Hating on bloggers

Comments

1. laurel says

   June 6, 2008 at 3:10 pm

   What kind of example is he setting by passing judgment on something that he admits to never having seen himself?

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   p>It is too bad, because wedged within his “don’t go near the water!!” curmudgeonly talk was a valuable discussion of taking responsibility for your own words and deeds.  But he buried that important point so deeply that I wonder how many recognized it.  Note that the only applause he got was when he criticized “your elders”.  Kids always love to do that, no matter the lame context of the plea!

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   p>He also needs to learn to lift his eyes from the crib sheet and look at his audience.  He would get a C in Public Speaking.

2. ryepower12 says

   June 7, 2008 at 3:21 am

   I agree with almost 100% of Ritchie had to say – and I applaud him to have the courage to use his commencement speech to say it. Wickedlocal.com is absolute poison – and school systems across the state are often paying the consequences. Wickedlocal and sites like it have almost none of the good stuff from community blogs like BlueMassGroup, while having far more of the bad stuff.

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   p>While I appreciate and respect internet anonymity, there can certainly be too much of a good thing: wickedlocal and sites like it have certainly overdosed to the point where what’s being said in numerous towns on a daily basis is so meanspirited and threatening, wickedlocal’s been forced to shut down the commenting section of entire towns – too often after all the damage is done.

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   p>If anyone listens to the video, they’ll note Ritchie wasn’t condemning the blogosphere, but Wickedlocal’s breed of what it means to be anonymous. At the very least, commenters should have to sign up and sign in, being held accountable for what they say, even if they don’t put their real names (as I do) behind their words. Community blogs work because they’re a meritocracy; you build reputation over a long period of time. WickedLocal has very little of that, so people just say the vilest things on their mind, because they’ll simply have a new anonymous name next time – and there’s no true record of whatever they said in the past.

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   p>Finally, there’s something lost in site of all this talk over wickedlocal – and it’s this: these are newspapers, first and foremost. There’s a reason why the most successful blogs don’t come from the most successful newspapers.

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   p>Even beyond that, however, is the fact that these sites and papers claim to be journalistic establishments. Because they’re newspapers, the level of accountability must be higher than any individual blog. Newspapers police their editorial pages, along with the op-ed and letter sections, with a jealous regard: the same standard should apply to any comment written on a newspaper site.

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   p>So, yes, I do agree that there are too many people afraid of ‘blogs,’ but the simple fact is that it’s the Wickedlocal-type establishments that tarnish our good name. Wickedlocal and the festering hatred that spews forth from their sites is anathema to the progressive blogger movement: I would go even far enough to say that it threatens to destroy us. Ultimately, if we strongly consider Ritchie’s advice and incorporate some of it into our own agenda, it can only serve to help protect and foster the blogosphere, not diminish it.  

3. ryepower12 says

   June 7, 2008 at 5:11 am

   I obviously feel very strongly, and I hope everyone will read it.

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   p>Chief among my points – and, really, Ritchie’s point (even if he didn’t realize it) – is this:

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   When it comes to being online, it’s important to remember that while being anonymous can be a good thing, being unaccountable is never acceptable. The progressive blogosphere is built around that premise, but we can’t rest until it’s a universal standard all across the Internet.

4. mplo says

   June 7, 2008 at 11:17 am

   One should think before they post.