- Image via Wikipedia
Wow! On the surface I thought Paul Boutin was a guy with a new spin on something, then I realised he was a bitter ‘old media’ man.
…Writing a weblog today isn’t the bright idea it was four years ago. The blogosphere, once a freshwater oasis of folksy self-expression and clever thought, has been flooded by a tsunami of paid bilge….
Paul works for Wired, and clearly he/they don’t understand the world of ‘new media‘ (not really new) based on an article I read from the 20th of October.
It reads like a bit of a rant, hissy fit and general garbage that makes no sense. But of the key points he covers, which are mostly accurate, it show’s that things have changed, not DIED!
It’s in human nature to be attracted to drama, and polarisation is one of the best ways to create more drama than Bold and the Beautiful… (maybe not too difficult)
It’s Paul’s job to create attention, readership and reach, so WIRED can sell advertising dollars – doesn’t that sounds like a traditional media mindset?
Matthew Wingram sarcastically responds
Wow — that’s pretty persuasive, isn’t it? You can’t miss with a great environmental metaphor like that. I guess I had better stop blogging then.
Blogs won’t really be over until there is another medium where people can express themselves in a little longer format than Twitter that’s as easy as blogging. That’s not to say it won’t improve. There is a lot to be done to further evolve blogging platforms. A lot is underway already in terms of facilitating the conversation that is comments, for example.
I disagree with Bob, as its not about the technology – humans, by nature like connect in different ways, we still watch TV, listen to radio and have coffee (in person remember that?)… Medium’s don’t DIE, they simply change.
Part of Seamus McCauley’s post wrap’s up my post well
This is really just the old Radio Will Kill Books, TV Will Kill Radio argument – “oooh look, a shiny new thing. Everyone will use the shiny new thing and stop using the thing we had last week, and here are two (two!) whole examples of moderately well-known people doing just that very thing so it must be true for everyone”.
December 29th, 2008 on 8:44 am
Frankly Simon I am tired of the old “A-listers” trying to talk people out of blogs these days – they all sat around making themselves fat and wealthy hiding behind the “hocus pocus” of the “new media” – now we have worked out that A) It ain’t that hard and B) practice makes perfect and volume in trying to understand the keys actually works as well C) and if you stuff it up the first time it becomes very ecologically friendly fish and chip wrapper much faster on the net.
So leave the old guy cry – we shall barrel on towards the next generation of Interweb communication