tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22403989.post1035322186980173019..comments2024-01-18T10:54:54.459+00:00Comments on Iain Macwhirter Now and Then: Now I have your attentioniain macwhirterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14486911281896217461noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22403989.post-4082228491719451582009-04-16T20:50:00.000+01:002009-04-16T20:50:00.000+01:00I'm not sure if the analogy with the mainstream me...I'm not sure if the analogy with the mainstream media is entirely appropriate - yes, perhaps the likes of the Herald adheres to high journalistic standards, but most people don't buy the Herald or the quality press generally, and it's not necessary to go to the Sunday Sport end of the redtop press to read a more inflammatory and ad hominem tone.<br /><br />And if you look at Iain Dale's Top 40 Scottish Blogs - voted for by bloggers themselves - I can't see any there that I'd class as particularly inflammatory in tone (although to be honest as a newcomer I haven't seen them all because some are now defunct).<br /><br />By the same token, perhaps the reasons the internet tends to be more personal and confrontational than the likes of press comment sections is because of its immediacy and spontenaity, thus it's nearer to a verbal debate than an old-fashioned exchange of views in the press.<br /><br />To that extent the internet covers everything from an argy-bargy in the pub to a Parliamentary debate, and given the 'Punch and Judy politics' on display in the HoC, is it really surprising that a lot of the blogosphere demonstrates a similar tone?<br /><br />Clearly the accesible and spontenaeous nature of the internet is both a plus and a minus, but to an extent these pros and cons merely reflect other methods of debate and discussion, and everyone's preferences will differ, but hopefully the good will crowd out the bad.<br /><br />If not then this probably reflects the kind of society we live in today, which is reflected in other facets of human discourse.Stuart Wintonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02772436419630464325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22403989.post-17641577875246670792009-04-16T19:57:00.000+01:002009-04-16T19:57:00.000+01:00Mission statement? The Herald may have one but the...Mission statement? The Herald may have one but the blogosphere collectively doesn't. I don't think that most bloggers see the medium as "democratic". We say what we want to say as <I>individuals</I>. Whether we allow others to interact with us is up to the blogger, not to a democratic majority.<br /><br />In fact I'd go further. Large numbers of bloggers wish to reduce the proportion of human interactions that are subject to politics altogether, no matter how "democratic" those politics may be. In other words many of us are far keener on liberty than on democracy.Freedom and Whiskyhttp://freedomandwhisky.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com