Blogs matter

Sometimes I hear writers from the MSM talk about blogs, as if they're some silly cultural phenomenon that they have to tolerate. Some think it's quaint that people want to write in their blogs, but I don't think they understand the importance of them.

First of all, we can't all be paid columnists for the shrinking print media, but we like to write. Are we supposed to wait around for someone to approve of us before we communicate with the world? Sure, we don't have the thousands of readers the print media columnists have, but we're communicating with the outside world.

I wonder if those columnists would blog if they didn't have their columns. It's easier to keep writing when you have a paycheck coming and have readers' emails and letters and editors' opinions to bounce off of, but those bloggers who don't have many commenters or emails from readers (such as me) are motivated to write, because we like to write and communicate.

What's weird is when columnists decide to set up a blog after they've had an established column. It's like they're looking at the trends, and they're thinking, "Whoa--all those youngsters are blogging, I should too." It borders on being fake and insincere, because I think they're "settling" with it, because they might as well join the commoners rather than fight against the uprising.

Blogs take the expressive and creative power away from the few folks who used to be given the platform to speak out. Only a handful of blogs have huge readerships, but at least we no longer have to wait for someone to speak to us, and we can interact with the writers. Before, if you wanted to communicate with the columnist, you'd be lucky if they even read your letter. Now we can go to a blog, leave a comment, and know that it's being read by at least a few people. And chances are the blogger will respond.

I guess it's a kind of virtual cafe where the intelligentsia are allowed to congregate away from the MSM Tower.