eventually regulates itself. The golden age of broadcast is waning and average people are taking on the role and responsibility of generating content and publishing it, whether it be uploading silly video clips on YouTube or posting scathing blog responses to curmudgeonly articles by major newspaper journalists; this content is being consumed at explosive rates. Regardless of the fact that the quality of writing is not up to Bullard's cultured and groomed standards, the Pulitzer Prize wannabes are writing and the minions are reading it in their millions. All that changes is that the consumer can now choose what they consume, when they consume it and from whom they consume if from, as apposed to relying on broadcasts from the limited number of corporate and government controlled mouthpieces. Audiences will regulate the proliferation and quality of content. If it is rubbish, consumers will not consume it... well, depending of course on individual grading standards. So yes, millions of blogs will implode in a puff of ineptitude and lack of compelling content; so what? The great blogs that survive and thrive will give media owners something to think about other than fast cars, lunches and Cuban cigars.

This sentiment is certainly echoed by the managing director of IT Web Jovan Regasek, who in a recent article said, "The media as we know it will continue losing control over content creation and distribution and, as a painful consequence, its influence on its readership. To remain competitive with our own audience, we need to change the way we think about doing business in the online world." Regasek and IT Web, known as one of the earlier and more successful players in the South African online market has recently launched the beta version of a social network and lifestyle website called http://www.mydigitallife.co.za/ The site clearly illustrates an intention to take his own advice seriously, albeit baby steps.

Bullard misses the point and significance of blogs and their place in our future. The bigger picture has very little to do with self-absorbed, bed-sit bound writers having a dip at usurping silver-backed journalists. It has everything to do with millions of people opening up an incredible channel of two-way dialogue; a conduit for the exchange of ideas and ideals. Humans have always thrived in communities despite the challenges that go with them and the principle of this dynamic and democratic community is going to be one of the cornerstones of our future.

The original Bullard article: http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/Columnists/DavidBullard/Article.aspx?id=452352