The State of Political Blogging

With the onslaught of posts from all the convention crazy Lib blah-blah-blahggers currently posting pictures of Liberal thongs and wetting their red trousers over seeing Ken Dryden up close, I started to think about the state of political blogging these days. I mean, the medium is pretty damn healthy in terms of volume - the pile of political posts being spewed out increases daily. New names ceaselessly appear on blog rolls like Progressive Bloggers and various shamelessly partisan groups. And although quantity is not a parameter that indicates the value of a creative medium, it does say something about utility. Utility is in the eye of the beholder and though personally I find minute by minute accounts of political gatherings useless, tedious and annoying even, others may find them useful, nay, even entertaining (see note below).

But enough about them, let's talk about me. I'm a veteran of the scene already and K-Dough's hasn't even reached it's one year blogiversary yet. That is a conspicuous clue about the nature of the blogging medium: it's instantaneous, like an ethereal digital nervous system in which organisms are born, live and die by the minute. I want to call it a kind of throwaway culture, but it's more than that. It's true that you're only as good as your last post, and daily the fruits of your labour disappear into the murky depths of archival obscurity. But at least all those words are still there available for retrieval and posterity. I can't imagine what would happen if, for instance, blogspot experienced a catastrophic data loss. Gasp.

A year ago, it was pretty much unheard of for bloggers to be considered sources for news or commentary. Now, it's becoming common-place to see the likes of Cherniak on national TV commenting on the Liberal convention. Just yesterday, CBC Radio asked me to do an interview on the nation within a nation debate and I've also been covered in the Ottawa Citizen. My friend Harding Young over at T.O. Crime just celebrated his 50,000th hit and has appeared on national radio and TV for one reason- he authors successful blogs. ChuckerCanuck has one of the most thriving comments sections on the InterWeb where regulars and others debate and argue in detail daily.

Actually, it's become a virtual water cooler or bar counter over at Chucker's place and that seems to me to be one of the fundamental virtues of the medium at this point. The medium and the relative anonymity it provides encourages debate and the expression of diverse views. Of course, the vast sea of blogging is also polluted by the countless flotsam of mindless partisanship and plagiarism. I guess, as with all forms of cultural expression, it's incumbent upon the consumer to mow down the idiot weeds and dig out the gems.

So, where does K-Dough fit into this big picture? Well, hopefuly I provide hope for those who aren't hopelessly partisan that you can write without a tendentious slant or a panting, slobbering sophomoronic love for one party or personality. Well, ok, I may be guilty of a slight degree of Mitsou worship (HERE and HERE) , but I assure you that my anaphylactic allergy to many right wing policies is a reality of my physiology and nothing more. Hey, if you can't eat (or agree with) nuts because they'll kill you, you just don't eat them.

I would like to thank all my readers for coming to my daily sexified word parties. It's a serious honour that you allow me to exploit you all in my quest for blog stardom. I don't know where this medium is going, but hopefully you'll all get on board the K-Train and help to thin the muddy soup out there in the blog kitchen by skimming the scum off the top any chance you get. Now get back out there and fight stupid at all costs!

*Note: Over the last year, I have published several frustrated rants against blogging polidiots, with what I think was some pretty clever, if not obscene invective. You can check out some of my finer foul-mouthed blog bashing HERE, HERE and HERE . The well of my frustration used to be kept full by the fact that I tried to get guys like Cherniak and Kinsella to be critical of their own arguments and at least debate with detractors in a spirit of critical analysis. Duhh, thank god I stopped that pointless exercise. I've learned that there's really no room for idealism in this jackass eat jackass digital jungle. Even Joanne the sweet seems to have realized that! And who woulda thought we'd see our little girl grow up right here online.

Ah, the special wonders of the mysterious InterWeb.