As a newbie blogger, I’m always trying to learn and understand more about new/social media and occasionally question & comment upon it. Two of the perceptions I’ve had since the beginning is that some in new media crave the attention and acceptance of the same MSM they vilify, while at the same time clinging to a defensive stance about what might be expected of new media.
A post at griftdrift made note of a dustup about a recent Creative Loafing (Atlanta) article on the local blogging scene, one that raised hackles on some of that demographic.
Most notably (from the comments, at least) Amber, Rusty and SpaceyG / Grayson, with this little exemplary gem of constructive feedback:
As I mention over at DTTG, making lists is not journalism, Andy. It's just pretty bullshit, and has nothing to do with the state of the social media community in Atlanta. You're a snotty little dipshit reporter who can't tell a story without layers of baby snot blown all over your silly copy, to disguise the fact that there was simply nothing newsworthy in this cover list.
SpaceyG
SpaceyG slags Nouraee for perceived slagging of the local blogosphere. Got it. And Rusty blasts MSM vis a vis Nouraee for somehow deigning themselves “…the arbiters of what is and isn't important to people” yet does a preteen girl happy-dance when the MSM gives his PodCamp Atlanta some ink.
(Not everyone had such a negative reaction to the CL piece, judging by article comments and other blogs, and some can see value – and fault – on both sides.)
I don’t think their self-centered reaction to the CL article was an aberration, either. These three attended a meeting of an Atlanta Social Media Club, and a great time was not had by all. They also took the time to comment about the less-than-stellar experience in a podcast long on snark and short on introspection. It's baffling why they'd spend 33 minutes whining about the opinions and methods of a group of people they didn't care for to begin with.
At any rate, I doubt their reactions have anything to do with not geting a nod in Nouraee’s piece, or some nebulous feeling of being condescending to. I think the real issues are:
- They’re personalizing Nouraee’s subjective assessment of the Atlanta blogging scene, and
- The MSM failed to throw them a bone of the legitimacy they obviously want & need.
All in all, if these people are what passes for the vanguard of new media then I’m very worried. Their tactics and attitude seem self-marginalizing in the long run. Better examples of new/social media have to be out there; I hope to find them and learn from them.
(h/t to griftdrift)
[CORRECTION: The text had an implication that PodCamp Atlanta was Rusty's brainchild. In fact, it was a joint Amber/Rusty effort with Amber as the driving force behind it.]
Comments (4)
Fair enough, you are free to think that. However, I know myself and my reasons better than you (since I'm me), I've shared what they are, and that's pretty much all I can do.
Unfortunately, the issues here cannot be easily simplified. There is a lot going on, and it can't be accurately captured in summary form.
Posted by Amber | June 1, 2007 11:04 AM
Posted on June 1, 2007 11:04
Yes, that's about right, and I'll own up to some inconsistency there. That goes both ways though. Andy slags on the blogosphere, all while CL is in the middle of trying to create blogs and make everything they do more blog-like (comments, ratings, Technorati links, etc.) They're clearly influenced by blogs, and yet attempt to downplay the scene that's influencing what they do.
Posted by Rusty | June 1, 2007 11:18 AM
Posted on June 1, 2007 11:18
Rusty:
Our local rag is doing much the same thing as CL, sounds like, via their foray into a their form of citizen journalism called chron.Commons, sans commentary feedback on pieces. The conventional wisdom says that it's their attempt to gain currency with an exponentially declining readership. Like with the AJC, the Chronicle started getting sloppy when its main rival folded.
And ditto your problem with the alliteration in the AJC rep's name.
Posted by machine | June 1, 2007 6:27 PM
Posted on June 1, 2007 18:27
Interesting perspective Machine. Maybe you are on to something about the Coke being laced with something.
Posted by griftdrift | June 3, 2007 5:11 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 17:11