MoltenThought is Born
Why bother?
Thanks to Hugh Hewitt, Glenn Reynolds, and a host of other worthy blogoneers, the blogosphere is well on its way to being settled. Sure, it'll be years before the cattlemen and sheepmen start their range wars, but Lewis and Clark have already made their maps and the rest is mere logistics.
The blogosphere fairly teems with civilized outposts already. Whenever a major news event occurs, you can rest assured that bloggers are feverishly posting to cover it from all possible angles, relying on their own expertise and that of the circle of friends, fools, gadflies, and shut-ins they've cultivated.
What's missing? What niche can possibly be filled by yet another blog?
There are dozens of exceptional blogs about politics, particularly on the Right: The Corner, Wizbang!, and Powerline leap to mind.
There are some wonderful pop culture and humor blogs out there as well: Lileks and Scrappleface being two of the very best.
There are any number of tremendous military blogs covering all aspects of the War on Terror. I regularly patrol Blackfive and The Belmont Club.
There is a growing cadre of outstanding spiritual blogs. Evangelical Outpost is the best in my opinion.
So what do you do to compete with that?
Nothing.
The wonderful thing about the blogosphere is it is far more about collaboration at this point than it is about competition. Oh, there's a healthy drive to grow readership and influence, but you will not see a more humble and giving bunch of people than the blogoneers. Not only do they give credit where credit is due in their posting, but they routinely call their own readers' attention to other blogs---their own competitors, in most cases. Exactly as frontier settlers initially aided one another even when such aid went against their own self-interest. It's a tough world out there---bloggers need to look out for one another.
Thus, here's our sacred pledge to you, our readers:
1. All commentary offered will be our own unfiltered opinions, for good and ill.
2. If we make a mistake, we will correct it and prominently call attention to the correction.
3. Any posts edited after publishing will indicate what was removed, changed, or added.
4. We will refrain from profanity even when it perfectly expresses our unfiltered opinion.
5. All potential or actual conflicts of interest will be fully and prominently disclosed.
6. The spirit of academic freedom will abide herein.
7. The only comments which will not be tolerated will be those containing fighting words, profanity, personal attacks against posters or commenters, solicitation, or anything which would be likely to cause a significant degradation of the quality of discussion in this space.
8. We will not post any information regarding our various employers nor our professional colleagues.
9. Trolls will be ignored.
10. When the fun stops, so will we.
Thanks to Hugh Hewitt, Glenn Reynolds, and a host of other worthy blogoneers, the blogosphere is well on its way to being settled. Sure, it'll be years before the cattlemen and sheepmen start their range wars, but Lewis and Clark have already made their maps and the rest is mere logistics.
The blogosphere fairly teems with civilized outposts already. Whenever a major news event occurs, you can rest assured that bloggers are feverishly posting to cover it from all possible angles, relying on their own expertise and that of the circle of friends, fools, gadflies, and shut-ins they've cultivated.
What's missing? What niche can possibly be filled by yet another blog?
There are dozens of exceptional blogs about politics, particularly on the Right: The Corner, Wizbang!, and Powerline leap to mind.
There are some wonderful pop culture and humor blogs out there as well: Lileks and Scrappleface being two of the very best.
There are any number of tremendous military blogs covering all aspects of the War on Terror. I regularly patrol Blackfive and The Belmont Club.
There is a growing cadre of outstanding spiritual blogs. Evangelical Outpost is the best in my opinion.
So what do you do to compete with that?
Nothing.
The wonderful thing about the blogosphere is it is far more about collaboration at this point than it is about competition. Oh, there's a healthy drive to grow readership and influence, but you will not see a more humble and giving bunch of people than the blogoneers. Not only do they give credit where credit is due in their posting, but they routinely call their own readers' attention to other blogs---their own competitors, in most cases. Exactly as frontier settlers initially aided one another even when such aid went against their own self-interest. It's a tough world out there---bloggers need to look out for one another.
Thus, here's our sacred pledge to you, our readers:
1. All commentary offered will be our own unfiltered opinions, for good and ill.
2. If we make a mistake, we will correct it and prominently call attention to the correction.
3. Any posts edited after publishing will indicate what was removed, changed, or added.
4. We will refrain from profanity even when it perfectly expresses our unfiltered opinion.
5. All potential or actual conflicts of interest will be fully and prominently disclosed.
6. The spirit of academic freedom will abide herein.
7. The only comments which will not be tolerated will be those containing fighting words, profanity, personal attacks against posters or commenters, solicitation, or anything which would be likely to cause a significant degradation of the quality of discussion in this space.
8. We will not post any information regarding our various employers nor our professional colleagues.
9. Trolls will be ignored.
10. When the fun stops, so will we.
1 Comments:
Why bother indeed? Print is largely dead. Yet the distinctly human capacities to feel, think, observe and create absolutely demand we parse and parry words. There's nothing you can say that isn't said, to borrow a phrase, but nevertheless, here I sit, clacking.
"Hear MY voice! Heed MY words! Think SOMETHING about my (perceived) talent -- ANYTHING! Just let me be heard!"
Why? Why bother?
Dunno'.
But it sure is fun to blather. So... blather. We'll sit in our cafe and blather together. And talk smack about the dull tepidity of the passing shoes.
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