You'd think that upon entering any foreign environment that a person would spend a bit of time just studying the culture and trying to understand the people before shooting their mouths off. Blatantly obvious, when in foreign lands such as Saudi Arabia, but maybe not so when in the Blogosphere. This is a mistake that the occasional egotistical newbie makes.
The Blogosphere is not just a single foreign land, it's many foreign lands tied together. Each blog has it's own tribe of inhabitants that set the tone of the blog, controlled in some way to varying degrees by the blog author(s) who act as defacto rulers. Blogs have "alliances" with other blogs, much like countries do. These alliances don't mean the blogs are in complete agreement with each other, all they mean is that there is enough like-mindedness in thought so as to make the alliance mutually beneficial.
Along comes Chris Trotter, "champion of the Left", "Social Democrat", "political commentator" and decides he's going to set up his own blog and start broadcasting his Marxist propaganda into this fringe of the media that is becoming increasing important for nurturing and propagating free thought that is outside the control of existing media forces.
Apparently not so hard.
First mistake. He has a side-kick who goes through "unacceptable posts" and scores lines through them for the types of comments that most bloggers put up with constantly. For instance, I'm a pretty risque blogger. My opinions are unpalatable to a significant proportion of people. But I don't delete comments that disagree with me. I counter them. I use disagreement to help me craft further posts that explain areas of disagreement more clearly.
Deleting disagreement shows incredible weakness. Whether or not people agree with you becomes irrelevant. If you think of blogs like countries, a new one has just popped up that is built on hot air. It cannot defend itself. It's obvious to anyone that has been around for a while that unless the blog pulls itself together, it will collapse on this basis alone. If you cannot defend your opinions in the Blogosphere, you will not last.
Second mistake. Spending a bit of time studying the culture of the Blogosphere would have made the need for alliances and friends patently obvious. Even if those friends never come to your aid because you are doing ok by yourself, you know they are there and you know they will come if you really need them. Bloggers who have alliances don't need to stomp down hard on their commenters to built up their own sense of invincibility. Bloggers who have commenters that agree with them can let the commenters fight amongst themselves rather that needing to be involved. So far I've not seen any commenter on the side of Chris and Bryan that agrees with them. If I were them, I would seriously ask why, and then work out a way to convince the readers of their opinion, not stomp on them for disagreeing.
Third mistake. Using his real name. Chris Trotter has such outlandish views, views that in the wild west would have meant he'd be constantly running from inflamed mobs ready to string him up from the nearest tree - you've got to wonder what he was thinking coming out into this environment without using a pseudonym. It seems to me this error is tied back to several things such as ego and pride and protected from the mob by newspaper editors and not spending the time trying to understand the culture of the blogs.
Fourth mistake. Attacking potential allies like No Right Turn and The Hand Mirror. If blog world really acts like a whole lot of countries, the only thing that I can ascribe this to is Chris thinks he can rule his section of the Blogosphere like a totalitarian empire that subjugates it's allies rather than befriends them.
So my advice for Chris and Bryan, take a breather. Read your comments. Think about them. Think about what the commenters are saying to you. Think about what calling the inhabitants Blogosphere "fascists" really says about you and your blog. The Blogosphere has room for you, BUT there are certain elements of Natural Law at work here, and just denying that those elements exist will ensure your blog's demise.
Related Link (like watching a train wreck in slow motion): Are you a virtual fascist? ~ The Chris Trotter Blog
UPDATED with other opinions:
Are you a virtual fascist? ~ Kiwiblog
Trotsky beset by blog "fascists" ~ Not PC
The Blogosphere is not just a single foreign land, it's many foreign lands tied together. Each blog has it's own tribe of inhabitants that set the tone of the blog, controlled in some way to varying degrees by the blog author(s) who act as defacto rulers. Blogs have "alliances" with other blogs, much like countries do. These alliances don't mean the blogs are in complete agreement with each other, all they mean is that there is enough like-mindedness in thought so as to make the alliance mutually beneficial.
Along comes Chris Trotter, "champion of the Left", "Social Democrat", "political commentator" and decides he's going to set up his own blog and start broadcasting his Marxist propaganda into this fringe of the media that is becoming increasing important for nurturing and propagating free thought that is outside the control of existing media forces.
Apparently not so hard.
First mistake. He has a side-kick who goes through "unacceptable posts" and scores lines through them for the types of comments that most bloggers put up with constantly. For instance, I'm a pretty risque blogger. My opinions are unpalatable to a significant proportion of people. But I don't delete comments that disagree with me. I counter them. I use disagreement to help me craft further posts that explain areas of disagreement more clearly.
Deleting disagreement shows incredible weakness. Whether or not people agree with you becomes irrelevant. If you think of blogs like countries, a new one has just popped up that is built on hot air. It cannot defend itself. It's obvious to anyone that has been around for a while that unless the blog pulls itself together, it will collapse on this basis alone. If you cannot defend your opinions in the Blogosphere, you will not last.
Second mistake. Spending a bit of time studying the culture of the Blogosphere would have made the need for alliances and friends patently obvious. Even if those friends never come to your aid because you are doing ok by yourself, you know they are there and you know they will come if you really need them. Bloggers who have alliances don't need to stomp down hard on their commenters to built up their own sense of invincibility. Bloggers who have commenters that agree with them can let the commenters fight amongst themselves rather that needing to be involved. So far I've not seen any commenter on the side of Chris and Bryan that agrees with them. If I were them, I would seriously ask why, and then work out a way to convince the readers of their opinion, not stomp on them for disagreeing.
Third mistake. Using his real name. Chris Trotter has such outlandish views, views that in the wild west would have meant he'd be constantly running from inflamed mobs ready to string him up from the nearest tree - you've got to wonder what he was thinking coming out into this environment without using a pseudonym. It seems to me this error is tied back to several things such as ego and pride and protected from the mob by newspaper editors and not spending the time trying to understand the culture of the blogs.
Fourth mistake. Attacking potential allies like No Right Turn and The Hand Mirror. If blog world really acts like a whole lot of countries, the only thing that I can ascribe this to is Chris thinks he can rule his section of the Blogosphere like a totalitarian empire that subjugates it's allies rather than befriends them.
So my advice for Chris and Bryan, take a breather. Read your comments. Think about them. Think about what the commenters are saying to you. Think about what calling the inhabitants Blogosphere "fascists" really says about you and your blog. The Blogosphere has room for you, BUT there are certain elements of Natural Law at work here, and just denying that those elements exist will ensure your blog's demise.
Related Link (like watching a train wreck in slow motion): Are you a virtual fascist? ~ The Chris Trotter Blog
UPDATED with other opinions:
Are you a virtual fascist? ~ Kiwiblog
Trotsky beset by blog "fascists" ~ Not PC
Nice post.
ReplyDeleteI also think there are a lot of simpletons out there that cannot understand that just because there are rude, coarse, impolite or intemperate comments mixed in with sensible comments that the entire right wing (or left wing) are loonies.
Each comment stands on its own, it doesn't necessarily speak for the entire VRWC that Trotter so dislikes, and regularly brands as the enemies.
He seems to not comprehend he can offend people, and at the same time does not tolerate getting it dished back in the same measure.
Great post. People new to the blogosphere can say some stupid things sometimes, I can think of a couple of examples from myself back in the past... But he certainly is jumping in with both feet. Do you know if he comments on other blogs? Or did he just jump straight in without testing the waters at all?
ReplyDeleteMr Dennis
Thanks, guys. This was one of those, whack it out, think as I go posts. Anyway, Mr Dennis, I have not seen Trotter anywhere else, but then there are a number of "lands" that I just don't visit. I did notice that he said he read Cactus Kate's blog, and Bryan was waxing on there about how much hookers cost in Auckland.
ReplyDeleteI really think that this way of acting for both of them points to major personal character flaws. Enlightening, really.
Trotter is hoist by his own petard. His hate speech has come back to bite him, as it does.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Mr. Trotter has quite come to terms with the concept of negative feedback yet.
ReplyDelete(speaking as an occasionally very intemperate blogger) :-)
ReplyDeleteThe way i see it, people's blogs are their property, the way they run them, what they post about, how they post on it, how they treat comments and visitors is entirely their business. If i don't like someones blog or the way they run things, i just don't go there. If that doesn't work for them, then i guess it doesn't and that's their concern.
ReplyDelete