I have been following the local blogosphere for a while now and getting a kick out of the variety of subjects and opinions offered there. I have a listing of over 2,500 local blogs, most of which are no longer active or never were very active to begin with. But those which are active have a lot to say.
What I find ironic about bloggers is that what prompts many of them to begin blogging in the first place is that they are attempting to counter what they perceive to be an unfair media bias of some type. Some think "The Media" is too far to the left, others think it is too far to the right. And the irony is that bloggers often attempt to correct this imbalance by posting their own equally skewd views of the opposite opinion.
The reality is that every source of information (whether professional media or amateur bloggers) likely has some degree of bias. And that is why intelligent consumers of information should strive to read a variety of sources. But for many bloggers this does not seem to be the case. You can often see strong evidence of this simply by reading the blogroles. The lefties link to other lefties, and the righties link to other righties. Of course, there are many exceptions to this general rule, but most bloggers I know of do practice some type of exclusionary policy.
Now I firmly believe in the adage "My blog, my rules" so I am not saying that practicing exclusionary tactics on one's blog is unfair. What I am saying is that if we (bloggers as a group) simply counter the professional media bias with our own personal brand of bias, then we really don't have anything that is unique to offer (as compared to traditional media, as a whole.)
But I think we do have something unique to offer, if we are able to look past our own egos for a short while. If we really do feel that our ideas are worthy of serious discussion, then shouldn't we allow them to be tested against the ideas of others - without exclusion?
In furtherance of this goal, I present to you here a comprehensive list of all the local, active blogs that I am aware of. I have attempted to include every local blog that has posted in the past few months. This list is provided without exclusion, regardless of topic or style.
The Full Spectrum
this is why i read your blog with bobby g. trust me i am a lefty and i know you all are not. its cool though. it helps me deal with people that are minded like you all. in fact becouse i read your blogs and use them as a somewhat study guide i can relate more to the white man. i know i am a white woman but i have only dated like 2 white men in my entire life. most if not entirely all my life i have related more to the middle eastern and/or african american man. i was even an odd ball in the family i grew up in. my parents favored the kkk while i had no idea that they really were that way. i was and am a liberal. its inside my blood i guess.
ReplyDeleteIndy;
ReplyDeleteI'm not even sure how I would even begin to categorize my political views (left/right, etc.) I usually end up in an argument with whoever I am talking politics with though. That is because most people seem to be very narrow minded, and this just begs me to point out the other side of the argument for them. Heck, a lot of the time I will argue a position that I am not in favor of, just to test the other person's response.
What I value above all else is diversity of opinion. I used to be the Vice-president of my school's international student's association. There was about a three year period where almost all of my closest friends were from other countries, and this truely changed my perspective on a lot of things. At one point, I had four guys living in my house from three different countries. That was while living here, so it provided some interesting discussions to here their take on this neighborhood.
Take care, and have fun reading all those blogs - both left and right!
The way the media "paints" who is LEFT or who is RIGHT gets blurrier by the week (imho).
ReplyDeleteNow there are some BASIC aspects of human nature (like ETHICS) that I feel BOTH (current) parties have strayed from, so that makes me an outsider (or a Liberarian...lol)
There ARE Democrats who make sense, and there ARE Republicans that do likewise.
All I try to do is separate the "wheat from the chaff", no matter what political affiliation is connected to the situation.
The beauty of this is when people like us come together on COMMON GROUND, placing politics aside, and embrace good old-fashioned common sense and basic values.
And the variety of opinions (as Phil says) makes a person informed, seeing a side to a problem that wasn't there before.
After all, being informed worked darn well for our FOUNDERS.
B.G.
Bob;
ReplyDeleteI think that you and I are in agreement that it is much more pleasant to have a conversation with someone who disagrees with you, but is informed on the subject, rather than an ignoramus that agrees with you.
I think for some people, their ignorance is simply a result of information overload. As much as I try to stay informed, there are many subject that I really care about but have very little education on. It takes time just to sort through the crap, and for most people, time is a very scarce resource.
Of course, there ae those who simply choose to be ignorant because they just don't give a damn.
Is there a reason that The Full Spectrum is closed off to anyone who isn't invited?
ReplyDeleteBlue Fielder,
ReplyDeleteThere didn't seem to be much interest in it, so I took it off-line for a while.
I have been talking with a few other bloggers about ways to organize it and make it more interesting. As it currently stands, it is just a jumbled mass of five hundred blogs. Personally I find that interesting, as I usually find jumbled masses of anything to be interesting, but most people seem to want some order to the chaos before they enter the den.
Your profile just says Indiana. If you're local, drop me a line sometime and we can share ideas about how to generate more interest in the local blogoshere.
Phil
marxpd01@ipfw.edu
Phil,
ReplyDeleteYes, as a matter of fact, I am local (Ft. Wayne, just off downtown), and, looking at a map, not too far from your neighborhood.
As for generating interest, I'm about the last buy you'd want to ask - I get fewer views daily than many of the inactive local weblogs. It might be my inherent unpleasantness, or it might be because I have no marketing savvy. OR both.
Blue Fielder,
ReplyDeleteI'm a firm believer that quantity does not necessarily equal quality. Keep on blogging for whatever reasons you started doing it for, not just to achieve numbers.
And if it's any consolation, my blog dropped from forty hits a day to only about thirteen. But I'm still blogging!