Blogs Will Save The Day
Supposedly, blogs were an important factor in the 2008 and 2004 elections. I can't imagine why. I wouldn't trust anything I read in a blog. At least not without doing my own research. This pertains to sentiments with which I agree, and facts that support my positions. There simply is very little reason for a blog to be credible. Reputation doesn't matter because the writers of blogs are usually anonymous. Blogs don't have any practical relevance in their owner's lives so there isn't much reason for even the owners to take them too seriously.
"Ah yes", you say, "But my blog is different. I really KNOW what I'm talking about. I have a political science degree!".
Actually that's what I say. But I'm sure there are others who say the same thing or something similar such as "I have an economics degree", "I AM the President", "I read this one book", "I am a reputable writer on such matters and have proven my credibility over the years with a great volume of well-respected and thoroughly researched analysis". Oh wait. Am I kidding?
On the other hand, should political writing be left only to the well known print journalists, talking heads, and media pundits? That's probably not such a good idea. And before blog world, that is all there was: George Will, Friedman, Kristoff, Krugman, think tank goons, etc... established guys. There's nothing wrong with those guys. I recommend reading them. However, some fresh blood isn't such a bad thing either. Writers at some of the more established "blogs" probably wouldn't have had an outlet in a non-blog world.
Of course, all of the REAL dirt (meaning boring facts with entirely mundane and non-headline-making realities) were and are still in books by people we've never heard of (well, I have heard of couple), journals, and Congressional Quarterly. Thankfully, there are some really good blogs with a lot of useful information such as Simon Johnson's Baseline Scenario and Nouriel Roubini's RGE Monitor. These are basically niche blogs, and they are difficult to read, but they are rewarding. Unfortunately, these blogs aren't the ones making news.
A further problem with blogs is that most are maintained by one person and unless that person does nothing but sit in front of the computer, life will interrupt the blog at some point. It happened to me! There is also the problem of basically burning out (that happened too!) If I had to take a guess, I'd say that blog traffic has significantly dropped in recent months. That's another way of saying that since the election, "who cares?". We're either happy or sad. Your guy either won or lost. And that's it. Burning, righteous indignation is difficult to come by without a constant source of insane lies such as those in elections.
Alarming as it may be, newspapers are getting smaller and smaller and will probably disappear entirely within the next decade. It's frightening to me. Blogs will be all we have. Notwithstanding the editorial concerns, the political blog is boring beast. If it is too interesting, then it's probably filled with lies and garbage and could suddenly disappear! I think its fair to say that the same can be said of the actual readers of political blogs. Not you. Other people.
In the case of this blog, it will continue to be what it has been in it's current incarnation. Probably. So there will be political posts whenever I feel sufficiently righteous and/or knowledgeable (which is often the same thing, to be honest). However, take it with a grain of salt. Take it ALL with a grain of salt.
Stay tuned next time for a post about the taste of dog poop.
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