The revolution won't be blogged

In the May/June issue of Mother Jones, George Packer writes that there is "something peculiarly stale and tired" about political blogs. He reads them anyway.

First, a confession: I hate blogs. I'm also addicted to them. Hours dissolve into nothing when I suit up and dematerialize into the political blogosphere...

My private habit (and others') has emerged as the journalistic signature of the 2004 campaign. Although only 13 percent of Americans regularly get their campaign news from the Internet — still far less than from local, cable, and network TV news — nonetheless a whole industry of analysts has risen up to declare 2004 the dawn of a new political era. Part of the mystique of blogs is their protean quality: They work both sides of the divide between politics and media, further blurring the already fuzzy distinctions between reporter, pundit, political operative, activist, and citizen.

[fast forward]

The constellation of opinion called the blogosphere consists, like the stars themselves, partly of gases. This is what makes blogs addictive — that is, both pleasurable and destructive: They're so easy to consume, and so endlessly available. Their second-by-second proliferation means that far more is written than needs to be said about any one thing. To change metaphors for a moment (and to deepen the shame), I gorge myself on these hundreds of pieces of commentary like so much candy into a bloated — yet nervous, sugar-jangled — stupor.

Link via JD Lasica's New Media Musings.

1:42 PM Tuesday, April 27 2004 • Link
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There's "something particularly stale and tired" about Mother Jones, too; but I don't read it anyway.

Posted by: papa jones at April 27, 2004 06:16 PM

I think while the political revolution might not be as big as it could have been, I think the blog revolution will continue. The "Citizens' Journalism" movement is growing, slowly but surely, and is gaining legitimacy in some circles.

Posted by: Tom at April 28, 2004 05:36 PM

His only legitimate complaint may be one of time management -- which he can learn to handle. It's pretty easy to stay abreast of who has something unique and well-reasoned to say. There is no need to 'gorge onesef' on hundreds of blogs.
It takes some new skills to filter effectively, but it's well worth it, given the stale and repetitive nature of what's available in print. If it's good, it finds its way into the blogosphere, where many of the insights are more credible than the ones usually found in Mother Jones.

Posted by: Dave Sheridan at April 29, 2004 02:50 AM
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