Thursday, November 13, 2008
Our friend Matt Margolis has some provocative things to say about the conservative blogosphere:
...Look at some of the top blogs we have on the right... they're run by people who are in the business of politics... I know and like many of them, but so far I haven't seen huge successes from their work. I do applaud their efforts to help the party, and admire their dedication... I am just not convinced the current approach will help the cause. For instance, there are weekly "Conservative Blogger Briefings" and conference calls that I and many other bloggers are invited to, but if you live outside of the Washington DC area or have a full time job, you can't take part in them. Even if you could, I have failed to see how they've helped the movement.
As the founder of Blogs For Bush, one of the most successful blogs during the 2004 presidential campaign, I have been effectively shutout because I don't live in Washington DC and don't blog full time for a living. Other successful blogs and bloggers have moved down the path of conglomeration... not so much to serve the movement but to serve their own ambitions and egos. Blogging for them is a business venture...
I'm sympathetic with a lot of what Matt has to say here. I know he's always been of the view (If I've understood him) that real bloggers are pure bloggers (people who don't make a living from it, or don't come from journalistic backgrounds), and I agree to a great extent. A lot of what passes for "blogging" these days is really just a mimicking of the form, without the spontaneity and common voice that made political blogging...blogging. Instead a lot of what we get is the old top-down approach with a different web page layout and frequency of posting.
And yet...each type has a part to play. I note that there is no Daily Kos of the right. Instapundit, as a one-man effort and no community, is no substitute. I'm not sure that's even necessary, though. Does Kos really make a difference, or are they more hurt than help? I'm not sure.
I'm not sure what the entire answer is, really.
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, p.30
human nature doesn't change (what a conservative thing to say). Bloggers today like you are like the pamphleteers of the 19th century and early 20th century. Some will have small followings, some none and some will find themselves becoming either Media or Movements. It's all part of the natural course of events.
As I mentioned in a previous comment here, Instapundit is the most widely read blog edited by a law prof and the top 5 are all conservative. This means that right wing blogs are having an impact where it's needed most, among professionals and intellectuals. The seeds of our future success are being planted even as the garden we once nurtured gives way to the seasons.
I think we're doing fine on the right and the blogging that's going on at all levels of popularity will make us a smarter and more able party in time.
Most of all, there's no real gain in trying to turn blogs into some kind of tool of persuasion. That can only drive a kind of substance free populism that we don't want anyway. The means, in fact, come to be reflected in the ends.
As I mentioned in a previous comment here, Instapundit is the most widely read blog edited by a law prof and the top 5 are all conservative. ..........
This means that right wing blogs are having an impact where it's needed most, among professionals and intellectuals. The seeds of our future success are being planted even as the garden we once nurtured gives way to the seasons.
Going off somewhat at a tangent, but for something that impinges on the will of bloggers to get their message out, now that it appears that the Dems will try and institute a "fairness" doctrine for talk-radio will it come to pass that they attempt to censor these blogs as well?
From a practical point of view, I just don't see how that would be possible.