Impact of Blogs

Blogs are an amazing thing. Like DVD and The Bedazzler, I can't imagine my life without them. With several recent events in the mainstream media, including the resignation of CNN Chief News Executive Eason Jordon and the exposure of Jeff Gannon as a Bush Administration hired hand posing as a reporter there has been a lot of talk about what impact blogs have on the media landscape. I personally feel that with a few notable exceptions, the impact that blogs have on the mainstream media is highly overstated.

Take this blog, as an example. No link there, I am talking about the one you're reading right now. It's a fun place to discuss politics, sports, and on one unfortunate occasion, the size of my wee willy. Unless you talking about the letters section of Hustler Magazine or something, I can't say this blog has ever had any impact on the mainstream media. Saying that I influence the media is like saying that Carrot Top influences US Foreign Policy. Although it might seem like Carrot Top is running the US State Department sometimes, but trust me, it's much worse than that.

I understand that there are many blogs out there that really try hard to be more meaningful than this one does by doing research and actually reading about the things they write about before writing about them. You won't find any of that here. Pure speculation with a healthy dose of bullshit. Some blogs hire full time research assistants, sell add space, and run it like a business. I wish I could hire my friends, pay them a good salary, and spend a lot more time snow skiing and boozing.

My point is that while a few exceptional blogs may add to the national dialogue on a variety of important issues, 99% of blogs, including this one, are just echo chambers without very little original thought. I think it's important not to take our blogs too seriously or to overestimate the impact of what we do. When a blogger actually reveals the true identity of Deep Throat, (and for the 20th time, we're not talking about the adult film, at least not this time) then we'll talk.