TENTACLES OF THE BLOG

It's always cool to see the far and wide places my blog reaches, I mean the Internet is a big place. For example I've just been reading this interesting piece written by a student journalist from Southern California and YeLPar gets a mention.

The Bloggy

The final category in citizen journalism is the personal blog. Done right, the personal blog can be a concise and categorized attempt to capture a specific audience. YelPar uses the producton site blogspot.com to share multicultural food experiences, making the observations and notes that a professional food journalist would. The problem with sites like the one managed by YelPar, is that the information comes from one individual who is virtually unknown, unrecognizable and therefore, non-credible. Even more, personal blogs are often messy, filled with inconsistencies, and disorganized. A place where a reader can seldom find a reliable piece of news is not so much a source of journalism, but just a blog.

I appear to garner some praise from her there but then she writes me off as non-credible. Which is a bit sad and I would have thought an 18 year career as a chef awards me some credibility in regards to reviewing eateries. Not to mention that amongst a couple of drunks at the pub down the road I am both well known and recognisable. HA! I do get her point though as I've suffered from much of what she writes about in the piece and thus nothing is taken personally.
An esteemed newspaper columnist is now reduced to being called your ordinary blogger and for better or worse, so is a frequent teenage Twitterer
I get annoyed myself when I see journalists being referred to as bloggers, as annoyed as I get when I see news services producing blogs or at least what they deem to be a blog. They're mostly awful constructs and insanely dull. Take this motley bunch from the West Australian Newspaper. My god, go report some worthy news or something, stop mutilating the blog concept. Just call them opinion pieces like you used to. Have a read of some of these, like Simon Collins whom I gather from his "blog" posts has something to do with music. His latest entry is "Get your motor runnin': best driving songs" oh and last month it was "the best and worst AFL songs" What's next Simon? "The 10 best songs that have the word mediocrity in them"? I'm not sure I can contain my excitement.

Look, I'm happy to make a deal with newspapers and journalists, you don't blog ever again and I wont run breaking news stories. Deal? I'm not giving up reviewing the places I dine at though, sorry Karen.
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Comments

Anonymous said…
pfft. With all due respect to the journalist who wrote the piece i think there is a problem with her logic.

"... individual who is virtually unknown, unrecognizable and therefore, non-credible".

Not to get too serious on this but this is so not the issue. Like you say, heaps of folks (some drunks) can and do recognise you. That's obviously a joke by you, but its true - its not lack of recognition that can make blogs non-credible, it's the failure of individuals to establish their credentials.

i agree with you, 18 years of chefing (all without tending a mine site in the northwest, mind you) gives you heaps of cred on the topic of food. add to that years of being a customer - pretty decent credentials from my position as a reader.

would being more well known (lets assume a few drunks at the local dont cut it, which is likely fair enough) and recognizable (a special hat or uniform perhaps?) aid you in this? i doubt it...i wouldn't take Paris Hilton's opinion on food and im prety sure most folks could pick her out of a line up 2 out of 3 times.

as for being an individual being the problem...well...would a corporate posting, say my local councils combined thoughts on food, be more credible?

i doubt it.

as for the West...well mate...its the West...

i heard a saying once..."you cant polish a..."

man..i cant believe im defending blogs.

i'll be twittering next..

gods help us all..

adz
Anonymous said…
Gaz says... woohoo! Stu, you're a 'journalist' now!

(emphasis on the inverted commas)
stu said…
many bows with many strings Gaz ;)