After penning my last entry, it dawned on me that the "Reality TV" mentality has reared it's head in the blogosphere. It generally crops up in two ways: Outrageous Posts and Outlandish Comments.
I'm certain that each of us has visited one or more blogs that fit into the first category. I'd like to say that most such blogs are conservative, in nature, but I don't think that would be accurate! In my book, it's one thing to make a point and then provide some substantive rationale to support one's perspective. It's quite another thing, however, to pen what amounts to little more than a vulgar rant.
Unfortunately, as we've seen via "reality TV," being outrageous tends to get one noticed. The more pompous and disrespectful a person can behave, the more it seems to attract supporters and detractors. If mega traffic is what a blogger craves the most, then it appears to pay to be as doltish as possible.
The second way in which I think "reality TV" has impacted the blogging world is through the advent of outlandish comments. It seems to me like there are certain individuals who troll the internet looking for others they can pick [virtual] fights with. So, they set out to discover blogs that advocate positions far different from theirs and then try to precipitate shouting matches in the comments section.
Often times, it's readily apparent that they don't even read the entirety of the posts they are ostensibly commenting about. All they do is look for certain phrases, then charge in with guns blaring. Once again, I think the chief motivation behind such behavior is that the person is craving recognition and they really don't care if it's positive or negative recognition that is received.
I'm certain that each of us has visited one or more blogs that fit into the first category. I'd like to say that most such blogs are conservative, in nature, but I don't think that would be accurate! In my book, it's one thing to make a point and then provide some substantive rationale to support one's perspective. It's quite another thing, however, to pen what amounts to little more than a vulgar rant.
Unfortunately, as we've seen via "reality TV," being outrageous tends to get one noticed. The more pompous and disrespectful a person can behave, the more it seems to attract supporters and detractors. If mega traffic is what a blogger craves the most, then it appears to pay to be as doltish as possible.
The second way in which I think "reality TV" has impacted the blogging world is through the advent of outlandish comments. It seems to me like there are certain individuals who troll the internet looking for others they can pick [virtual] fights with. So, they set out to discover blogs that advocate positions far different from theirs and then try to precipitate shouting matches in the comments section.
Often times, it's readily apparent that they don't even read the entirety of the posts they are ostensibly commenting about. All they do is look for certain phrases, then charge in with guns blaring. Once again, I think the chief motivation behind such behavior is that the person is craving recognition and they really don't care if it's positive or negative recognition that is received.
It reminds me of back in the day, when USENET, pre-WWW, was the way people, mostly academics or astute people with computers and .edu addresses, had relatively civilized, well-written discussions about topics and condemned flames and rants. Then along came AOL, which my son always called a--holes on line. It has devolved from there. That's the problem with broadcasting! The move from elite to egalitarian has its price.
ReplyDeleteMahalo for YOUR blog!
(Incidentally, my son lives in Portland; I told him about you and he says he voted for you for governor! Just thought you'd like to know that.)