Tuesday, March 20, 2007

A bone to pick

I read an article over the weekend denouncing the blogger movement for robbing revenue from traditional publications while providing inferior material. That because the internet is one big free-for-all, the content is predominantly and understandably mediocre.

This sounded like a big 'ol sack of sour grapes to me, especially since I was reading the article in a traditional newpaper.

I'm sorry, but bloggers do not hold a monopoly on mediocre writing. (Just check out CNN's web copy) And anyway, I don't care what people say, good writing is anything that touches you, moves you, or elicits a reaction. In a way it's like art - there will always be those who disparage.

I can never see my writing objectively. The pieces I think are good fall flat, and some things I'm sure are pathetic end up being big hits. I never think my witing is "good" because I don't work too hard on it. I do that on purpose. (If it's no good, but I didn't work hard on it, no biggie, I wasn't really trying that hard anyway.)

A long time ago in a poetry writing class, the instructor said all the best writing comes when you can tap into the big emotional experiences in your life. If the writer can connect with that, then the writing practically happens by itself. I didn't believe it at the time, but it seems to hold water.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

We enjoy your "witing" cause your wit is great.

m&j

Anonymous said...

I would love to know who wrote the critique. Based on what I read in traditional media, bloggers do a darn sight better.

I think you are on target. Most of the criticism can be seen as a reaction of those who thought they had control (traditional media, politics, etc.). Blogland has given control back to the people.

Follow the money.

bardelf said...

Those who criticize blogs are probably traditionalists who fear anything new and exciting. Blogs are powerful. Just look at how many political, religious, and criminal investigations are occuring thanks to insightful information on blog sites.

For me, blog reading is part of my daily routine, just as reading the newspaper, watching televised news, and meditation are. Your blog was one of the very first that I began reading daily and your thoughts continue to challenge, amuse, and enlighten me. Keep it up, man!

Snooze said...

I read the newspaper. I read blogs. And what the author doesn't seem to have noted is that a lot of traditional writers/media are using some blog format as an outlet. Of course there's no comparison between the quality of writing from professional writers and bloggers, but blogging is a community of friends and I don't read blogs to get the news.

dantallion said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
dantallion said...

It really IS sour grapes. I think that newsmedia organizations feel threatened by the fact that they're not the only ones editorializing anymore. Makes it harder for 'em to manipulate public opinion.

madamerouge said...

I, too, enjoy your writing. You have this ability to see life through fresh eyes--every day, it seems.

St. Dickeybird said...

Sour grapes. And not in that "another bottle please" way.

If you write a mediocre blog, nobody will read it, and you get bored and stop. If you write a good blog, people encourage you, and you keep going.
An open market like this gives more freedom for the better writers to float to the top, usurping traditional less-talented "writers."

KipEsquire said...

Video killed the radio star...

Anonymous said...

I consider Blogs to be like conversations between friends. Not big news or Earth changing but warm and fuzzy or amusing. I visit the same ones every day and feel that I actually know the Blogger and hope they enjoy a comment from me once in awhile.

dirk.mancuso said...

I remember reading an article about blogging as it was really becoming popular and thinking I would never be interested in doing that.

But I read few (hi Torn!), got addicted, and now here I am, whoring myself everyday.

And like you, the pieces I think will kill get no response and the ones I think will decimate my readership are incredibly popular. Go figure.

GayProf said...

That article would have annoyed me a great deal. The presumption that "traditional publications" somehow have greater intellectual authority suggests that they simply wish to control the flow of discourse. One of the reasons that blogging initially took off was that people were frustrated that their own vantage point did not have representation in the mainstream media. Also, I dislike the idea that readers of blogs are too dim to figure out which ones are useful to them or not. The owner of the local newspaper (which is now almost guaranteed to be a major corporation) is not smarter than everybody else.

Alright -- So I am annoyed and I didn't even read the article.

Anonymous said...

It's the political blogs like Kos that the newspapers are upset about, and they are upset not because blogs are shoddy, but because blogs are in many cases reporting on things they would rather ignore.

Like Gayprof says, it is a loss of power for them.

The Wisdom of Wislon said...

I agree with ed and anon- you're very witty and seem like a decent sort with something interesting to divulge in the blogsphere:>)

funny when you don't try and then more respond :>)

about a boy said...

i love your blog. varying perspectives are what makes the world go round.

S said...

That is so true.

Whenever I write about important (from my POV) events, nothing. The stupidest things in my life are hits.

**

And you are a great writer, hence the reason why so many people read Sticky Crows.

A Bear in the Woods said...

Interesting that the articles point of view seems to be about marketing, more than anything else. I wonder if it's a bad thing at all that the flow of information and ideas is being untethered from the controlling forces of capitalism.
I think your poetry teacher was right about tapping in to ones emotional reservoir to find ones muse.

Enemy of the Republic said...

I think I read its cousin today. It was a very insulting piece, basically saying that bloggers lack the expertise for opining on blah, blah, blah. Really? Some of these so-called experts are blathering overpaid idiots, but perhaps I am too opinionated. I blog to get my thoughts out, relieve stress--some stuff I write is decent, some is garbage. My real writing goes elsewhere. There are some turkey blogs out there, but there are also some turkey publications. Discernment is always the key. And whether you "care" about the piece you write or not, I always enjoy what you write because it isn't just about you--it takes in the world at large. Some magazines should read your blog.

dpaste said...

I read just as much as I did before blogging. Their argument does not hold water.