Gah! Some people.
In an article entitled Mourn not for end of pointless blogging, Mike Seate says, “Writing is a tough gig, and the fact that millions of people choose to do it for free is a mystery to us paid writers”.
Well, I would suggest bloggers blog for the same reason some people choose to play guitar in a pub band, or turn out for local five-aside football teams for little or no recompense. In other words, they do it because they have a passion for it, because it enriches their lives and helps them to build relationships with other like-minded individuals. Oddly, one nevers hears of rock stars or professional footballers having a hissy fit about amateur participation, quite the opposite, many positively encourage it.
The fact that Mr Seate sees writing as something that is only worthwhile if it is officially sanctioned and financially beneficial is really quite sad. However, his remarks about “pointless blogging” are interesting because they mirror criticisms of 19th century women writers who were derided for frivolity and triviality, and suggest a kneejerk reaction to a perceived threat, rather than a genuine critique.
Climbing down off my soapbox . . .
Updated to add: Of course, it isn’t only bloggers who face the wrath of disgruntled MSM writers, Tweeters are dismissed in a similar manner.
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Diddums
1Lord Matt
wrote on 25 November 2008 at 12:26
You argue a strong point young Kate.
2diddums
wrote on 26 November 2008 at 18:50
(From the article you linked to): “Without our work, the bloggers are forced to actually write something on their own. This explains all that blogging about football scores, favorite cat toys and which episode of “Lost” someone missed last week.”
As you say, Kate, people need to express themselves and I don’t see why that should be frowned upon. I have to say that what appears to be trivial often isn’t… self-expression certainly isn’t.
To add to that, not all blogs are always about the topics listed above… I wonder if the detractors have even heard about BADD (‘Blogging Against Disablism’ day)? Are blogs that participate in such events (or aims) trivial too?
Hmm…
3Kate
wrote on 27 November 2008 at 16:32
Matt: His article was so pointless! A couple of years ago, a lot of professional journalists did feel the same, but now, most seem to get the point, and are even blogging themselves. Mr Seate is sooo 2006 LOL
Diddums: You make a good point about BADD! Or there was the recent day for blogging about poverty. That kind of thing is really worthwhile, especially when posts are written by people who are directly affected by such issues.