The Big Four, by Hugh Hewitt (FR mentioned)

The Weekly Standard ^ | 06/04/03 | Hugh Hewitt

[NormsRevenge]

Is it me.. Or are Blogs over-rated?

FR does the trick just fine, imo.

[okie01]

"Campaigns would be well-advised to designate a team just to keep track of and respond to web-generated stories and opinion, starting with the Big Four."

My sense is that Free Republic is already closely monitored -- by both sides. And that one side is still trying to discover a means for launching a successful "disruption attack".

It will have to employ stealth technology, because ordinary disrupters are so easily identified and shot out of the sky by the ZOT! guns...

[dead]

Honestly, I still haven't figured out what the hell a blog is exactly.

I think its just some guy's rantings that some people feel obliged to read.

[Beck_isright]

FR isn't part of the "Big 4"?????????????????

Obviously Hew is losing his mind:)
We are the BIG 4. The rest are just "chatter".

[Fred Mertz]

'blog' is slang for web log.

[Beck_isright]

(Actually that's "Hugh" but I had to be sarcastic:)

[Willie Green]

Is it me.. Or are Blogs over-rated?

IMHO, they're just a never-ending vanity post on the author's own site.

Good for ranting narcissists, I suppose.

[Dan from Michigan]

I shouldn't say this, although I doubt it's a secret. If I was running a high end campaign, I'd use a few tricks.(Congress, Senate, Att General, Sec of State, Governor).(This can backfire some on smaller races).

1. Have some friends that are good flamethrowers post on places like FR, gun forums, etc positive pieces on my candidate, and negative pieces on the enemy.

2. Have those same people put up negative websites, even better if it can be mistaken address for enemy. "Joesmith2004.org/com/net" Major negative(but factual) info on them.

3. Ton of Blogspot type sites. One of those will hit in a search.

[NormsRevenge]

blog.. glob.. hell, a fine mist can make a pile of scat shimmer like gold.

My time is too precious to try and divine what is what, these days.

FR crystallizes things pretty quickly, No mist , altho there is a bit of foam and froth from time to time ;-)

[Prodigal Son]

Hmmm. Not sure how I feel being mentioned in the same sentence as DU. I'll give 'em credit, they're hanging in there but they are not even remotely in the same league as FR. The vast majority of their threads aren't about anything at all- just meaningless vanity questions:

• Is it ok for my yak to smoke here?
• Pipe or papers?
• sheeeesh, I'm such an idiot
• Best David Bowie album?
• Any states left where you can buy M-80s?

To name a few current ones.

They're a bunch of teenagers, old hippies, Castro apologists and terrorist supporters- in short they're losers. It's more like a satire site- like the Onion. The scary part is: this is apparantly the state of the democratic voting base.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

I never knew how shallow and unimportant my life was until I found out what a blog was.

I'm like a new man, two really.

[FastCoyote]

Dem Underground is a reflection of why the Democrats are done for - they have no ideas and cannot defend their ideology.

[ctonious]

Howard Dean is reported to be investing heavily in controlling web-spin, but the blogs cannot be controlled in any meaningful way. The filters that reporters and producers used to provide are gone, destroyed by free agents in cyberspace

Just goes to show that the dumb#ss doesn't get it. He can't tell blatant and huge lies anymore, the usual staple of the DNC and his ilk, and expect them to go unchallenged, when millions stand ready to Google the "facts" of his ridiculous assertions - and nuke him before he begins his second paragraph.

[cricket]

"Is it me.. Or are Blogs over-rated?"

This is precisely how they defined NYT's. . .for us and before Blair. . .

No news. . .and not a story worth repeating unless is graced NYT's pages first.

Could give new meaning to 'BS'. . .

[Lil'freeper]

I object to FR being mentioned in the same sentence as DU wannabes.

[finnman69]

1 out of 5 DUmmyland posts refer to Free Republic or Freepers. Sometimes that ratio is even higher.

[Quix]

i THINK the blogs are an acquired taste or for those with that sort of rather obsessive bent???

But I do think they may prove to be key in this or that context wherein they highlight something others miss.

Certainly, FR is quite sufficient, to my mind, too. But then, some FREEPERS will no doubt be monitoring the blogs for us. I certainly hope so, anyway!

[elhombrelibre]

I'm with you. I only know of Andrew Sullivan's blog. I only see it because I catch a link here or at Lucianne's site. Freerepublic rules. Everything else is just extra.

[elhombrelibre]

I'm with you. I only know of Andrew Sullivan's blog. I only see it because I catch a link here or at Lucianne's site. Freerepublic rules. Everything else is just extra.