Posted on 10/23/2005 12:18:04 PM PDT by Jim Robinson
T here's been a lot of excitement about blogs since they broke into public consciousness during the 2004 election. They are now growing at an astronomical rate. The blog search engine Technorati now tracks almost 20 million of them, and various estimates of the number of blog users range from 32 million to 50 million Americans.
Blogophiles see blogs as a new way for citizens to express themselves and, especially among the political bloggers, a new way for citizens to talk back to the "MSM" -- the mainstream media. According to Mike Godwin, legal director of a First Amendment advocacy group called Public Knowledge, "A.J. Liebling famously commented that freedom of the press belongs to those who own one. Well, we all own one now."
But in all the excitement and hype, it's easy to overlook the fact that in some ways political blogs are not so different from or even separate from the MSM they often love to hate.
One similarity is found in emerging patterns of Web traffic. Blog abundance creates a paradox: Given more information choices than ever, most people economize, trying to find efficient ways to tame the information tide. So most regular users rely on a few blogs for most of their information. That's one reason why a handful of political blogs gets the lion's share of traffic. A recent study of 2 million Internet users found that the top four blog "hosts," such as blogspot.com, are visited by more than 5 million visitors per quarter. Unique visitors to the Drudge Report and the conservative blog freerepublic.com number2 million to 3 million per quarter, twice as many as their nearest competitors and dwarfing countless smaller blogs.
(Excerpt) Read more at oregonlive.com ...
Yes, I remember. Enormous disappointment. That travesty has to go.
Yes, it was so much better when there was only 4-6 media outlets controlled by the left.
Yes, the people having freedom is a cause for great concern. The people have no idea what's good for them (that's why we need the left to filter it all for us.) Thanks to the left dumbing down education it's a wonder any of us can think at all.
We need the FEC to get involved in the blogosphere - then it would be "fair and balanced" (and maybe Kerry would have won the elections.)
I love ivory towered elists - so open minded and excepting.....
I dunno Norm....it might make for a lot of laughs!! Heh,heh,heh.....
I also think that I need to try to sound more intelligent in my posts. I had no idea there were 2/3 million visitors here a quarter.
Wow, you done good, Jim.
This is SO important. I was so amazed at how fast this site was able to break down the Rather-Gate story.
So many experts on every conceivable subject, and I think the level of discussion has really improved in the last year or so.
Right tool, wrong goal. The federill grubamint should assure that in the interest of fairness all letters in the alphabet are used the same number of times.
That's why she hates Gore, he put a computer in every home.
What was it Hillary said about taking things away from us for the good of the country?
LOL, what a moron...and perhaps they missed the hot link on the top title CIA - Plame...there are plenty of threads on the topic, AND it's followed as one of the top 10 or so current topics as evidenced by it being hot keyed.
I think Regina Lawrence has no idea what she's talking about.
Me too, NR. (Wish I could.)
This really irks me. People shouldn't write about things they don't know about, right Jim Rob? Also, don't change a thing JR! I couldn't read the whole article because I think this person is 'not too bright'. Maybe later.
LOL!
I think the Oregonian commenter hasn't spent enough time on FR - The opinions in the threads may lean one way, but we get a wide range of views and information overall.
What do I think? I think you didn't create a blog. :)
This is NOT A BLOG!
It's a forum.
That is all.
Perhaps as a poster I am becoming *unfair and unbalanced* in being aghast at the prospect, but I would certainly appreciate comments at the thread linked above.
Carolyn
Following is a quote from Regina Lawrence's column re the blogs. In the first place, Free Republic is not a "blog." Secondly, I certainly would rather have the power to set the agenda and frame the story in the hands of the many rather than the few. That way one can read all sides and make one's own decision. Understand? "This power to set the agenda and frame the story"
What do I think Jim?
I think what you are doing is equivalent to the pamphleteering done by Franklin and Thomas Paine during the revolutionary era, when the politically correct thing to do was to be loyal to the King, and his aristocrats to whome he was planning to give landed titles to in America.
Franklin and Paines efforts destroyed that poloitical correectness, that we needed a devinely connected King.
In Modern times the liberal press has abandoned factual reporting for the sake of sculpting public opinion and values. They have a near monopoly on this and confound the factual analysis necessary for citizens to participate in a true Democratic Republic.
We Freepers find out facts which the press does not report, or assemble into their proper context. We know for example, that Wilsons trip to Niger was for the purpose of espionage, and that an array of fascts , including a failure to write a report, report sources, as well as plausible deniability by the CIA of sending Wilson
as a liberal 5th column of the CIA's Liberal workers.
Without the massed power of investigation and debate of thousands of freepers, the press would be the only act in Town, and would actually govern the country instead of our
elected government. That is how imnpportant we are, and how effective we have been. The New York Times circulation has fallen 52% over the last year, perceived as a political tabloid whose self importance is now historical.
It will die a whimpering death thanks to bloggers. That is why blogs need to beware a movement to censor the internet, or give US control of it over to China.
The News networks want Blogs to disappear ASAP. So we must keep an eye on any initiative that would favor it!
Thank you for this list , it is very important.
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