I am a relative newcomer when it comes to blogs. I started checking them out during the last Presidential election in 2004 and became more of an active participant the following year. This little piece of internet tubing I have been writing in has only been in existence since this past December. To see that the blog has now been around ten years is impressive. The Wall Street Journal took a look at the blogs on this tenth anniversary. Below is a snip from an interview with FireDogLake's Jame Hamsher.
From The Wall Street Journal:
During the '90s, railing at the TV set was the isometric sport of the silent majority. Progressive political junkies watched in isolation as the Washington Post prominently printed one Whitewater story after another as if they originated on tablets of stone rather than the fax machines of Arkansas political operatives. Many people felt like they were the only ones who scratched their heads in wonder that it all made no sense, recoiling in horror as a slick PR operation rapidly escalated from the realm of lazy, spoon-fed journalism to the constitutional mockery of the Clinton impeachment.
That isolation ended with the advent of the progressive blogosphere, which acts as a virtual water cooler for those who not only want to rail at the TV set, they want the TV set to listen. Probably nothing better contrasts the pre- and postblogospheric worlds than the Whitewater and CIA leak stories. In one, the endless repetition of meaningless gibberish was allowed to take root and become conventional wisdom. In the other, despite the constant reiteration of abject fantasies like "no underlying crime was committed," the public seemed to realize that it's not okay to perjure yourself in front of a grand jury and obstruct justice on behalf of your boss. Special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald was allowed to try his case in court before GOP spinmeisters could try it in the press, and a recent Gallup poll shows that 66% of the country thinks Bush should've left Scooter alone to do his time.
In only a few short years, the blogosphere has influenced society in so many different realms. Whether it is about cooking, sports, art or politics here, blogs become more relevant and make a bigger impact almost every day. People are getting around old, conventional media and creating their own. It is a democratic medium that anyone can use to say whatever it is they want others to hear. The blogosphere in my opinion is a dream come true for those that want to fight back against a lazy press that covers an omnipresent government. It's also good to get a good recipe while duking it out via keyboard.
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