Process vs Product
This Is A Progressive Blog
And I Am A Raving Liberal
After a couple of years of reading blogs and marveling at the ability of this new form of communication to inform and misinform; to reveal and deceive; I finally decided that it was something I wanted to spend some time doing.
With tools like Blogger it is easy to start a blog. But after going through Bloggers three steps to create a blog, you realize that you have an empty space that demands that it be filled up with something. And that space is empty every day. It needs to be fed and that isn't always easy.
I admire those who have been doing this for years. The intensity and passion of Kos, the rapid fire pace of Atrios, Josh Marshall's ability to dominate a story and worry every last detail out of it, General J. C. Christian's letter writing prowess. To do this well every day like they do takes talent and dedication.
The Right Wing Noise Machine has purchases big chunks of what used to be the 4th Estate, the public's watchdog, the press (the media). Corporate media is no longer interested in pursuing the type of stories that were once its bread and butter. Once news divisions were considered to be the crown jewels of broadcast networks, now they are required to be profit centers. It is hard to be a profit center when you are biting that hands that feed the network.
Journalists were once regular people. Now they are pundits. They take what they are given and pretend it is news. They don't cultivate sources, they are cultivated by their sources. They are part of the machine, not observers of it.
Blogs and bloggers are different. We are part of a new system of information distribution. From cooking to car repair to dog grooming, blogs provide a community that is open to everyone with the right bandwidth and the willingness to spend some time at the keyboard.
Political blogs may indeed be the wave of the future. There has been a lot of introspection and discussion today regarding the role and function of the progressive blogosphere. Kos reponded to the lessons of Paul Hackett's campaign and Chris Bowers and Matthew Stoller issued their report on The Emergence of the Progressive Blogosphere.
It is that progressive blogosphere that provides us with the key to changing the future of this country. It is in that arena, that thousands of progressive blogs can light the way for changes in the political and social climate of America. Big blog, small blog, it doesn't matter. Every blog is a candle that creates illumination in the darkness into which this country has been immersed. And, all those candles together will help light the way.
Blogs are changing politics and politics will change blogs. Progressive blogs need to work with progressive politicans. We need to engage each other in give and take. Blogs report, but they also react. Unlike the ideal journalist, bloggers become part of the story at times. That gives them power and also demands of them responsibility.
I want to make a difference. Words Have Power will be used to spread the message of progressive, Democratic political action. We will work with any candidate, for any office who convinces us that that candidate is worthy of our support.
At Words Have Power, we have a great working relationship with the Francine Busby campaign. I admire the energy and passion that Ms. Busby brings to her task and I admire the team that she has assembled. They get it. They understand the power of the blogosphere to shape a campaign at the grassroots level.
Now, when I decided to launch this little blog, I didn't "process" all the stuff I wrote above. I went through Blogger's three step program and then started to fill up the space with "product". I will continue to do that, because that's the fun part. I hate all that process stuff.
And I Am A Raving Liberal
After a couple of years of reading blogs and marveling at the ability of this new form of communication to inform and misinform; to reveal and deceive; I finally decided that it was something I wanted to spend some time doing.
With tools like Blogger it is easy to start a blog. But after going through Bloggers three steps to create a blog, you realize that you have an empty space that demands that it be filled up with something. And that space is empty every day. It needs to be fed and that isn't always easy.
I admire those who have been doing this for years. The intensity and passion of Kos, the rapid fire pace of Atrios, Josh Marshall's ability to dominate a story and worry every last detail out of it, General J. C. Christian's letter writing prowess. To do this well every day like they do takes talent and dedication.
The Right Wing Noise Machine has purchases big chunks of what used to be the 4th Estate, the public's watchdog, the press (the media). Corporate media is no longer interested in pursuing the type of stories that were once its bread and butter. Once news divisions were considered to be the crown jewels of broadcast networks, now they are required to be profit centers. It is hard to be a profit center when you are biting that hands that feed the network.
Journalists were once regular people. Now they are pundits. They take what they are given and pretend it is news. They don't cultivate sources, they are cultivated by their sources. They are part of the machine, not observers of it.
Blogs and bloggers are different. We are part of a new system of information distribution. From cooking to car repair to dog grooming, blogs provide a community that is open to everyone with the right bandwidth and the willingness to spend some time at the keyboard.
Political blogs may indeed be the wave of the future. There has been a lot of introspection and discussion today regarding the role and function of the progressive blogosphere. Kos reponded to the lessons of Paul Hackett's campaign and Chris Bowers and Matthew Stoller issued their report on The Emergence of the Progressive Blogosphere.
It is that progressive blogosphere that provides us with the key to changing the future of this country. It is in that arena, that thousands of progressive blogs can light the way for changes in the political and social climate of America. Big blog, small blog, it doesn't matter. Every blog is a candle that creates illumination in the darkness into which this country has been immersed. And, all those candles together will help light the way.
Blogs are changing politics and politics will change blogs. Progressive blogs need to work with progressive politicans. We need to engage each other in give and take. Blogs report, but they also react. Unlike the ideal journalist, bloggers become part of the story at times. That gives them power and also demands of them responsibility.
I want to make a difference. Words Have Power will be used to spread the message of progressive, Democratic political action. We will work with any candidate, for any office who convinces us that that candidate is worthy of our support.
At Words Have Power, we have a great working relationship with the Francine Busby campaign. I admire the energy and passion that Ms. Busby brings to her task and I admire the team that she has assembled. They get it. They understand the power of the blogosphere to shape a campaign at the grassroots level.
Now, when I decided to launch this little blog, I didn't "process" all the stuff I wrote above. I went through Blogger's three step program and then started to fill up the space with "product". I will continue to do that, because that's the fun part. I hate all that process stuff.
posted by RJB at 8:47 PM
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