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Shel Holtz
Communicating at the Intersection of Business and Technology
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I’m a blogger, just not one of these bloggers

Headlines from a quick review of my feeds tonight:

  • Bloggers weigh the news that Gazans are pouring into Egypt
  • Bloggers Preach ‘Fat Acceptance’
  • Bloggers analyze the Fed’s interest-rate cut and dish on the Oscar
  • Bloggers Fight for the Rights of Preborn Babies
  • Bloggers Learn to Make Revenue Off Sites

I’ve seen hundreds of other headlines that proclaim what bloggers think, believe, and do. Funny thing, though. I’m a blogger and I haven’t done any of these things. (Okay, I’ve learned how to earn money from blogging, but haven’t applied it.)

I’m getting pretty tired of mainstream media lumping everyone with a blog together. But then again, why should bloggers be treated any differently than anyone else?

01/23/08 | 5 Comments | I’m a blogger, just not one of these bloggers

Comments

  • 1.Maybe mainstream media does not understand blogging yet...

    Wait a minute I am in danger of painting main stream folks with the same brush here.

    The tech community journalists are pretty savvy, they have to be, all of their "audience" and peers are blogging. If not they have probably moved onto another beat.

    Only a small percentage of people are bloggers, and in many communities that number is even smaller. Perhaps the journalists you might be thinking of don't know any one who blogs. (hard to believe.)

    Or the way bloggers are described is a way to sell newspapers...I know Jay Rosen has a lot of views on journalists objectives.

    john cass | January 2008 | boston usually, cambridge uk at the moment

  • 2.To be fair, I think it's obvious from some of the headlines that they are speaking only about a specific niche of bloggers. I am an avid fan of one of the blogs that preaches fat acceptance, so I read all about that article, and it was pretty clear when you read the story that they aren't talking about "all" bloggers.

    But I suppose someone outside the blogosphere may interpret those headlines incorrectly...I just don't think it's anything to get our feathers ruffled over! :)

    Sarah Wurrey | January 2008

  • 3.In response to Sarah's comment, I can't imagine that ANYONE would interpret those headlines incorrectly.

    When we read a headline about "Passengers Injured In Highway Accident," do we automatically assume that ALL passengers on the highway were injured?

    I think that rather than focusing on the way the headlines were written (probably with limits on space and attempts to gain readers in mind), we should be focusing on the fact that so many mainstream stories are based about blogging. Is there even a very big gap between blogging and the mainstream anymore?

    Parker | January 2008

  • 4.Shel,

    Bloggers agree with your sentiments.

    Mike Buckley | January 2008 | St. Louis, MO

  • 5.Parker, sorry, I don't agree. When reporters say, "Republicans oppose bill," they mean ALL Republicans, even though some may support it. They're addressing the group. I think the media lumps all bloggers together, whether they're writing about business, politics, or cats.

    Not all reporters, of course...
    ;-)

    Shel Holtz | January 2008 | Concord, CA

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