Maybe It's Summertime....

Normally they're pretty quiet, actually. Then we see some new projects pop up in the fall (blog business tour, 100 bloggers, more space, changethis, 800-CEO-READ, etc). Not sure what this fall'll bring (besides books), but the summer's been anything but boring this year.

Blogsphere = The new Slash/dot Battlefront

Well, the reason the A-list makes no sense is because the premise of blogs seemed to be an equal voice for everyone, a true egalitarian outlet for the little guy to have a voice.

What's happened - and yes, it's human nature - is that it's become tiered and people start sucking up to A-list bloggers to get linklove. Such examples that make me laugh my ass off are any blogger that starts a post with "My good friend" - that should just be a big sign that that blogger has insecurity issues and is sucking up to get links. And, unfortunately, it works.

The other sad state of A-list blogging - and the sucking up to A-list bloggers - is that you see less and less opinion, and more little posts that are to drive Google juice through constant syndication. Is this what citizen journalism is supposed to become, a mere mirror of the mainstream media that blogs are supposed to be the antithesis? Or, are blogs supposed to push the envelope and actually provide commentary and thoughts - a 21st century Socratic dialogue.

Heather I thought this article from wired was interesting. It details how the most influencial bloggers may not be the most informative.

http://wired-vig.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,62537,00.html

I think worrying about the A list of bloggers is rather silly, and each blogger should concentrate on good writing and blogger relations. By that I mean you might write well, but that does not mean you promote yourself well.

John

Heya Jeremy Popper, I hope that blogs don't become a mirror of the status consciousness of some parts of the traditional press. I do agree that some of the terminology that people use to refer to each other is cringeworthy. But I do think that often these folks do know each other and aren't faking the fact that they like each other. Whether that means they're pulling punches is an interesting question...

Yah, John, will check out the link. Love these kinds of analysis, that take apart conventional thinking.

It's Pepper, Heather.

And, it's too late - or, as one of my favorite sayings goes, "if wishes were fishes, the world would be a sea." Blogs have become insular, where it's all about top ten lists, or A-lists, or anything else that people can use to pat their backs with - it's not about content or opinion, but about whom you know.

I don't think that the bloggers know each other well enough, and in a past interview on my blog - http://pop-pr.blogspot.com/2005/05/pr-face2facedan-gillmor-founder.html - I had a respectable blogger admit that there is a chance that he would not link to a blogger he does not know or trust.

Does that really build a community? Or replicate the caste system we see in mainstream media?

My apologies for the typo, Jeremy. I don't have the same experience that you have, that bloggers are insular. But I do personally hate top lists. I find a greater variety of interesting reads by looking at the blogrolls of others that from looking at these top whatever lists.