I started blogging, quite honestly, because there were things I wanted to say that seemed to be well-received in this particular subset of consumers of this medium. I started commenting at the Dean blog because I got pissed off at the easy equivalence people made between “shitty Washington journalists and Nedra Pickler” and “journalists in general” which at the time was an occupation I considered myself to hold. Don’t rag on my people, bitches. Unfortunately, nobody at the Dean house wanted to hear it, because by the time I started commenting they were deep into paranoia-ville already, and this was before the Scream thing.
So on over to Atrios where I found a slightly friendlier reception. And discovered a great conversation. And wanted to contribute to it, felt the things I knew something about — political message, journalism and its beginnings and the methods by which it is made — would add to that conversation. I wanted to stand up and yell, “Teacher! Teacher! Pick me!” I’m an attention whore; this suits that well. Plus the blogs were tragically short of ferrets. And Starbuck.
And as with everything I do it became something I care passionately about, and I’m immensely proud of the work we do here on First Draft, especially the recent NOLA trip. This isn’t a huge giant blog with zillions of readers; getting half a dozen people together based on it was a pretty major thing, and that people believe in what this place has been saying enough to actually move their feet is immensely moving to me. We’ve all found structures that let us support and care for each other, and talk, and hash things out, and make things better, even if it’s a chance to chip in ten bucks to a good cause, or a chance to rip some drywall down.
Why do I blog now? Because there are stories I want to tell. Questions I want to ask. People I want to get to know. I want to reach through the Internet and get at everything. More information, more discussion, more cat macros, more of it. More more more more more.
A.
ps. I found Matt Stoller condescending in his post. There is, in fact, a reasonable conversation to be had about whether a consensus develops among like-minded blogs that results in some patterns of linking but not others, and while that conversation is so metaboring it makes me want to rip my own head off and eat it, that doesn’t mean it always has to be dismissed as “whining.” Plus, people don’t have “pet” issues, they have things they care about. It only looks like a pet issue if it’s not yours, and maybe he didn’t mean it that way but it comes off like trivializing others’ activism, which I can’t imagine is productive.
Not for nothing, but if you rip your own head off, your mouth will no longer work.
I find Matt, and a lot of “big time” bloggers to be pretty condescending too. Many of them just got lucky- they got in on the ground floor and built audiences that way. It’s not so easy to do these days. And many of them can’t write for shit.
Just my two cents.
Pet issues! Pet Issues! Are they talking about me?
Just because I’m writing about tainted pet food doesn’t make it a pet issue!
P.S. Hi 4legsgood! Be sure to go to http://www.petfoodtracker.com to make sure you don’t have any recalled food in your friendly neighborhood store.
heh, i started blogging cause i could no longer bitchslap clarence thomas, and ‘ranting via puter’ made pansycat happier that listening to me primal scream about georgie. and sometimes i do have something interesting to say.
happens when you read about history and such.
I’m very glad Athenae blogs, and has invited Scout Prime to blog with her. The online community of New Orleans is deeply in debt to their continued efforts.
Thank you.
As for me, I’m like Pansypoo: blogging is a (slightly) more productive way to “rant” than screaming at the TV.
You are right on in the comment on his condescending attitude. I stopped reading his blog because of that attitude. I really can’t stand his “whining” & “pet cause” arguments, since his blog won’t accept criticism without intimidating people or outright banning them. It is not productive & he hurts out cause.
Your humble little blog has delivered a dozen times more in actual physical good towards my “pet issue” (preventing the death of an American city) than MyDD has. Nancy Scola being the only bright spot from that quarter.
The thing is, they get mileage out of New Orleans when it suits them (note how Tagaris seems to have permanently fucked off since Jefferson got re-elected…I guess he’ll come sniffing around again in ’08), and the rest of the time you can’t get the time of day out of them.
They see the entire world as “issues”, where issues are defined as “things which affect legislation or elections”. There are important issues, and there are pet issues, and the fact that there are actual people in all the cracks between the issues, in New Orleans, Kansas, or Iraq, is just noise to them. Whether New Orleans lives or dies doesn’t actually matter, in the long run, except in how it affects the balance of power in Congress and the Democrat’s chances in ’08.
Thank you First Draft for being there.