I wasn’t aware comments were a core of our self-interest. I always thought informing the public was, and certainly free-flowing comments are part of that.

Rieder also offers this from Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: “A lot of people are really ticked off by anonymous comments. I think the public hates it.”

It’s a classic case of shooting the messenger. And I fear it is just another twist of the spigot slowly choking off the free flow of information.

Vigorous debate does not come sanitized. It has always been the good, the bad and the ugly, and sometimes it can get as rough as Clint Eastwood.

Don’t get me wrong, bloggers have discussed this continually over the years amongst ourselves but we also know that it’s part of it. Heck, when we bring it up we usually get hammered by either reporters or other bloggers but now that the AJR is talking about it, it has validity. I say that firmly with tongue-in-cheek, my friends. It’s funny (not in a Ha-Ha way) at certain blogs that the trolls seriously come out to do some damage and having blogged for awhile, it’s pretty obvious who is, let’s say, a political insider swiping at another candidate or someone who is just wanting to pick a fight before Judge Judy comes on. In Internetland there can be a lack of civility but people have that right. There is also some wonderful things that occur too. It’s a matter of looking at the glass half-empty or half-full.

Many of us have put in an ignore switch in our brains when it comes to the mean-spirited stuff. If someone is going to post ugly comments on a news website attacking people who are going through a terrible time, then they have to lay their own head on the pillow at night, don’t they? And they do lose credibility with more serious users or readers. News has other things to do, as Michael says, and the right to bitch and moan and complain on both the side of the trolls and the news editors is also in place. They both have that right. Doesn’t make it wrong or right, just the facts.

Engaging an attack is pretty cowardly when a name isn’t behind it. However, it is what it is.

This morning I was getting gas for the lawn mower when I saw these signs on the BP gas pumps. They warned customers that “gas pump won’t stop by itself” and “gas will pour out if you don’t stop it.”

As I snapped the photos, the cashier at this 7604 Old Nashville HWY BP gas station started ripping them down. That was fine with me, but then another employee came out and started taking pictures of my license plate!

Now, I’m not sure what a BP gas station employee would want with my license plate number. Maybe they are taking the photos on behalf of BP. I don’t really know, but I do look forward to finding out. If they think they can intimidate me, they are sorely mistaken.

You know, photography is not a crime. I honestly don’t understand why businesses don’t get that everyone with a blog, a Facebook page, a Twitter account and the like is now officially a Watchdog. If they don’t, they are living in a vacuum.

Worried Squirrel Is Worried

Some people call it an “anxiety attack.” Cup of Joe calls it “worrying.” My niece calls it “nervousing” and I guess I would call it good-old fashioned fretting.

Here’s what he’s talking about.

Here in the modern now-a-go-go times, many achieving Americans would advise me to drop the worries, make sure I carve out a long-lasting and hefty slice of the American Dream pie and “worry” about keeping that safe.

And there are surely times I wish I could do just that – buffered by a large enough slice, I could let everyone else figure it out for themselves, bask in my domain and revel in whatever it is large slice owners revel in.

All of which directly affects this blog and what appears in it. Who wants to read droning dreads and worries of corruption, greed, disaster, politics, etc etc? I might spend some time reading of such things, but repeating it for you, dear reader, could be most tiresome. Negativity begets itself.

Since day one of this blog, I have included this sub-title under the main – “Being an American requires constant vigilance”.

And he explains what the subtitle means in the only way that Joe knows how, which if always fantastic.

House Democrats briefed us on upcoming races, and whether they just have more folks they feel good about this year or have at least developed a strategy of seeming like they feel good about folks this year, folks seemed genuinely excited by the people running for office for the first time this autumn.

There was a lot of budget talk, too, as you might imagine, and a general feeling that the Republicans needed to start putting some specific ideas on the table. There was also some irritation that, even with all the talk of needing to cut and sacrifice, that there was still money in the budget for fish hatcheries but not for some mental health services.

In contrast to last year’s outing, this year many Democrats stopped by to meet the bloggers — Naifeh, DeBerry, Armstrong and Stewart among them. Last year, it seemed to me, the attitude of many Democrats was one of stand-offish hostility (if they knew what a blogger was) or confusion (if they didn’t). This year, we were met with genuine curiosity and a willingness to talk.

Anyone who didn’t have to run off to a meeting eventually got around to talking about the flood. And I think, honestly, that the online response to the flood — people seeing how quickly information can be disseminated and how effectively people can be mobilized to act — has helped politicians “get it” when it comes to blogging and other forms of social media. That accounts, in great part, for the curiosity on the part of folks. They now have a sense of the online world as more than just a place where kooks gather to complain about them.

Her assessment was much the same as mine was. We are learning more about them.

And they are learning more about us. Of course the flood was on everyone’s mind, as is the budget.

The fish hatcheries also stayed at the front of my mind after these meetings. It’s only pork when someone else is getting the cash. Ahh, the GOP way.

It’s a lot more fun to watch pretend characters answer the “what’s the price for your soul” question than to see it happening in the real world. Too many bloggers with opinions and ideas grew weary of being hungry and declared themselves social media gurus. Instead of original ideas, those gurus now sell unicorn poo and publish freelance articles in the newspaper for their clients. Too many well-intentioned politicians find themselves strangled by the tightrope of doing what it takes to stay in office under the premise of making up for it with other legislation. Ultimately, we learn that we don’t have one Indecent Proposal pricetag, but a cafe menu of soapboxes that we are are willing to climb down and leave empty for someone else.

In other words, Twitter and Facebook and Friendfeed gave us a means of circumventing the broadcast-pipe advantages of mainstream media, but these channels weren’t themselves always the thing being communicated. The best perspective on this change came from Robin Sloan, writing at Snarkmarket in January:

There are two kinds of quan­ti­ties in the world. Stock is a sta­tic value: money in the bank, or trees in the for­est. Flow is a rate of change: fif­teen dol­lars an hour, or three-thousand tooth­picks a day. Easy. Too easy. But I actu­ally think stock and flow is the mas­ter metaphor for media today. Here’s what I mean:

• Flow is the feed. It’s the posts and the tweets. It’s the stream of daily and sub-daily updates that remind peo­ple that you exist.
• Stock is the durable stuff. It’s the con­tent you pro­duce that’s as inter­est­ing in two months (or two years) as it is today. It’s what peo­ple dis­cover via search. It’s what spreads slowly but surely, build­ing fans over time.

I feel like flow is ascen­dant these days, for obvi­ous reasons—but we neglect stock at our own peril. I mean that both in terms of the health of an audi­ence and, like, the health of a soul. Flow is a tread­mill, and you can’t spend all of your time run­ning on the tread­mill. Well, you can. But then one day you’ll get off and look around and go: Oh man. I’ve got noth­ing here.

And this is how we have to understand blogs today. Four years ago they were flow, and for a lot of news organizations, they’re still viewed as little more than low-grade, ephemeral dross. But in the real world of the Web, where we are relentlessly building a new-media economy and culture whether we openly acknowledge it or not, blogs are now the stock.

I would add that blogging is also about community, personal intimacy (get your mind out of the gutter) and opportunity if you remember that it’s a different median than anything ever before.

Being a blogger is pretty much of the good. And Blogger is not a bad word.

A big WHOA.

Read it now.

I had to really take some time to chew on that one from Herenton. On one hand, it’s probably good to see him actually say it. Many politicians have great disdain for bloggers and if he’s being transparent about it, at least we know where we stand. On the other hand, he probably just alienated quite a few folks. The sad thing is that he doesn’t really think this one through because he apparently doesn’t understand online communities, blogging and social media.

It’s an unusual time for bloggers. Twitter and  Facebook  have replaced some long-form blogging for some writers. Social networking should not be confused with blogging per se. Those platforms are instant. They are filled with digital communication for that very moment.  Sharing over the sporting events as they happen, talking of the pop culture new du jour as it happens and, most importantly, creates communities. Let me add different communities that talk about a variety of things, including politics.

The thing that Herenton, and other politicians, sometimes don’t get is that these online conversation many times create relationships offline and those are the ones that candidates need to be wary of.  Bloggers are not adults wearing bunny-printed pajamas living in the mom’s basement. The political bloggers in this state are, for the most part, professionals with a passion for politics or other issues that impact day-to-day life. I have met bloggers in Tennessee that are small business owners, former journalists who have been downsized, radio hosts, activists, nurses, professional writers, college graduates and students, book editors, and more who are part of a larger conversation in their various on and offline communities.

To alienate bloggers for the sake of alienating bloggers wasn’t a very smart move for Herenton.

There is no doubt that blogging is in transition now with the addition of new and quicker online tools, which anyone running or serving in office need to be aware of.  The way we communicate online is changing and it’s just as fierce, for lack of a better word, than it ever has been. Bloggers are going more with niches but the conversation remains wide-open. Barely a week goes by that cities and towns all across this state are holding BarCamps, Fresh meetings, Drinking Liberally gatherings and the list goes on. With that said, online relationships are becoming face-to-face friendships and relationships. Even here at Speak to Power, we are targeting a niche for democrats in Tennessee. Willie Herenton is a democrat.  ‘Nuff said as we say in the South.

Another thing that Herenton didn’t put any thought into is that he can learn from blog posts about what is on the minds of a select group of people. Politicians who understand social media understand that within just a few minutes they can see what is “trending” amongst constituents who take to the Internet. Yes, some folks are reactionary as is life, but then on the other hand those working in politics can gauge what’s on the minds of bloggers.

Is it health care? Is it social issues? Are there concerns about unemployment? Is it the future education of our children? Is it fear of long-term ramifications of the current economic situation? The list is endless.

I go back to that politicians can also be a part of the conversation. Not everyone lives in Washington and Nashville so those areas may not always be privy to what’s happening outside the capital bubble.  Bloggers and social media are a source in some respects on what real, average people are talking about.  With so much distrust in government right now, isn’t having a conversation with people who basically self-publish a good thing?

I’m going to go to two different things that were discussed at ABC and the New York Times yesterday.

First of, these words of wisdom for Jay Rosen of NYU.

“I think what might be happening is that something [that] blogging wasn’t very good at – instant notification, status updates, quick conversation – is shifting to the platforms where it is better handled,” says Jay Rosen, a professor of journalism at New York University. “People who once started blogs to be part of the online conversation probably wouldn’t do that today. They would use Facebook or Twitter. But the combination of a Twitter feed for constant contact and a blog for persistent writing over time is too effective for it to wholly disappear.”

Not only are politicians dealing with bloggers, they are dealing with everyone.  Anyone with a Facebook or a Twitter account could be the next person to break a big story. A lesson they might want to learn because politics in this case is being discussed online in real time. Old school politicians didn’t have to deal with that.

These days, they do.

Also, if you want to totally irritate bloggers, in this case parenting bloggers,  write something like this from the New York Times called “Honey, Don’t Bother Mommy. I’m Too Busy Building My Brand.”

Want to see the reaction from working mothers? You can go here. From what I’ve seen, they didn’t care much for that article although some did try to dissect it down for its positive and negative elements but the first initial responses I saw didn’t care for it much yesterday.

From Mom 101

I guess it could also have been titled Honey Don’t Bother Mommy. I’m Making Ends Meet for Our Family in a Tough Economy but that doesn’t seem as enticingly condescending. Also, then it would have to go in the business section and not fashion + style and that would just mess up everything!

She hits on the head something that applies here very accurately be it parenting bloggers or political bloggers, hell, even knitting or movie bloggers, they get when they are being condescended to.  I also would like to remind Herenton and the slew of politicians that think bloggers are unimportant is that we all vote. There are mothers in Memphis so I’ve been told. (Yes, that was snark for those who don’t get it.)

The bottom line is that when you say “to hell with all the bloggers” you have automatically stopped the conversation, a discussion that might have served you down the road.

I have dozens of posts languishing in my ‘drafts’ folder.  They will probably remain there, unfinished, and eventually deleted because the subject matter has exceeded it’s shelf-life.    I can’t count how many times I’ve opened my laptop and started furiously typing away about something I’m outraged about, only to find that halfway through, I remember that this will not be important or relevant the next day.  Information flickers across my screen at such speed and volume that I literally cannot give it all the time for proper reflection.  I’ve come to resent the time it takes trying to do that.  Sure, take any event, and I could quickly craft a readable paragraph about it and move on, but the likelihood is that it would be framed in a partisan manner, that is, I would view said event as a Liberal, or as a Democrat, or as a tax-payer, and thus begin my analysis of it from one of those baselines.  I can’t explain why that feels so…flawed, yet it does.

He’s not going away but he’s looking at doing other things besides politics.

He’s not the only middle Tennessee blogger who has embarked on a break recently.

We hope to see these two men back in the fray soon, but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do because although we blog, we have lives too.

The effort by mostly print and broadcast to figure out how best to harness the power of local blogs seems to languish in experiment mode as legacy media resources shift to triage a dying industrial-aged distribution model for news and information. Blogs have long urged legacy media for the better part of the past decade to pay attention to the dramatic shift in the way people prefer receiving news and information. The message seems to have arrived on the desks at the top ten years too late.

None the less, the experiments continue.

A couple of observations as much of this has to do with the recent demise of the latest Nashville is Talking. My first thought is that to set up an online community affiliated with a mainstream entity is for one to be truly successful, management is going to have to commit financially to the project and cash is harder to come by these days. Christian mentioning that is important. The next revolutionary online system will see management making a clear commitment instead of being in experiment mode.

A clear direction needs to also be established. Is it news? Is it politics? Is it a knitting blog? Is it a mommy blog? I am making light here but all of these things are part of a larger community.  CG mentions in the comments that having a version of an online Managing Editor or Blog Jockey, for lack of a better word, is important. I also agree with his perspective because blogs, and their readers, are about trust somewhat like radio or your favorite anchor on television. If you like a morning show where there is a bond built, you are going to keep returning to listen. Same thing with blogs. You have about three seconds to get the attention of a casual blog reader, but if there is content and a good connection with the audience where there is trust, then those “eyeballs” will keep coming back.

One thing that creates such a conundrum is that MSM forgets that in blogging there is an intimacy between blog author and reader. That goes against the grain of the old school of news organizations.  And, in many ways, that’s the hard part to, as Christian wrote, harness local blogs. And local is where it is at. No one wants to read about Cleveland if they live in Memphis. They want to know what impacts them.

His observations as he has been on the front lines in an “experiment” that went dark are intriguing. MSM I think is ready but there is a difference between a portal, a blog and a news site. I feel like that is key. It is good to see they are working on coming up with new ideas and keeping the elements that made blogging popular in the first place. That combination will be what makes the difference.

Alright, back to politics then …

News rooms in print and broadcasting has been cut so severely in recent years that beat reporting is all but gone. Yes, you still have political beat writers from all over the state at the legislature, you have business editors, because business stories can bring revenue into the industry and sports, because sports sells. Those beat reporters though of earlier days are basically nonexistent. Reporters and other newspaper personnel are handling blogs, which have created a new beat for lack of a better word, in their spare time. Smaller papers have had reporters writing about business one day, a county commission meeting the next, covering fires and local crime stories the rest of the time and then still build the paper. Believe me, I did this for years.
If we want positive news, news organizations are going to have to make a commitment to it and you will find that, in the online world at least, that people go searching for the “sexy” stories. By that I mean the ones that have a tabloid quality to it many times. I saw on Twitter on Tuesday that Austin’s newspaper website had a hell of a time handling the traffic after Joseph Stack committed what has been termed taxicide
There is also a depression of sorts happening in this country more than just the obvious financial aspect of what is happening. It’s “easier” to look at the negative. When MSM looks at Tiger Woods as a moral barometer for a nation, it’s strange. He’s a golfer who screwed up. He didn’t apologize to the nation on Friday. He apologized to his sponsors.
In this same vein, let’s look at niche publications and websites that we find now. From parenting and society to real estate/community magazines, it’s common place to see these publications at the front of restaurants, convenience stores and the list goes on. Small audiences most likely but they are still alive and kicking and folks pick them up to read when they are having their breakfast. Print is expensive though and it will be interesting to see what happens in the next five years with them.

I have more over at Newscoma.

Former Commercial Appeal cartoonist Bill Day was honored yesterday at the National Press Foundation Awards and Mediaverse has the story.

The devil is in the details and Whites Creek has the handout on the EPA handout about TVA ash. He wants you to take a look at it.

Rage in America. Dave Foulk says it’s real and it looks like the terrorism has changed.

If you live in Memphis,  budget cuts are going to make you stay in a very long line to get your vehicle inspected. Folks aren’t happy about it. My first thought was that people are going to have to take a day off of work if the picture is telling the story of what’s happening on a daily basis.

Memphis came in third for most miserable cities in America. Who does these lists? Oh wait, it’s Forbes. I rather like Memphis.

It’s almost like Dr. Seuss with Rep. Doug Jackson. You can have a gun in a bar, but don’t be left out, here’s a gun in car. Apologies go out to Dr. Seuss ahead of time.

More people are relying on food pantries. This surprises no one.

I think that elected officials should be able to explain the bills they are sponsoring. Just sayin’.

And for a moment of Friday frivolity, I offer you unfortunate web address names. Oh, you just have to see it.

H/T Kleinheider