Jock's Place - Blogging attacked by Oxford Mail - Comments

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Matt Sellwood — Sat, 21 Jan 2006 18:19:18 +0000

As the councillor involved, I thought that the Oxford Mail 'doublethought' was intriguing - criticise me for not updating my blog, while at the same time writing that updating a blog is an act of self-indulgent ego massage.

Damned if I do, damned if I don't!

To be honest, since a few weeks ago Giles wrote about me eating a bananna at Exec Board (feel the excitement...) I'm not surprised he's searching for stories...

All the best,

Matt

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Jock Coats — Sat, 21 Jan 2006 14:39:09 +0000

correction...everyone "in the bubble" knows it's written by Giles...:) But sometimes the word limits are a good discipline. See my blog for what happens when you can go on about something as long as you like..:)"

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Stephen Tall — Sat, 21 Jan 2006 09:33:57 +0000

Morning, Jock - welcome to the blogosphere!

I usually quite enjoy the Insider - and it's not really anonymous (everyone knows it's written by Giles).

I suggested a few months ago that he write a piece on blogging councillors.

I used to be a regular correspondent to the Mail and Times (not as regular as you, of course!) - but got bored with the time delays, lazy editing and word limits. It's why I started up my website/blog.

Blogging attacked by Oxford Mail

Jock — Sat, 21 Jan 2006 01:56:02 +0000

On Thursday "The Insider" (a laughable conceit of sniping from behind anonymity mostly at people trying their best to do some good in local politics) in the Oxford Mail complained that a Green councillor had not updated his blog for a few months, describing a blog as a "self important forum to tell people what you have been up to".

Until I got into this I was extremely skeptical myself about it. And I did think blogging was a bit of onanistic self-promotion that probably nobody would ever read. Of course the Insiders gives the lie to that suggestion - since he, or she, obviously does follow them sometimes. We've seen how instant news from ordinary people on the scene - long before the news crews could get there - gave us insights into the July bombings, the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, the war in Iraq direct from a chap in Baghdad. How the BBC and other news networks are paying people for their camera phone eye-witness reports and images and so on.

All one can reasonably conclude is that it is in fact the media running scared. Blogging offers an opportunity for people to air their opinions for others to find and read. It threatens the monopoly of the "Fleet Street" scribblers in holding our attention for a few precious minutes every day. And of course they do it for money - whether the journalist or commentator getting paid, to the media giant continuing to attract advertising - if we all got our opinions from each other (and they're no less valid - often it seems more honest and truthful than opinion journalists in my experience) instead of from the self-important scribbler in a newspaper or television office, they have little else of worth to us.

Finally running scared of the power of the web are we, "Insider"?