Posted 3 years ago in the early evening by oso
January ‘06, Karen Walrond asked her readers if their weblog gave them power. My response was:
I feel like I have the same power as your typical guy atop a soap box in the 1920’s. Not much.
Sometimes I walk into the library or even one of those mega-bookstores and I’m just amazed at how many people have been published. How many words are out there. And how each day it seems like I have less and less time to read their words.
I once heard an interview with a nobel prize winning author. I don’t remember her name. And hadn’t heard of her at the time. She listed off 20 other nobel prize winners in the past century. Hadn’t heard of them either. Point being, the “shelf life” of supposedly famous prize winning writers is very limited.
The irony I guess is that writing online might actually give us an advantage because of search technology. Either way, few are the Shakespeares, few are those with influence, but graphomania is certainly in abundance.
Exactly one year later I got a phone call from Chris Nolan who would be moderating the Soft Power Session at We Media Miami, an annual conference that brings together figures from old and new media and tries to get them to hold hands. I had heard the term “Soft Power” plenty of times in political science classes at UCSD following the post-9/11 shift in foreign policy. At the time Joseph Nye was writing a lot of Op-Eds arguing for the United States to use Hollywood and international study programs rather than bombs and soldiers as means of spreading free market democracy and Western values. But I wanted to hear directly from Chris on how she interpreted “soft power” in relation to blogs and new media.
As I saw it, the session could have either focused on how blogs empower everyday citizens or what bloggers do with their power once they have it. I was mildly disappointed to discover that she intended to focus on the former. Under the insanely hot and glaring stage lights of Storer Auditorium, I was bored with my own response when Chris asked me about Global Voices.
Global Voices is an editor-based aggregator of the very best self-published content and citizen journalism from around the world. We help shine the light on individual voices that aren’t represented in the mainstream media, but who are able to express themselves to a global audience via the web … blah, blah, blah …
And so we went around the panel and each gave our own little blurb about our projects, explaining how we were each revolutionizing the media. Jay talked about NewAssignment.net and the future of collaborative journaism, Chuck DeFeo (love that last name) talked about TownHall, Val noted how Babalú gave representation to the Cuban exile experience, and Gaby was pigeonholed as the young person who actually spends time on Facebook and MySpace.
Were we really still talking about this? Media professionals and keyboard-tethered bloggers all gathered together, all still pretending to be amazed that, yes, the internet is there and that it helps empower the little person.
Then, two great things happened. Anna Nicole Smith died and Alan Rosenblatt asked exactly what I had been wanting to ask: why are we still talking about this? Let’s talk about what bloggers are actually doing with that power and how that differs from the old model.
I don’t celebrate Anna Nicole Smith’s death out of spite, but because she had an important lesson for us: as much as we’d like to congratulate ourselves for making journalism more egalitarian, more innovative, more global; the truth of the matter is that newspaper front pages and blog index pages would both be covered with Anna Nicole Smith’s boobs for the next few days.
The truth is that most people would much rather read about her personal life than recent protests in Zimbabwe. That’s not a criticism, it’s just candor. And after all, what difference does it make whether we spend our lunch hour reading about celebrity affairs or protests in some foreign land if all we do with that information is repeat it with raised eyebrows at dinner parties?
Which brings us to Rosenblatt’s question. Blogs are there. Podcasts are there. YouTube celebrities are there. Global Voices is there. So what?
To be continued …
i guess it depends on what blogs one is reading. i travel in a circle (figure 8?) of blogs who are very concerned with social justice: Latino activists, Feminists, gay issues, Black issues, Trans, etc. i do feel we are doing some important things, if only interpersonally; if only making personal growth a communal and shared thing. we dont do too much common news stuff, and anna nicole smith was not a big focus except for that she was a victim of our culture’s messaging and expectations….
I FORGOT ASIANS!! Forgive me, Kai!
karen is one of my heroes. she is all about love and love is one thing the world needs more of.
i think online writing has more power than we think, possibly more residual than immediate on the blog format where our words lay indefinitely waiting for people to read them when the factors of their lives encourage them to seek them out. i would suggest that sometimes the strength of the words has a lot more to do with the reader than the writer.
ps. you look great in those photos, david!
xo
Ultimately people like being comfortable… even if it is to their (or the world’s) detriment. Looking forward to the next one.
What – no sports coat?
No wonder no one took you seriously.
I am amazed at your tenacity (you do admit that your initial description was half-hearted). You keep participating in these forums where it seems like most of the participants are more interested in navel gazing than reexamining the implications of the new medium.
I doubt that my blog empowers me. If anything it distracts me from engaging the activities that would and that could make a difference. So perhaps I should recuse myself from any further discussion.
But if I do have anything to say in the future, I will make sure I wear a sports coat…
NLXJ,
I’ve been meaning to get more acquainted with your figure 8 for a while now. I would never criticize ‘conversation for conversation’s sake’ and, echo chambers aside, I think we’ve all seen a lot of examples of online dialogue emerging between people, groups, and nations, that would otherwise never be in touch. That’s really cool that your diverse ‘circle’ is focused on social justice issues. But here’s my question – has any concrete policy or measurable change come out of your discussions?
Leahpeah,
We Media was the first time I saw Lisa Stone speak about how blogging has empowered women and the potential of networks like BlogHer. I thought she was one of the most eloquent speakers there. As someone who rarely watches TV, most of my everyday thinking is rooted in what I read online – and almost all of that information comes from people that, in one way or another, I consider friends. One of the best performances I’ve ever seen was Stew’s Passing Strange. If it weren’t for you and Joe I would have never even heard of Stew.
Xolo,
What?! I thought, if anything, you’d point out the fact that I sold out and ditched the chanclas. Aren’t coats made for cold weather? We were in Miami. It was nealry 80 degrees. I should have stuck to the chanclas.
I didn’t mean to be critical when I wrote that we each focused on our own projects. I was as guilty of “navel gazing” as everyone else – I think that the structure of panels encourages it.
Oso,
Hi! Your question presupposes important change as one that manifests in policy change! Or one that can be measured…how?
I cannot answer in that light and still please my own sense of truth.
If you were to pore over the comments in my blog as well as the incoming links and discussions (this is NOT a suggestion that you should, only one meant to predicate the next statement) you would see many people positively affected by sharing in the process of honesty and change that I am trying so hard for. THAT to me is a sign of amazing progress.
If ten people make one true shift in their approach; one actual change in their thinking; one earnest attempt at being something better than they were, we really couldn’t ask more from such a thing as a blog, regarding making changes in the world. After all, you know how it is. We are radioactive beings. We affect those around us, and like that creepy shampoo commercial, our interactions branch out in myriad directions.
But that is not the measure of my success, nor the goalpost I aim for, to be perfectly honest. It would be awfully grand for me to say as much. Really, I am only online to document a journey I am making. The rest is a gift. To whom, I’d be afraid to assert definitely.
Xolo, your blog has empowered me. Your blog enabled me to see latinos doing academic, scholar work around the US. You inspired me. You’ve helped me learn about depression. Your blog is empowering to me.
Oso, your blog has empowered you to continue with the white man soap box. It has empowered you to be answer to everyones question about anal bleaching and perhaps other serious topics that are googled and lead to you.
and that’s what i’m talking about. because where would the world be without a source of information on anal bleaching?
jeje…i JEST. but what elenamary said about being inspired and learning. i don’t care ’bout Policy Change or Measuring Cups. it’s people being affected and carrying their new self forward into myriad interactions that are the most important changes to me.
it’s funny, because i used to denounce the internet in eveyr way possible, and especially blog triumphalists. but i’ve had my mind changed by seeing enough of these effects, and in experiencing my own growth from reading people’s minds and hearts that i’d never have the chance to know without blogs. now if only THEY had named them something different, i’d be truly happy.
so i come back to my original statement: it all depends on what blogs one is reading….
and why is your form calling me “elenamary”?
Sounds like you’re questioning the true impact you have with your blog and your contributions to Global Voices homie. It’s a major impact. I’m reading about these conferences that you participate in and I’m feeling like I’m friends with a media outlet that’s more important in my eyes than CNN.
Xolo,
That’s exactly the same thing I’ve been thinking myself. I’m obviously an exaggerated case, but I spend about 8 hours a day reading blogs, writing about blogs, and writing on my own. Those eight hours a day have introduced me to dozens of amazing people from around the world. They’ve also introduced me to places I never knew existed, issues I had never contemplated, and perspectives I would have otherwise never considered. But still, I wonder, what have I done with all that information? With all those conversations? What would I be doing with those eight hours a day if I wasn’t online?
Elenamary,
Oh how I’ve missed your racial polemics around these parts – you certainly liven this place up. But you know, you also expressed exactly what I get out of reading blogs that’s so hard to quantify – inspiration. I read 43 Folders because it inspires me to be more productive. I read Grand Lake Guardian because it inspires me to get more involved in my community. I read Regioblogs because it inspires me to stay informed about Monterrey. I read Get Rich Slowly because it inspires me to save money. I read Chris’ blog for inspiration to be more environmentally sensitive. And, like you, I read Xolo’s blog because it inspires me to be a better person.
Meanwhile, I don’t read blogs like Gawker, Boing Boing, and Defamer because they don’t inspire me to do anything. They are what everyone seems to be calling “infotainment.” Not that there’s anything wrong about being entertained by information … but for me personally, it’s just not as rewarding as inspiration.
NLXJ,
Like you, I feel like I’ve grown a lot as a person from my online interactions. And you’re right, I’m sure that affects how I interact with other people. But still, there is a difference between inspiration and action. 43 Folders might inspire me to be more productive, but am I actually more productive? Am I involved in my community, or do I just feel like I am because I read my local neighborhood blog? What does it matter if I stay informed about Monterrey or not? Is reading Get Rich Slowly actually going to help me get rich slowly?
I know, it’s calling me Gustavo right now. WordPress changed the way it stores cookies in 2.1 and it’s making my blog confused.
yes, oso, clearly these are questions we must answer for ourselves. i feel i’ve made my point as well as i can here. so i will let our back-and-forth rest on your questions, which are better, after all, than any answer i could provide.