Attention from the Mainstream Media

2004-09-23

(Just a quick note, this article was inspired by this piece over at Maura's One Ping Only. I'm afraid I was too exhausted at the time of writing to give proper credit. Sorry.)

The mainstream media (MSM) have been getting a lot of flack in the blogosphere for mentioning blogs. Usually the mentions are unflattering. Too bad. That's not really an issue though. What is an issue is where the blogging thing goes when it becomes normal.

From what I can tell, most of the attention has been directed at the political bloggers. The political bloggers tend to rant about current events and are full of all sorts of theories. They also gather large quantities of information and provide an unorganized analysis. Someday, when Darwinism clears out the less effective members, there may be a huge community of information analysts all connected through their blogs. I'm not holding my breath.

What about the rest of us? I occasionally comment on some detail of the real world. I even give opinions (far too often). Mostly, I just write whatever crap I feel like, or have time for. Many of my visitors also have sites of their own. Only a few of them do political commentary. What happens to us?

My prediction (there's one of those opinions again) is that there will come a division in terms. Real changes happen when the language changes. I'm guessing that there will be a different word for political bloggers versus non-political bloggers. Once that happens, we will no longer be considered the same thing. I'm ok with that.

The MSM will probably be the first ones to change the language. Each member of the group wants to be the first with something different. As soon as a notable news agency decides to make the distinction between political blogs and the rest of us, all the others will grab the word to avoid being left behind. I'm thinking the phrase "feeding frenzy".

To help them along, I would like to suggest a term. I think the MSM should refer to political blogs as "Pollies" and the rest of us as "Web Gods and Goddesses". This subtle change in terminology could help delineate the function of the bloggers. Using these very appropriate names, MSM agents can hold a discussion or write an article without having to clarify which bloggers they're decrying.

I'll be comfortable with the division when it comes. My tendency is to go with the flow and adapt. Others will adapt as well. There will be a few who drop off rather than bother with changes. That's just the way of things. I think it will be better.