My Welsh Blogosphere - Simon Dyda

There are blogs and there are political blogs. This I think is an important distinction. Political bloggers and the media alike often talk of the 'blogosphere', 'blogs' and 'blogging' as if these things do not exist outside the sphere of political commentary.

Of course this is not the case. A blog can be whatever its author wants it to be, about any subject or none, and its presentation need only conform to the whim of its owner. Political blogs occupy only one small corner of the real blogosphere.

It would be pointless to deny that political blogs here in Wales have grown in influence since the 2007 Assembly elections. We read and hear about them in the Welsh media and they are increasingly mentioned on the floor of the Siambr. This influence is clearly dependent on and caused by the fact that the Welsh media and Welsh politicians are the people reading these blogs - when they're not blogging themselves.

There is occasionally talk of the 'new' versus the 'old' media when it comes to blogging and online political comment. 'Bloggers versus Hacks' so to speak. In reality the difference is more one of amateur anoraks versus professional pundits. Blogging after all is merely a technology, a style, a technique even. Every mainstream outlet has its own blogs now. Some have even employed bloggers as columnists. And as an example of 'blogging technique' many online broadsheets now 'live blog' political events - such as PMQs.

But I digress. Yes, blogs have grown in influence here in Wales, but not on any scale that we should get carried away with. Normal people don't read blogs, and certainly don't look to blogs for advice on how to vote. Our present Welsh government may have been 'born on a blog', but it was a blog written by a professional politician who played a key role in the subsequent coalition negotiations, not an anonymous civil servant in Cathays or some geek in Caernarfon.

The 'Welsh (political) blogosphere' is generally recognised by UK bloggers as being a robust one. But I think we need to have some sense of perspective. The blogosphere here - much like its English counterpart - is chiefly the realm of gossip, Schadenfreude and name-calling. The latter of these is hardly unique to political bloggers - it is also one of the favourite pursuits of many of our politicians. As is the case with most of our politicians, we bloggers don't produce much by way of ideas and rarely have anything insightful to contribute to debate. Come to think of it, in Welsh politics generally the definition of 'debate' seems to be 'to talk at'.

Much has been made of the presence of 'attack blogs' in Wales, which following the recent McBride episode has inspired some rather pitiful displays of self-righteousness from other bloggers (among them politician bloggers) who themselves have never been shy of publishing personal attacks - sometimes against members of their own parties! But beyond the perimeter of Torchwood 3 nobody really cares.

Unlike our English neighbours, the opposition do not rule the blogging roost, and although we've had our own 'Guido' we've never had our own 'Dizzy', ie a blogger who trawls through all that has been said in Westminster and the Senedd looking for the inevitable gaps, gaffes and anomalies that escape the rest of us. Off the top of my head I can't even remember an instance where anyone has made a detailed comparison between what the One Wales document says and what the One Wales government has (or has not) delivered. Welsh blogs are generally more interested in what X had to say about Y in the Western Mail.

Now, don't misunderstand me, I'm not trying to belittle the Welsh blogosphere. There's nothing wrong with gossip, Schadenfruede and name-calling in politics - I do it myself - I just don't think we need an inflated idea of our collective (or individual) status and influence as Welsh political bloggers.

Unfortunately some of us take this whole political blogging thing much too seriously, leading to spiteful exchanges in the comments threads of many a blog. Blogging should be fun even if it does get catty, so I welcome the idea of 'Welsh Bloggers In The Pub' as a means of nurturing civility between bloggers.

Mine's a Guinness.

(Written by Simon Dyda, Welsh blogger, creator and author of Ordovicius, the Ordovicius Micro-Blog, Pleidiol and Welsh Blog Feed)

This is the first of a series of posts giving a chance for Welsh bloggers to have their say on the state of the blogosphere and where it's going. If you're interested in contributing place feel free to contact me at welshbloggers@gmail.com