How blogging has changed

I just read a post, courtesy of Viking Pundit, about the changes that have occurred in blogging over the last few years.

REASONS WHY POLITICAL BLOGGING IS POINTLESS (FOR MOST OF US, ANYWAY)

1) Paul Simon said it best in The Boxer: "A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest." There is ample evidence to support whatever harebrained theories each of us wants to believe. The proliferation of blogs adds to the volume and apparent legitimacy of all information, true and false, crazy and sane. We are ala carte consumers of information, taking in only that which pleases us. The original mission of Begging To Differ was quaint but naive. It's not just that The Truth is out there but no one wants to see it. It's not even there in the first place.

2) The blowhard factor is real. The vast majority of political blogs purport to engage in advocacy, but have tiny audiences. The result is a tenor and tone of smug self-satisfaction. This is not to say that all political blogs consist of ill-informed rants by mediocre writers, just that 99.9% of them do. There's little point in being an above-average practitioner of a garbage art. No one cares what I think. No one cares what you think.

There's more, and it's worth reading.

I don't believe that I totally agree that political blogging is a waste of time, except for the Big Kuhunas. One of the reason that I tend to read multiple poli-bloggers, most of them relatively small, is that it gives me different perspectives on the same event. If I wanted to hear (or read) only the OFFICIAL TRUTH FROM THE OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED POLITICAL KNOW-IT-ALL, I'd have stayed with the MSM.

Which I didn't. Over the last 3 years, my news habits have changed. Sure, I still (sometimes) read a daily paper or watch TV news - but I do it mostly because I want to follow a local or regional angle, or will not be near a computer for a while. Most of the time, I'll check out the MSM sources, then head over to a blogger who's likely to have less of an agenda to grind.

I have noticed that many bloggers are not updating regularly - I was a little puzzled about that. Still am. I hadn't been updating as regularly, because I'm on dial-up, and that makes the process a real pain. But, I've been working hard to keep to a 3-4 posts or more a week schedule, and I think I've been successful at that. Even when, as does happen, life intrudes. Maybe other bloggers also have a life (hard as that is to believe). I'll check back after Christmas on this topic.

Many bloggers, like myself, have evolved in their purpose (what the business world calls a mission statement). Originally, I wanted to BE a Big Kuhuna. After trying, and looking kind of ridiculous when I fell down on my keister, I stopped being QUITE so pretentious. And, in the process, I found my voice.

I like to think I have the voice of the average middle-aged woman. A person for whom family is VERY important. A person whose goal is to leave behind a world that I'd like my grandchildren to live in. To that end, I'm for a SERIOUS reform of Social Security and other government spending. I want to live well in my old age, but not at the expense of the kids.

I feel strongly about education - it's not easy, and if the kid doesn't put enough effort into it, he or she SHOULD fail. Maybe it'll teach the kid one of life's most important lessons - there is NO free lunch.

I strongly support economic freedom, religious freedom, and personal freedom. I don't believe, however, that anyone else's freedom should depend on trampling on my right to raise my family the way I see fit. Or forcing me to utter mealy-mouth PC platitudes that I don't agree with, in order to get or keep a job.

If freedom is important to you, get in touch with your elected officials, and urge them to confirm Alito. If he doesn't get a yes-or-no vote, the Democrats will take it as a sign that they should stall until the next election. We need a full court. The issues that are at stake are crucial.

Tags = Blogging