Yeah. What the fuck?So.North by East decides to make a list of thefifty most-influential female bloggers. And our own Scout and Athenae don’t make the list? That’s bullshit!
And Michelle Malkin at number five? I didn’t know that “influential” was a synonym for “crazy as a monkeyhouse shitfight.” I’ll make a note.
I didn’t know that “influential” was a synonym for “crazy as a monkeyhouse shitfight.”
Of course, I’d also list as influential (though I don’t agree with them):
McCain
Limbaugh
O’Reilly
.
.
A travesty indeed. But we love our female bloggers because they’re smart, sassy, and great writers. I think those on the top 50 list put a lot of effort into self-promotion: just look at all of those photos that must have come out of PR kits. All of my fave wimmen bloggers (Scout, Athenae, Jane Hamsher, Marcy Wheeler, watertiger, Echidne, et al.) do it out of love and dedication, not to make themselves look good. And in doing so, they look terrific in my eyes.
Letting your work and passion speak for itself. Now that’s hawt.
Where the hell was Digby? Worthless list.
I second that — WORTHLESS LIST. I read many, many blogs per day — I never miss First Draft nor Hullabaloo.
Influential? Depends, I guess, on whom one is trying to influence… idiots? Then, yeah, Monkeyface Malkin fits the bill. Smart people? Then, Athenae, Scout, Digby. But then the person making the list would have to acknowledge this unpleasant little fact.
OK, now that I have taken the time to really read the list… what a total waste of my time and brain cells!! Really, truly a stupid list. I’m not sure that a sex blogger is “influential” — popular, sure. Enjoyable, absolutely. But “influential?” Really? Same with the gossip bloggers… fun, popular, but influential???? Athenae, Scout, Digby, Jane, Christie, Marcy, Echidne, et al — they are writing with a purpose — they are smart women trying to influence change politically or legally… Arianna and a few others on the list I do think belong there. But a lot of rest of the list looks like a list of “popular” or well trafficked blogs in a particular field… but “influential”, hmmm, I don’t know.
What bugged me about that list when I saw it last night was the inclusion of people like Ana Marie Cox. That I don’t much care for her is beside the point – when a megacorp like Time-Warner employs you in an official capacity you’re not a blogger. Just because a mainstream outlet adopts a blog template doesn’t make them bloggers. Maybe I’m alone on this.
But not including digby and Jane Hamsher is ridiculous.
May the compilers of that list be set upon by a pack of rabid ferrets.
.
To be fair, I think I have primarily influenced people to expand their vocabularies, and not in a good way.
The lack of inclusion of Scout, though, burns my ass.
A.
What fresh monkey fucking hell is this? No A? No Scout? No Emptywheel? No Jane Hamsher? No Digby?
lists are worthless. especially if it includes that bitch.
Apples.
Oranges.
The yarn woman is awesome. Heather is awesome. Gina from Lifehacker is awesome. Amanda is awesome.
But they aren’t all awesome in the same way for the same things. A female political blogger has to deal with different things than a female craft blogger or a Mommy blogger. Ranking them as more or less “influential” across all their varied worlds really indicates a lack of imagination, and perhaps a lack of understanding about the way the internet really. They are influencing different sets of readers.
And yes, where the fuck is digby?
Pam Spaulding?
Yes, you have expanded my vocabulary A, maybe not in a good way, but in a very useful way for commuicating with rethugs. Thank you and screw that list.
The purpose of those lists is to create controversy.
We all went and looked and now we can argue about it.
We can create a list of “The lamest listmakers” and put them on it and some other list makers.”
I’ll bet they generated LOTS of hits hits=ratings=popular and in their view=influential. But what about effective change, influence change? Policy? Minds?
And the people who have done that are mostly not listed.
Now Michelle Malkin SHOULD be on that list, for the same reason that Time made Hitler their person of the year. It is supposed to be the person, for Better or Worse is the most influential. Malkin gets sick outlying ideas out there to help move the debate to the extreme right os that less crazy seems “center”.
The cheap easy way to see influential is to look at numbers of readers, but who actually influences my thinking? Moves me to action? Helps me change the configuration of my thought?
Our own Athenae and Scout need to be on this list. Scout opened up the world of NOLA to me and thousands. Athenae in my world view of fighting and journalism as well as her energy filled books and daily writing. We NEED them, however do we really need another tech blog writer? Nah. But they can help sell products! And that is what matters.
Now we can argue with the creators of the list or create our own. Those of you with blogs, let’s create a short list and put our favorites on it. Oh and include yourself. I’ll bet if we looked at that list we would find some people who are friends of that list that really DON’T belong but by putting them on that list they are trying to elevate their buddies. It’s an old marketing trick.
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The lack of inclusion of Scout, though, burns my ass.
A.
Her NOLA deserved far more exposure. Far.
“work”. Meant her NOLA work.
Well, I will be dipped.
No Athenae?
No Digby?
No Leah?
No Scout?
(Oh, wait — they’re not “hawt babes whose photos will please our bosses” — they’re real live serious writers with brains and points of view. Can’t let them have any publicity — bad for our sales, don’t you know.)
It’s an honor to be left off a list as lame as that.
So, spocko, if I put myself on a list of the Top 50 Most Beautiful Women Who Will Never Be Supermodels, I could…
Oh, nevermind. I just wanted to have a nice fantasy moment.
Jeebus, other than Amanda, Cox, Huffington and eeeuw Malkin, I’ve never even HEARD of these “most-influential bloggers.” Obviously Athenae and Scout should be on the list, and the omission of digby and Jane Hamsher is a clear indication that these people have no idea of what influence is at all.