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.
and Bob Warfield comments
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”.
