Note: All due respect to Rick, but this is my take on the situation.

The blogosphere is aflurry with the Weblog Awards, the OSM scandal, and the typical interblog chatter and clique drama that seems to never stop. Now on the scene are the Bad Blog Awards, hosted by Beth of MVRWC.

Some of the categories include “Worst email spamming link whore”, “Worst comment link-dropping link whore”, “Most self-worshipping blogger, “Blogger who takes him/herself MUCH too seriously”, and “Blogger who picks the most fights with other bloggers”. There’s more, but those are the main categories.

All due respect to Beth, who I would guess was simply trying to bring some levity to the blogosphere–and apparently a few bloggers got the point and treated it like the joke it apparently was. But for the most part it seems that her idea has been used by some to just air their own personal grievances, insult and demean others, most of whom are on our side of the fence as conservative bloggers.

It’s like this. Would you like to know why we’ll never replace the MSM as America’s primary source of news and commentary? This is why. And this. And this. We can’t seem to act like adults.

It’s one thing to poke harmless fun at ourselves. To turn a joke into a mean-spirited insultfest is just immature.

Maybe I’ll catch flak for “taking myself too seriously”. Well, you know what? I do take blogging seriously. I know Heidi does too. I think we all should. It’s a big responsibility. Sure, it’s fun and sometimes exciting, and sometimes we talk about harmless, amusing topics. But when the guns come out, the bottom line is that we owe more to our readership than rampant immaturity and personal attacks on bloggers that in all actuality are allies. It’s one thing to smack down trolls or take on liberals. But this kind of commenting is contradictory to everything we say we are for. How can we laugh at the libs eating their own over at DU when we’re doing it ourselves? We’re supposed to be the mature ones.

My apologies to Beth, since I’m not trying to “target” her. My complaint isn’t even with her at all. It’s with the bloggers who have such an enlarged sense of self-importance that they’re forgetting we’re all working toward the same goal. Regardless of your feelings on certain blogs, have some class. If you have a problem with them, be an adult and take your issue up with them personally.

MSM reporters have interpersonal conflicts. They have snipe fests and problems and nasty little dramas. But you don’t see them on the front page of the Washington Post, as a rule. The good thing about blogs–the freedom to say what you like, show your own personality, and just ‘have a voice’–is also the bad thing about blogging. We have a responsibility to temper our freedom and voice with something better than “LaShawn Barber [is a] Sanctimonious Bitch.” I’m not saying we should not call a spade a spade. I’m saying when talking about the people who are on our side, working toward the same goals we are, there are better ways to conduct ourselves.

If you want to know why we’ll never have the respect we “deserve”, there’s your answer. When people act like that, we don’t deserve it.

Crossposted at Euphoric Reality

Said Kit Jarrell @ 10:05 pm | Permalink   

1. This post is exactly the kind of honest self assessment that we as a community need if we are to prove an alternative to the MSM. The selfish attitude of many bloggers prevents blogging from reaching critical mass and succeeding as a viable alternative. Thank you Kit for having the balls to call it like it is and says what many of us are thinking.

   Comment by The Mad Tech — 11/29/2005 @ 10:12 pm

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2. Sorry, but I don’t think anyone’s seriously under the illusion that ALL blogs (or any, for that matter) are going to REPLACE the MSM. It’s a supplement in some cases, an entertainment or personal venue in others.

   In Raven’s (and “Java’s,” who did not ID him or herself) defense, I’ll say that just like anyone else, she is of course entitled to her opinion. It could just as easily have been ignored, and no further attention would have been drawn to it. You know, “ignore it and it’ll go away.” YMMV.

   I do take exception to the assessment that this is going to damage the blogosphere’s reputation, though. It’s not like Instapundit’s doing it, it’s just ME. I’m not exactly one who is a big influence on anyone, I just write crap and if it bombs, so be it. If it flies, great. Unfortunately, the attention given to it is a SYMPTOM of the ills of the blogosphere–that bashing (and also impractical extremism) gets attention…just like the “mainstream” media. I’m glad you see that no harm was intended, that it was just a silly thing, but by dragging out grievances beyond the comments there (or email) only expands the bad feelings about it. If you don’t approve of such things, why bring them over to your own site(s)?

   As for me, I’m not going to state any opinion on anyone else’s in that comment thread (except for the one I made about Liberal Avenger being the worst troll).

   Like I said, I don’t do “blog-fights” and I don’t want to either engage in them or encourage them because they’re pointless. This and the cross-post are definitely NOT what I expected–and honestly, I would think the “category” about blog-fights would discourage such a thing. Oh well.

   I can only say that public bickering on either side would detract from “respectability,” if any is to be gained or lost at all. I certainly don’t expect to be thought of as “mainstream media” equivalent, nor do I want to–which is why you won’t find “Bad Blog Awards” on Instapundit or Powerline or whatever, but you may on sites like mine and others that are decidedly not so serious.

   Kit, I do appreciate that you understood the intent behind the original post. So thanks for acknowledging it.

   Comment by Beth — 11/29/2005 @ 10:50 pm

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