Total Politics Blog Awards 2009

Here are the first ten of the Top 60 Welsh Blogs.

1 (1) Guerilla Welsh Fare PC
2 (6) Miserable Old Fart NA
3 (18) Blog Menai PC
4 (10) Adam Price MP PC
5 (15) Welsh Ramblings PC
6 Syniadau PC
7 (12) Vaughan Roderick ME
8 (7) Cambria Politico NA
9 (11) Cynical Dragon PC
10 Plaid Wrecsam PC

Welsh Bloggers despite not being around that long and frankly not a regular blog came in at a suprising 19th. Thank you to everyone that voted.

For the full list click HERE.

Congratulations to everyone on there.

My Welsh Blogosphere - Alun Williams

I began doing a blog as a extension to my councillor’s newsletter which I deliver door to door in my ward every few months. At first, like the newsletter, it was very much pavement politics aimed purely at people living in the Bronglais area (about a quarter of Aberystwyth). But it became clear, firstly, that internet usage isn’t yet at the level where that level of parochialism can work and, secondly, that some articles were attracting interest from much further afield. So I began to focus it more towards where I could see an untapped interest in Aberystwyth area news and comment.

I try to concentrate on stuff that hasn’t been covered much elsewhere and most enjoy it when I manage to break some fresh news or when the blog becomes a focus for local debate, as it did when the plans to demolish a large section of Aberystwyth Town Centre were launched.

There are a few bloggers in the area now and we all know each other and reference each other’s blogs at times. There’s Dogfael, Caredig i Natur and Hill’s Chronicle, to take three very different examples. The great thing about the ‘blogosphere’ is that it’s so varied.

There’s no question that I’d be more forthright, and maybe more interesting, if I wasn’t a councillor and afraid of ending up in the real press for saying something inappropriately wild (again). But then there are very few issues that are absolutely straightforward and there’s something to be said for genuinely trying to inform people and put all the sides with just a little steer towards what I might think is the right viewpoint. And even that can have an effect on sensitive local politicians used to having only one media outlet to cope with. One recent blog got printed off and circulated around the local Council Cabinet as a dreadful warning of the mischief opposition councillors like me can make when Cabinet members don’t toe the party line.

Although blogging is very much a minority, anorak thing at the moment I do see it gradually rising in importance as people switch on to its possibilities as a supplement/alternative to the established media with its trite, uninspiring view of the world. The development of group blogs – mini newspapers in effect – is especially interesting in this respect. I know many bloggers see their blogs as a space to comment about the news rather than make it but I like both approaches, especially in Wales where we’re desperately short of the pluralistic media we all deserve.

The Welsh media as a whole is tiny enough but the local press is even worse with many local papers having a total monopoly of news and the way it’s portrayed in their area, often with a sensationalist, anti-politics agenda that feeds peoples’ cynicism. Against this context it’s relatively easy for bloggers to become a significant source of local news and I can see that side of the scene taking off particularly.

Although I actually love newspapers in many ways and really don’t want to see their demise, there’s no denying that the format can barely cope with the pace of modern life. I know some people say that blogs are vanity publishing and have no effect but I suspect the effect is under the surface and increasing. We all know of examples where a blog has broken a really big story but I think they’re also increasing the level of understanding and debate in a more subliminal way. It’s so intrinsically healthy to see so many people with different views and styles springing up to make a contribution they couldn’t have easily made before.

I don’t really know about the blogging scene anywhere else but the Welsh blogosphere is starting to feel like the kind of intelligent, spirited world some of us suspect is waiting to emerge from under the surface of this semi-formed nation of ours.

(Written by Alun Williams author of the www.bronglais.blogspot.com)

This is post twenty seven of a series of articles giving a chance to 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

Vote For Welsh Bloggers

Email your ten favourite blogs (ranked from 1-10) to toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com

It's that time of year again, when Total Politics asks you to vote for your Top 10 favourite blogs. The votes will be compiled and included in the forthcoming book, the Total Politics Guide to Blogging 2009-10, which will be published in September. This year the poll is being promoted/sponsored by LabourList and LibDemVoice as well as this blog.

The rules are simple.

1. You must vote for your ten favourite blogs and ranks them from 1 (your favourite) to 10 (your tenth favourite).
2. Your votes must be ranked from 1 to 10. Any votes which do not have rankings will not be counted.
3. You MUST include ten blogs. If you include fewer than ten your vote will not count.
2. Email your vote to toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com
3. Only vote once.
4. Only blogs based in the UK, run by UK residents are eligible or based on UK politics are eligible.
5. Anonymous votes left in the comments will not count. You must give a name
6. All votes must be received by midnight on 31 July 2009. Any votes received after that date will not count.

If you have your own blog, please do encourage your readers to take part. Last year, more than 80 blogs did so. We hope this year it will be far more than that. BUT, DO NOT list ten blogs you think your readers should vote for. Any duplicate voting of this nature will be disallowed. If you do not wish for your blog to be voted for please email katy.scholes@totalpolitics.com. Here's the code to add to your blog sidebar or blogpost to feature the grahic above with an automatic clickthru to the instruction page...

There are many ways of measuring a blog's popularity. Wikio and Technorati have complicated logarithms which measure the importance of incoming links and traffic. Google Analytics does it by measuring how many people visit. But the TP poll gives blog readers the opportunity to vote for the ones they like and visit most often. It's not scientific. It's impossible to achieve 100% balance and no one pretends it's perfect.

The results of the poll will be published in the forthcoming book the TOTAL POLITICS GUIDE TO POLITICAL BLOGGING IN THE UK which will be published in mid September in association with APCO Worldwide.

So, go to it. Email your Top Ten Favourite Blogs to

toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com

Welsh Bloggers In The Pub '09

Photo via Dom @ WelshIcons
Just a quick post to say thank you to all the bloggers and non-bloggers that turned up to Welsh Bloggers In The Pub last night. A good time was had and I think the idea of the night, basically adding a social edge to the blogosphere and putting names to faces worked.

I'd like to thank the Vulcan Hotel, members of the Save The Vulcan campaign and everyone who has supported this project. I'll happily organise another one knowing how successful and interesting this one was.

Bloggers in attendence were myself, Marcus Warner, Uncle Wilco, Clive Betts, Chris Jones, Denis Campbell, David Taylor, Arfur Daly, Dom Stocqueler, Duncan Higgitt, Michael Corbett and the Save The Vulcan team including Rachel Thomas.

One Day To Go!

With the recent news of the Vulcan being saved for three years, the inaugral Welsh Bloggers in the Pub event is free to go ahead as tomorrow as planned.

My idea was setting up a social meet up along the lines of the 'Skeptics In The Pub'. A 'Welsh Bloggers In The Pub' would meet up a couple of times a year and would serve to improve relations, promote better communication and give bloggers a chance to socialise in the real world. It would also give some of us the chance to get out of the house and have a couple of pints.

So come one, come all and have a couple of drinks and a chat.

For more info join the Facebook group, or keep up-to-date via Twitter.

Welsh Blogosphere Lacks Audacity of Hope and Change - Denis Campbell

It’s easy to take the sure open shot on a basketball court or football pitch. Bloggers of all stripes do the ‘outrage’ thing very well. We can call an opponent out, take the Mick out of public gaffes, exploit weaknesses (indeed, there are enough of them) and generally be cynical or negative.

What’s missing and takes more work is trying to build something of value out of the “ashes” of a country more interested in celebrity, being/feeling important and yet not lifting a finger to either bring real change to its institutions. When Sir Humphrey talks about an MP being “courageous” or doing the heavy lifting for our future, we laugh. The prevailing thinking is; “Ashes opening ceremony seat on telly, check. Next on list, secure prime Ryder Cup opening tickets for September 2010.”

For 6-years I’ve been a journalist, pundit, business owner and tax-paying guest in Wales (I suppose now being of colour, I’m also a prime target for the BNP, my boat thankfully was the Calais ferry from NL and it did not sink, but I digress). I worry about the hole we find ourselves in yet… continue to dig. The Welsh Assembly Government thinks they alone can provide economic development leadership without acknowledging that an active public/private partnership is required to close deals to attract businesses (that means moving at the speed of business not taking 2 weeks to respond to an e-mail), bring real growth or reverse the truly stunning level of voter apathy at all levels.

Depending on whose figures you believe, between 65 and 72% of every pound of economic activity in Wales comes from government employment and/or the dole. Real unemployment, factoring in not just those recently laid off but those working part-time who want full-time work, the underemployed, long-term discouraged and those who have given up completely is closer to 20% than the fanciful figures everyone wants us to believe.

Yet we have a National Assembly seemingly unable to get through the day without mentioning the words ‘Broadband internet access’ as the seeming magic bullet stymieing Welsh economic development. That works much better in home districts than doing any real developmental heavy lifting to attract inbound investment capital. Sorry, I’ve been to the “million visitor” Folk-Life Festival in Washington DC seven times in the 1990s. Whilst crowd numbers are wildly over-estimated (I think they included lunch time joggers along the Mall), I could not tell you what the featured countries were in any of those years. They were on one of three stages between the Pennsylvania waffle cakes and sausage stands.

No one cared.

As a Maryland resident I sought nothing but a day out with my family. So is it that small a wonder we’re cynical when a junket for 88-people to a meaningless festival in the name of economic development is how precious development funds are spent?

And as the political parties gear up for the general election, most will adopt a “business as usual” summer off. Print the flyers, stuff them in post boxes and ignore social media… it’s just a fad we can sneer down our noses at and look cool. Now that the EU election is over and all is quiet, there is little digging, innovation or real insight because it does require getting out amongst the electorate.

When I compare this level of inactivity to the activity 10-months out in the 2008 US presidential campaign, I am disheartened. Having trekked across frozen tundra of Iowa, New Hampshire and the warmer climes of South Carolina watching candidates Clinton, Edwards and Obama, it was interesting to see how truly hard they worked to secure every vote, organise in every community and meet nearly every voter in these desolate early states. They spent months holding town hall listening tour meetings, giving stump speeches and dialoguing with individual voters in true retail political form. I’m waiting for a sweat to broken anywhere in the UK.

What the Welsh blogosphere needs to do is shame the current crop of politicians out onto the streets and have them answer constituent tough questions and demand they answer without SPIN, rejection of every difficult question’s premise, doublespeak non-answers and just plain avoidance. Sincere face-to-face retail politics is needed across the UK, the first party that gets this will score big gains. We paid for that gleaming glass building on the Bay. Now it’s time to demand accountability.

For 10-months I’ve written the 2010 general election would be a change election. Now… I’m not so sure. What’s missing is the raw, furious fire in the belly “fierce urgency of now” that drove Obama’s campaign. That is where Welsh, UK, US and global bloggers need to come in. We need to ask tough questions the MSM (main stream media) seem unwilling to ask, drive news cycles forward and demand accountability from elected officials.

The MSM are fighting for survival and access, so they allow bullying and non-answer answers. Bloggers need to parse through words and build their audience by not letting anyone say anything patently untrue in the spirit of ‘equal time’ vs. truth.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs calls his job “feeding the dinosaurs.” The press briefing room contains 56 chairs ‘owned’ by the likes of The New York Times ($1B in debt), LA Times and Boston Globe (near death) and recently deceased Seattle P-I and Rocky Mountain News (who had their seats reassigned). The furore over Huffington Post blogger Nico Pitney standing in the back of the room and asking President Obama a question, thus violating the press room question order protocol, is one of many signals of changes still to come.

The blogging world order is changing and we must do more than just spout off when we feel like it. We become relevant when we hold each other to a high standard. Every blogger misstep gives those in the MSM more ammunition with which to say, “see, I told you so.” I prefer they run scared and rely on us for source material. When I write for Nico, I know my material has to be top quality. If Welsh bloggers bring that kind of journalistic commitment, it won’t be long before they too are called upon, not merely as squeaky wheels, but the true citizen journalists they are.

So take a few days off then make sure you ‘push the pedal to the metal’ for the rest of this race to the General Election. It’s our duty to make this every bit a change election as November, 2008 was in the USA. Demand the best from our politicians and each other and it will be an interesting season. Do anything less or allow ‘business as usual’ and we get the government we deserve vs. the one we need in these difficult times.

(Written by Denis Campbell, Editor-in-Chief, UK Progressive)

This is post twenty six of a series of articles giving a chance to 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

My Welsh Blogosphere - Duncan Higgitt

WalesHome.org began life as an email from my brother Adam. He suggested that my skills as a former journalist and editor and his as a blogger might combine to create a site that was different. The idea was simple; a web presence that offered analysis on a day-to-day basis where day-to-day reporting cannot, but which eschewed the instant soapbox reaction sometimes seen in the blogosphere.

It took me around three seconds to become excited by the idea, and in no time at all we began planning. I had tried blogging in various ways since leaving journalism in 2007, but it left me feeling fenced in, unable to take off in 90-degree directions. I think the same reasoning explains why I’ve never joined a political organisation. That’s not to say that blogs (or parties) aren’t a good thing, it’s just there is also space for something else.

There was a lot of planning, a lot of ideas tested and thrown on the scrapheap. We arrived at WalesHome.org as a name fairly early on – or, rather, Adam did. He liked the way conservativehome was put together, and felt we could apply some of its presentation to what we were doing. I, on the other hand, found myself with a huge list of what I didn’t want WelshHome.org to be. I didn’t want it to be a newspaper, or look anything like a newspaper. I believe too many of them have taken their content and dumped it online without giving thought as to the difference in how news is found by consumers when searching the internet or browsing a newsagent’s racks. I felt – still feel – that we are able to move beyond the era of ‘Gotcha’, that a headline is no longer the deciding factor in what people choose to read.

I also made it clear that I wanted no dragons, and no red, white or green associated with the site. I believe very strongly that Wales has arrived, that it has taken its rightful place as a country of equal worth in the family of British nations, and beyond. Welsh accents are used frequently in advertising (and there is an exact science behind it). Speak with any 20-something from across the border and they immediately become animated when they learn you are from Cardiff. They’ve either been, are going soon, or are very much planning to go. For Wales, read Cardiff, but it sure beats the Hell out of jokes about rain and sheep shagging.

Then we began meeting with people we wanted to become involved in what we were doing. I think, upon reflection, that we were not as crystal clear in our intentions then as we are now. Many people, particularly journalists, were confused by the idea. One person who got it straight away, and who has proved to be as important to WalesHome.org as Adam and I is Daran Hill, head of Positif Politics. We saw his contribution on Welshbloggers.com and realised that since he didn’t want to keep a blog but did want to write that he was a perfect addition to the team. Daran’s connections in Welsh politics are formidable, and he’s also a damned fine writer who, as we had hoped, is prepared to take an independent approach.

Independence governs our approach. What we are really interested in is ideas. Because of its nature, many of them are likely to come from politics. We don’t care what party you belong to, and we don’t care if you are a PPC, or anyone who might be shied away from because they have a sub-agenda. I have been in journalism long enough – and both Adam and Daran in politics long enough – to act as effective gatekeepers. We allow writers from all backgrounds because we believe our readership is smart enough to discern between argument and selling.

But WalesHome.org isn’t just about politics. We are very keen to develop the business column through contributions. This has taken its time, not least because the people we want are busy. Although I run my own business, I remain unconvinced that people will tune in to hear of my limited experiences. Here, as with our colours, I am determined that traditional issues of confidence are not a feature. Much of the media still reports big business deals here as if they can’t quite believe it’s happened, that it is proof that this ‘tiny nation’ can stand up with the big boys. Yes, well we know that. It’s happened, so let’s get on with exploring new ideas.

I believe both Society and Home Truths stamp our intention as something different. The latter is designed to be provocative, to take a received wisdom and argue against it. Society, I hope, will take a more subtle route. We are determined that it will tackle subjects that (and please forgive the analogy) have been reduced to black and white arguments, shouted rather than discussed. For example, it does not necessarily follow that because you disagree with Sharia law that you are racist - or, to use the most meaningless word of our age, Islamaphobic - just as you are not strictly homophobic because you disagree with gay adoption. Conversely – and this demonstrates the kind of polarised territory we are trying to explore – if figures show that this country is not overrun with immigrants, we shall say so (and, in fact, already have). Human relations are far more complex than the simplified arguments we are regularly presented with, and we would like to say how.

At the weekends, we shall carry either essays or profiles, or both. Again, we are ready to countenance all comers, within reason. Here, I want to develop the site so that we move into features, too. I’ve never been interested in celebrities – other do it far better than I would, anyway. I’m far more concerned with getting under the skin of Welsh life, with simply telling the stories of people that could be your neighbour, friend or relative. We have a features list that is currently being worked on, so expect to see something here soon.

So much for phase one of WalesHome.org. Phase two, which remains very much on the drawing board, will involve the monetising of the site. We remain unconvinced by either subscription or the ‘long tail’ models, and the temptation is to sit it out while the big players resolve it for us, as the economics of the age compels them far more to search for a solution. We find ourselves in the position of being able to stay small and agile, growing only when we think it is safe and advantageous to do so.

So why monetise? Simple – to pay for and thereby attract new writers, who we aim to pay properly for their efforts. This is far likely to mean investigative journalists than star writers. Better pay equals better writing is a simple economic truth that appears to escape every industry that requires scribes – and I include the SEO agency that recently offered me a fiver for 500 words. The NUJ rate is 22p a word: that will be our minimum. But that is for the future. At present we are relying on the kindness of individuals, but it is our intention that those who take the first hard step with us at this stage will, in time, be remunerated.

We’re not interested in taking money out of the site for ourselves. WalesHome.org is more guided by passion and what we believe in rather than any commercial reasoning. We hope Wales will welcome this website, as we hope that everyone will have a say in what it does.

(Written by Duncan Higgitt, former editor and journalist with the Western Mail. He is the editor of the new Welsh news site WalesHome.org)

This is post twenty five of a series of articles giving a chance to 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

My Welsh Blogosphere - The Mabiblogion

When Michael Jackson died last week, TMZ, the celebrity gossip site, was first to break the news. It took nearly an hour for anyone in the mainstream UK media to jump on the bandwagon. Sky News, in desperation, simply reported that TMZ was reporting that Michael Jackson had died. The BBC followed suit. The way in which this story broke, (nicely analysed by Charlie Brooker in his column this week), showed just how important legitimacy is in the online news environment. There is a clear hierarchy of trust in online news. TMZ may well have broken the story first, but nobody really believed them.

The common response to a large breaking news story is to visit a trusted and reliable source i.e. the BBC, Sky, or a reliable newspaper website. You don’t bother with the others, because, by and large, you know they are not to be trusted. This is the reason people don’t visit blogs for news.

This is a useful point because it neatly illustrates the difference between what a blog does and what news websites do.

Bloggers rarely break news. They seldom investigate political scandals or uncover scoops for themselves. When they do get a scoop the story has often been gifted to them. Bloggers have neither the time nor the resources to carry out in-depth investigatory work. The vast majority are not paid to blog and have no journalism training.

It is a bit strange, therefore, that some folk, when assessing the Welsh blogosphere, are disappointed it isn’t doing these things. This is the role of the Welsh media.

Bloggers express their opinions on the issues of the day, and this is what political blogs are best at. Even the much-trumpeted Guido mostly does comment. He takes a news story, adds a link, and posts his take on it. Blogs are rarely objective, rarely non-partisan and are usually the expression of an individual’s personal political beliefs.

There are also, of course, politicians’ blogs. The worst type of politicians blog is filled with press-release guff. The best are the ones that are off-message and give a genuine opinion. Likewise, blogs by professional journalists are best when they are off-message, taking a risk or being irreverent.

Aside from the politicians and hacks, the broad range of discussions online about Welsh politics is impressive. The variety of voices and political perspectives is something we should celebrate and be very proud of. When I started the Mabiblogion back in January I was astonished at how welcoming an environment the Welsh blogosphere was. This is something we should applaud.

The Welsh blogosphere is in great health. We’re a gobby, argumentative lot with plenty to say about Wales and its future. This is exactly how it should be.

Now, if only Welsh journalists would do their jobs, we might actually get somewhere.

(Written by Rob Williams, who has worked at The Independent Online since summer 2008, before which he mucked about on local newspapers in North Wales. He is also author of The Mabiblogion blog)

This is post twenty fourof a series of articles giving a chance to 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

My Welsh Blogosphere - A Change Of Personnel

Thanks to David for the opportunity to express my thoughts on the wider blogsphere and congratulations to those involved in the campaign to Save the Vulcan pub.

It would come as no surprise to you that with a blog entitled ‘A Change of Personnel’ I have my doubts about the differences between our parties and politicians, especially the ones in Cardiff Bay, you only have to look at the One Wales Agreement and the All Wales Accord to see what i’m talking about.

So if I think that way why do I blog at all, apart from interest in politics, the main reason is to curb my frustration with Welsh Politics and to try and make sense of what I see and read, sometimes it works and I write sensible rational posts and sometimes it doesn’t and I just rant on things that really annoy me.

I also enjoy reading other bloggers thoughts from across the political spectrum and various views and debates that go on different blogs, ones you wouldn’t always get to hear if bloggers weren’t around.

In the interest of balance it would be good to see more Labour member’s blogs and also some official and non official Conservative blogs although I see little chance of it which is a shame especially in the current climate where votes and voters are up for grabs like never before.

In the aftermath of the recent European Elections politicians have a golden opportunity to reconnect with voters by generating new ideas on all sides of the political spectrum, so what has been welsh politics response to date, for me reading the speeches, blogs and newspaper articles by the people who could soon be in charge not a lot really, its seems to me that the more things change the more they stay the same.

Moving on to the importance of blogs, some people think Welsh blogs are irrelevant, others think they are nuisance, but in an era where party membership is declining, public meetings are almost non-existent and people lead busy lives it becomes more important to encourage interest in Welsh Politics wherever we can and online is one place that the politicians, political parties, lobbyist, media and ordinary people can engage with the issues and stories of the day. Blogs like the online newspapers and journals reach beyond Wales, where people are interested in Wales and Welsh politics that enables them to engage in current debates in way not possible just a few years ago.

Finally I believe that blogs will continue to be an important part of 21st century welsh politics, to rage, rant and scrutinise ineffective government and inept politicians, to offer ideas and highlight alternatives, to debate issues and often disagree and especially given the challenges facing the main stream media and the lack of alternatives, something which should be worry us all.
So here’s to a long and healthy life for Welsh Blogs and bloggers long may they write.

(Written by V, author of the A Change Of Personnel blog)

This is post twenty three of a series of articles giving a chance to 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

Welsh Bloggers In The Pub 2009 (UPDATE)

Just a quick reminder that due to the Vulcan Hotel being saved from demolition the Welsh Bloggers In The Pub event is going ahead.

The date will be Wednesday the 15th of July.

I hope as many Welsh bloggers as possible accept my warm invitation to come along, socialise, have a couple of drinks and generally get to know each other better.

There is a Facebook group, Facebook event page, Twitter, email and blog for all your WBITP09 needs. Please get in touch.

Saved The Vulcan - Chris Latham

I would like to thank Dave for asking me to post again about the Vulcan and for his continued support and help publicising the cause throughout the blogosphere.

Thanks to the members of the Save the Vulcan campaign, the South Wales Echo, Cardiff Council, Brains Brewery, Derek Rapport, the St David's Partnership and the John Lewis Partnership, and the many, many people who signed the petition and have written letters etc, a new three year lease for the Vulcan has been confirmed. At the time of writing a contract has yet to be signed but it has been received Liz the landlady who has said she will be signing on the dotted line. While this is no guarantee of the Vulcan’s long term future, it means there is now a three year breathing space in which to prepare for any new challenges that lie ahead and (importantly) means that the first ever meeting of Welsh Bloggers can now take place at the Vulcan on July 15th as planned!

On a purely selfish level I’m not sure where this leaves me as a blogger. For the moment there are still bits and pieces to be done but I now find myself reluctant to leave a community that I previously had no idea even existed. In the past, my blogs have all served a particular purpose, providing a space to write about various university projects I have been involved in. They never received many hits and were never meant to; they were left to die peacefully once the project was over without a second thought. It may well be time to start something a little more permanent so if anyone can think of a catchy name (this is the part I am worst at - I think the Sceptical Leek might be cheating!) then give me a shout.

Save the Vulcan/Chris Latham

'Welsh Bloggers need to step up to the plate' - After you Matt!

'Welsh Bloggers need to step up to the plate' – After you Matt!

Quite ironic that Matt Withers in the latest Welsh Bloggers contribution lambasts Welsh bloggers for not scrutinising WAG policy or holding the Government to account or exposing the flaws in the LCO process, because neither does he or his colleagues, if you read Matt’s blog he finds National Assembly Business tedious as we have seen in his many reports on First Minister’s Questions (FMQ’s) and in his weekly gossip filled Spin Doctor newspaper column, no wonder he wants a Welsh Guido Fawkes blog.

Unlike the majority of bloggers Matt is paid to cover welsh politics for the Wales on Sunday and like the Western Mail neither reports on the Assembly Committee’s when they take evidence or cover questions to Assembly Ministers, other than Rhodri Morgan or Opposition debates in the Chamber, all part of the democratic process and as much a part of what the National Assembly does as FMQ’s, something that both BBC Wales AM.PM and ITV Wales Sharp End programmes do cover so it’s not an impossible task.

It’s easy to take pot shots at the Welsh media as he says and I'm guilty of it, but why should Welsh bloggers make up for the holes in political reporting that journalists and researchers are paid to do and often don't. They are as guilty of quoting from AM’s blogs and Twitters for easy stories like bloggers with the comment instead of reporting the political news that only those in Cardiff Bay have access to and are often not published for fear of reprisals such as the Welsh Labour’s financial troubles.

Its seems the cosy world between Welsh politicians and the Welsh media needs to be challenged and opened up to some wider scrutiny itself,so that welsh bloggers could get their hands on some of the political stories and start making names for themselves like Iain Dale and Guido Fawkes as Matt seems to want.

(This post first appeared on A Change Of Personnel blog on 10/6/09)

If you wish to respond to a post on Welsh Bloggers please get in touch and I'd be happy to publish it here. Please send any contributions to welshbloggers@gmail.com)

My Welsh Blogosphere - Chris Jones

The Cambria Politico blog is a manifestation of Cambria magazine’s online activity. Cambria is a glossy bimonthly print magazine with an international subscriber base. For the past decade or so we have concentrated on publishing high quality articles about Welsh life, history, culture and all the good things about Wales and the Welsh people that we admire.

Our strategy for Cambria is to expand our readership and widen our audience. These days this can only be done by doing things online. Print is still the preferred choice of medium for our main readership and we will still, of course, be catering mainly for this. However, we have always had a great deal of content that we cannot put into the magazine for lack of space, because it is time sensitive, because it is unsupported by advertising or is unsuitable for other reasons. This is the material that we are starting to make available online using the website or a blogging channel and we are still learning how to do this in a way that complements and has synergy with the print magazine.

Cambria has always had significant political content in sections such as Pierhead and in articles contributed by the journalist Clive Betts, Siôn T.Jobbins, Henry Jones-Davies and other well known figures – so we are not new to the political scene. However, politics is a rapidly moving news stream so we decided to try our hand at getting involved in the so-called ‘blogosphere’ with Cambria Politico. This has proven to be much more successful than we had anticipated. Cambria Politico is starting to drive traffic and subscription revenue and is attracting much more attention and reaction (some good, some bad, and some downright viciously ugly!) than we have ever received in terms of polite ‘letters to the editor’ or other feedback.
We are also finding that we are reaching a wider, savvier and possibly younger and ‘net aware’ audience than would have been possible with the print magazine.

Although computer literate, we are not ‘techies’ in the sense that people think of web designers and the such, so we have used the excellent freely available software tools available on the web. We started on Blogger (don’t we all) but quickly migrated to self-hosted Word Press which provides the functionality and scalability that we need to run the site properly. We will most probably stick with this.

Cambria Politico is now a monstrous baby that constantly needs feeding and changing (with the occasional projectile vomits). It is also growing and evolving technically as new social media tools (RSS, Twitter, Facebook) become available for integration. For non-techies like us, Word Press makes it all do-able without having to get tangled up in code, so you can see we are big fans. Another really clever add-on that we have adopted is to be Apture enabled. This adds content to our posts in the form of Wikipedia articles, video, images that we could never provide ourselves and which gives more background substance to the posts.

With a year or so of experience and mucking about as it were, we are quite pleased with how it has gone for us. It has also been interesting and instructive to follow those intrepid pioneers of the Welsh blogosphere (whose posts appear above). We make no secret of our political leanings (Plaid) nor do we pretend to be impartial or unbiased. This is a blog after all that has many disparate strands, contributors and voices – some calm and considered, some with suppressed rage at all that is going on with politics in Wales. Above all we are Welsh and proud of it.

(Written by Chris Jones, Cambria magazine online editor)

This is post twenty two of a series of articles giving a chance to 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

My Welsh Blogosphere - Matt Withers

ENTERTAINING. Informative. Breaking stories and providing a much-needed forum for healthy grassroots debate on Welsh politics. That was the Welsh political blogosphere two years ago. What happened?

Like the economy, Newcastle United and Deal or No Deal, the Welsh blogosphere appears to have declined immensely in the space of two years, but there appears to be no obvious reason for it, unlike the first three (for the record: massive under-regulation of the banking sector, Mike Ashley, Noel Edmonds’ increasing mental breakdown). The Government of Wales Act, and with it the obviously stuttering LCO system, means there’s plenty for people to be blogging about. Surely there’s plenty of Labour and Plaid activists with issues around the nature of the One Wales agreement to get off their chests?

And what’s more, Wales’ lack of a pluralistic media should surely provide fertile ground for a healthy political blogosphere. 85% of those who buy a newspaper in Wales buy one written and published in London. What coverage of Welsh politics do you get there? The last incidence I can find is four pars in the News of the World last June after Alun Cairns’ little slip on Radio Cymru. Otherwise they routinely confuse ‘Britain’ with ‘England’, show no knowledge that health and education announcements have no relevance this side of the border and treat Assembly elections with all the gravitas of a parish council. ITV in Wales has all but given up. And while both Media Wales and the BBC do excellent jobs in a challenging environment - and yes, you would expect me to say that - there’s a gap at the heart of Welsh political discourse, and it’s one the blogosphere isn’t stepping up to the plate to fill.

In the run-up to the 2007 Assembly Election, the Welsh blogosphere looked on the verge of truly breaking through to the political mainstream, to the same extent it has in the US and (to a lesser extent) Westminster. Blamerbell Briefs was, and sadly remains, the best blog Wales has seen and the closest to an all-encompassing talking shop we’ve seen. Crude as it may have been, Arsembly proved the biggest talking point in Cardiff Bay for the best part of six months as everybody speculated as to who was behind it (for the record: not me, and I don’t know either). Ordovicius was at its peak (its writer, Simon Dyda, alas, posts less these days).

But where are we now? There are still some very good blogs by politicians. Peter Black AM remains the Blogfather. The sometimes gloriously off-message Conservative Glyn Davies is still a joy to read, particularly if, say, you write a diary column for a tabloid Sunday newspaper. They’re the best because they’re politicians speaking with their authentic voice. So too are Bethan Jenkins AM, often unfairly maligned, and David Jones MP. Paul Flynn MP can be infuriating but, by golly, the man can write. Of the politicians of the future, Plaid candidate Heledd Fychan’s blog is lively. But what few other politician’s blog which remain are dull, dull, dull.

But it remains that the best-written blogs are those by professional journalists. The BBC’s Betsan Powys and Vaughan Roderick are must-reads. My colleague Tomos Livingstone writes an excellent blog from Westminster. But where are the ‘citizen journalists’ who we are told are going to put these people out of jobs?

Where is Wales’ Iain Dale? Whether you like his politics are not, you can’t help but admire how he has built himself into a one-man political brand with a free Blogger account. Oh, for a Welsh Guido Fawkes to print the gossip Spin Doctor can’t. There isn’t an equivalent of a ConservativeHome for any of the Welsh parties. Labour tried it with Aneurin Glyndwr. We can safely assume it’s an experiment they won’t try again. Most promising of the newer blogs is Politics Cymru, which is run by three Cardiff University students and makes good use of audio. Watch them ‘do a Blamerbell’ when they get proper jobs…

Most people reading this won’t like it. But the fact is, the Welsh blogosphere has gone backwards. There’s a big opportunity out there, and it’s not being embraced. What is there is too much bitching at each other in internecine feuds of no interest to anyone except the protagonists. Or bloggers who moan about the mainstream media and then spend all the time just pasting links to MSM stories with a couple of pars of ‘comment’.

Wales’ relatively small media is leaving wriggle room for politicians to escape scrutiny, and deprives us of another talking shop in order to have a healthy political discourse. The blogosphere is failing in its duty.

I await the hate mail.

(Written by Matt Withers, Political Correspondent for Media Wales, Wales on Sunday columnist and blogger at A Change Of Trouble blog).

This is post twenty one of a series of articles giving a chance to 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

My Welsh Blogosphere - Victoria Winckler

The drawback of being the 20th contribution to this discussion is that so much has already been said. So here is something short and sweet on my views of the Welsh blogosphere.

Six Things I like

1. The growing number of Welsh Blogs.

2. The potential of Blogs to be a space for debate, especially with such poor media coverage of current affairs.

3. The potential of Blogs to give people a voice who don't otherwise have one.

4. The potential of Blogs to scrutinise and challenge governments and politicians - in the absence of effective assembly or media scrutiny.

5. A lot of decision makers read and take note of Blogs. More people would blog if they knew this!

6. It is so easy to set up even I can do it.

Six things I don't like

1. The relative lack of women bloggers.

2. Nasty smear posts.

3. The lies that can be told by anonymous / pseudonym bloggers with no means of challenging them.

4. Stupid anonymous comments.

5. The tendency by some bloggers to see everything in terms of party politics.

6. It all takes time which I haven't got.

(Written by Victoria Winckler, Welsh blogger and contributor to the Bevan Foundation Blog. The Bevan Foundation is an independent think tank which promotes social justice in Wales. Individuals can join for just £25 a year and gets lots of good stuff to read and things to do. Visit their website bevanfoundation.org. Their blog aims for quality rather than quantity so to be sure you keep up to date subscribe to their RSS feed. )

This is the twentieth 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

My Welsh Blogosphere - MECCAnopsis Cambrica

I am always late. It’s a character defect. I have lost the battle against tardiness and am contemplating moving to warmer climes where the pace of life is slower and I might get confused for someone punctual. And so, like many things before it I come late to the blogosphere and when I am asked to write about it by Cynical Dragon I take over a month to get around to it.

When I discovered this alternative reality by accidentally moving my mouse over a link on Plaid Cymru’s website two months ago my interest was piqued. Clearly a medium of communication that seems to be gaining in popularity, I could see the benefits of joining a community of individuals who may hold differing opinions on any number of given subjects but who at least care enough to air their views and share their ideas. Yes in the past I have felt strongly enough about things to write the odd letter to the editor of one paper or another but there is often a lag of a few days and no guarantee that it will find its way into print. Blogging is instantaneous; you get your words out there as soon as your thoughts on a given topic are formed. You may not know who your readership is, much less your circulation, but unlike the random appearance on a ‘letters page’, if you weren’t coherent enough the first time around, at least on here your right of reply is open-ended and you can clarify yourself to your heart’s content.

My motivation for blogging comes from a perception that a ‘Muslim viewpoint’ rarely finds its way into mainstream discourse (even when we are the very topic of discussion and debate) unless of course that viewpoint is coming from one extreme or the other. Sure, Islam is a ‘broad mosque’ but it’s disingenuous to portray it through the distorted lens of only the fringe groups or, on occasion, those whose claim to be following Islam is beyond tenuous. Frothing-at-the-mouth fanatics make great bogeymen and I am sure in a neo-con’s wet dream the world would be a better place if all Muslims enjoyed pork scratchings with our pints, shortened our names to something more pronounceable and just assimilated quietly – and the media manages to trot out those kind of ‘Muslims’ too for a bit of ‘balance’ now and then. I’m not saying such people on the extremes don’t exist (those are not actors in our newspapers and on our TVs dressing up as Muslims and burning flags and calling for death to this, that or the other) but my beef is regarding how representative are they of an entire faith community, stretching the globe and encompassing so many races and cultures. When you only see or hear from the extremes do you correctly guess that the ‘norm’ is something in between or do you try to work out which extreme is the most representative one?

As human beings we all have multiple identities and being a Muslim is not absolutely everything about me, I’m Welsh and Muslim and a lot of other things too. It will probably appear to some that I am over-emphasising the Muslim aspect of me through the issues I tackle on the blog but only because I feel there is something of a void here, and especially in Wales. I may not be the most prolific blogger, I only just about manage a posting a week, but I’ll try to be consistent and I won’t post for the sake of it. I’ve found that I actually spend more time on here reading what others have to say and I am enjoying that rather more than seeing my own words up in front of me. I find being exposed to the range of people on the Welsh blogosphere from across the political spectrum very enriching. I am against the idea of only mixing with those who agree with you, whether in the real world or the often anonymous domain of the Internet. It’s a safe option if you don’t want to have to deal with your views being challenged or tested. I hope to challenge and test and be challenged and tested in equal measure. I also hope I may change some people’s views about Muslims on the way.

(Written by MC, Welsh blogger, owner and author of the of the MECCAnopsis Cambrica blog)

This is the Nineteenth 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

My Welsh Blogosphere - Dom Stocqueler

The header on my blog states "This is the blog of the editor of the Welsh Icons website - http://www.welshicons.org.uk/ describing how bloody hard it is to run one of the largest websites in Wales with no cash!".

This is not entirely true and if it was the blog would no longer be fit for purpose.I'm not sure if anyone reads my blog, but with the Welsh Icons site receiving over 3.5 million hits a month it does not really matter anymore. The blog was never intended as a promotional tool (I now use Face book and Twitter for that sort of stuff) for the site, just a place where I could blow hot and cold, and get things off my chest.

Being Editor of one of Wales' biggest sites brings certain responsibilities - one of them being having to be politically agnostic. I have never made any secret of being slightly right of centre but with libertarian leanings (we all say that, don't we?) and the blog allows me to comment on things which I feel are important but self-censorship does not allow me to list on the web site.

It was obvious early on that no one was interested in me whinging about having only £2 to live on until I got my next Job Seekers Allowance payment in 11 days and having 8 events to cover, and hence the blog has evolved in to a sort of digital scrapbook.I use it to:

Share jokes and cartoons I'm sent and think may amuse others - why clog up every one's inboxes?

Share some of my photographic work on Flickr - again, why send out hundreds of emails when they may be of no interest to anyone.

Rant about things that annoy me - I tend to work 10-12 hours a day, 7 days a weeks with Radio 4 on in the background most of the time. This gives me plenty of material especially the Today programme, The World at One and PM.

Thanks for reading this,

Yours in the digital domain,

Dom Stocqueler

(Written by Dom Stocqueler, Editor of the Welsh Icons website and Welsh blogger)

This is the eighteenth 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

Fy Mlogosphere Cymraeg - Heledd Fychan

Mae yna ddau reswm pam dwi’n cadw blog. Y cyntaf: dwi’n mwynhau ‘sgwennu a chael ymateb i’r hyn dwi’n ei ddweud. A’r ail? Wel, fel ymgeisydd seneddol mewn sedd na fysa neb fel arfer yn rhoi llawer o sylw i Blaid Cymru, mae’n ffordd rad a hawdd o godi fy mhroffil ymysg y rhai hynny sydd yn ymddiddori mewn gwleidyddiaeth, gan gynnwys etholwyr, cyd-flogwyr, cyd-ymgeiswyr a newyddiadurwyr.

Yn hynny o beth, mae’n sicr wedi bod yn werth chweil. Mae’r mwyafrif o sylw dwi wedi ei dderbyn fel ymgeisydd wedi deillio oherwydd fy mlog, ac mae’n ddifyr gweld drwy Google Analytics fod yna ystod eang o bobl yn ei ddarllen yn rheolaidd. Mae yna hefyd fanteision annisgwyl wedi deillio o gychwyn blog. Dwi wedi gwneud nifer o ffrindiau da ymysg y gymuned blogio a heblaw am ambell eithriad, mae nhw wedi bod yn hynod o groesawgar a chefnogol. Ydi, mae nhw'n barod i bryfocio, trafod, anghytuno a styrio ond dyna hwyl y peth! Mi fysa'n ddiflas iawn tasa pawb yn cytuno hefo pob un gair!

Dwi’n trio bod yn hollol onest yn fy mlog. Ella mod i’n rhannu gormod weithiau, ond eto, taswn i mond yn blogio am bethau gwleidyddol fysa darllenwyr fy mlog ddim yn dod i fy nabod i fel person. Wrth gwrs, mae yna bethau dwi'n cadw i fi fy hun ond dwi byth yn celu'r hyn dwi'n ei feddwl, a gobeithio felly bydd darpar etholwyr yn teimlo bod nhw'n medru ymddiried ynddai. Mae'n handi hefyd medru ymateb pan mae rhywun yn ymosod arna'i a chael cyfle i ddeud fy neud, heb boeni bod rhywun arall yn mynd i'w olygu.

Dwi'n ategu'r hyn ddywedodd Bethan Jenkins ynglŷn â'r angen i gael mwy o ferched yn rhan o'r blogosffer Cymreig. Da ni yn lleiafrif amlwg iawn, ac mae hynny yn biti garw yn fy marn i. Mi fysa'n braf cael cydbwysedd ac efallai wedyn y byddai'r ambell idiot rhywiaethol sydd yn hoff o adael sylwadau ffiaidd yn rhoi'r gorau iddi. Diolch byth bod rhywun o leiaf yn medru atal rhywun rhag gadael sylw dienw - mae pethau'n sicr wedi gwella ers imi ddechrau gwneud hynny.

O ran y blogiau yng Nghymru, dwi'n meddwl bod nhw'n llenwi'r bwlch sydd yn bodoli yn y wasg Gymreig. Mae'n syndod faint o straeon y gwelwch chi'n ymddangos yn y Western Mail neu ar y BBC sydd wedi dechrau ar flog. Mae gwleidyddion yn sicr yn ofnus iawn ohonyn nhw bellach, yn arbennig ar ôl yr hyn ddigwyddodd gyda Rhodri Glyn a'r sigâr. Un llithriad cyhoeddus a gall yr holl fyd fod yn ymwybodol ohono fwy neu lai yn syth diolch i flogiau! Dwi hefyd yn cael o'n gyffrous bod yna nifer o newyddiadurwyr yng Nghymru yn flogwyr eu hunain ac yn cael cyfle i fod yn fwy deifiol weithiau na fysa nhw mewn print neu ar yr awyr. Dyna pam dwi'n ofalus iawn i beidio mynd rhy bell ar fy mlog - yn wahanol i Lembit Opik dwi ddim o'r farn bod unrhyw fath o gyhoeddusrwydd, boed hynny'n gadarnhaol neu'n negyddol, yn beth da!

Mae yna rai yn darogan y bydd blogiau yn marw allan. Dwi ddim yn credu hynny. Mewn gwlad fach fel Cymru, dwi'n meddwl mai cynyddu mewn pwysigrwydd wnawn nhw wrth i fwy a mwy o bobl ddechrau edrych ar y we am wybodaeth a newyddion. Yn wir, mae yna rywbeth democrataidd iawn am flog gan fod o'n rhoi llais i bawb sydd eisiau lleisio eu barn. Felly da chi, parhewch i flogio'r rhai hynny ohona chi sydd wrthi a'r gweddill ohona chi sydd yn ddarllenwyr, wel pam ddim dechrau blog? Mae'n sicr yn brofiad, ac yn rhywbeth dwi wedi mwynhau ei wneud gymaint mwy na o'n i'n disgwyl. Er bod yna ambell i ddyn ofn fy nghofyn i allan ar ddet erbyn hyn rhag mi sgwennu amdanyn nhw ar fy mlog!

(Written by Heledd Fychan, Plaid Cymru's candidate in Montgomeryshire for the next General Election, Welsh blogger, creator and author of the Pendroni blog)

This is the seventeenth 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 http://www.blogger.com/welshbloggers@gmail.com

Save The Vulcan! - Mike Cridland

I must confess I have neither followed this particular cause nor supported it as I should. The Vulcan one of Cardiff’s oldest working pubs. It is scheduled to be demolished June 25th according to a report in the South Wales Echo . There has been a very active campaign by a group of devoted followers who have enlisted the support of numerous celebrities, including Leonard Nimoy and Scott Quintero who play “Spock” from Star Trek (Which I was dubious of because its almost impossible to get past their agents)

I believe that a historical building that was built during Cardiff's time as the coal capital of the world should be saved. It should be saved for the same reasons that Cardiff Castle or Llandaff cathedral should be saved. We owe it to our children to see all eras of Cardiff's history from the time of the Roman occupation right up to the 21st Century. This is a part of what I would be called "the People's History".

My own suggestion would be if all else fails. Then direct action should be taken. In other words on demolition day the Vulcan should be occupied by those who wish to see it saved. I only wish I could be there. This would give Mr Rapport terrible publicity. And could stop the demolition! Just get the media there!

Save the Vulcan!

Crossposted from Morgan Hen - Save the Vulcan!

My Welsh Blogosphere - Bethan Jenkins AM

I've never been one to keep a diary. I tried and failed to sustain one as a teenager by means of tempering my classic teenage angst, but I discovered that living my life was far more enjoyable an experience without mulling over fleeting situations and scenarios about teachers who annoyed the hell out of me in school, or about stupid crushes, or the best gigs I'd been to. I also had this vision (I had a creative mind, so bear with me) of somebody discovering my diary a la Anne Franks in years to come (obviously in the full knowledge that I would not be vaguely as interesting) and that thought alone made me stop writing down my train of thoughts there and then.

When I heard about blogging therefore, I was initially put off by the fact that it was described as an online diary. Opening my heart to the World was even less attractive than an emotional Bethan reading my own diary back to myself all those years ago! However, a quick fire session on the glories of blogging from my brother Ciaran-aka Blamerbell Briefs made me realise that it could be utilised in a way to benefit me as a Plaid Cymru Assembly candidate. It could potentially raise my profile during the campaign, and allow me to engage with people along the way. Of course, I had a profile of some sort for the campaigns I'd been involved with as President of Aberystwyth Guild of Students, but I wanted to try and reach out to other people, and put forward opinions on other topical issues of the day.

Did it work? I think so. Where newspapers failed to pick up on stories or opinions of politicians, I pursued it on the blog. It made me feel that I was in control of a given situation that I might not otherwise have been. For example, if I thought that I had been misquoted or misrepresented by other bloggers or news outlets (e.g. putting forward the reasons why I was against the Rainbow coalition during those famous post election negotiations in 2007) then I turned to the blog like comfort eating. It was useful also in keeping a campaign diary, in letting people on the blogs know what the issues were on the doorstep.

It’s fair to say that I am a blogger anorak, and even though I sometimes consider giving it all up, I cannot imagine that I will..for now, at least! It’s difficult to describe how I blog. I guess I try and be laid back and honest about my opinions. Someone once said to me that politicians who blog will never climb the greasy poll to influential positions (most probably as we say too much too often in the public domain) but shock horror, that is not my motivation. Whether it is true or not does not concern me. I try and tell people about what I have been doing as an AM, what my thoughts are on certain issues, and sometimes delve in to topics outside of politics if only to keep myself sane. The uber blogger Iain Dale describes my blog as 'readable, personal and gossipy'. I wouldn't say that it's gossipy per se, but I try and be as upfront as possible. I may not 'break' as many stories as other Welsh bloggers, but again, that's not really my intention. I just want to share my thoughts, and if someone out there is interested and wants to initiate a debate then that in itself is a bonus. You would expect me to say that I don't appreciate vicious or sexist anon comments- both of which I have experienced, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger as they say. Hence my moderation of comments on the blog.

What I should mention however is the recent phenomenon of twitter and its use by more and more politicians. Saying it like it is in 140 letters is the lazy blogger's idea of paradise, or the busy politician's answer to communicating in fast and efficient way. What is interesting however is the way journalists are now picking up on stories from twitter. My car crash, my views on taxation, my dispute against a tweet that the BNP are left wing, my love of the Manics, saving the Vulcan pub have all made news stories in different ways. Whether this means that journos are also lazy and looking for a quick story is for you to decide, but the blogging v twittering question is a novel one - although I don't think that it will replace blogging in the long term.

Now, on to the shape of the Welsh blogosphere in general. It is fair to say there is an eclectic mix of Welsh blogs out there. If John Snow were to do a graph analysis of the Welsh blogosphere then it would crudely look quite varied - peaking in 2007, taking a dip in 2008, and rising again in 2009. Bloggers come and go, but that keeps us on our feet, ready for the next challenge. There is surely some sort of blogging bubble, where those who blog look out for fellow bloggers even if they are from different political persuasions. It is dysfunctional on occasions, back stabbing, critical, sometimes complementary, but it has a unique capability to unite us.

Blogs are shaping the political agenda more and more in Wales as print media and broadcast media lags behind. The mainstream media covers many stories that have been discussed on the blogs for weeks, giving us an air of vanity in the process! There is still a long way to go in the development of the Welsh blogosphere, of the way it could be used far more effectively in analysing the One Wales government programme, and in embracing discussions on International affairs. It would be great to see more organisations follow the example of the Bevan Foundation and the IWA and start a blog, and I would like to take this opportunity to challenge Richard Wyn Jones from the Wales Governance Centre to start one- to spark debate and discussions online as an add on to breakfast seminars and conferences.

At the moment, Plaid bloggers are by far the most prominent, although I have to say my daily reads include the affable Glyn Davies and the ever present Peter Black, just to check what the opposition are saying. I also enjoy Politics Cymru-a good example of an innovative non party blog that has really plugged a gap in the way it engages politicians, and tries to sell politics in a new way online. I do read Valleys Mam also, but I am still aggravated at the lack of female bloggers despite the welcome arrival of Heledd Fychan. Anonymous bloggers do not worry me so long as they have valid and reasonable political points to make, and do not go out of their way to smear individuals or resort to personal attacks. To sum up my blogging habits however, I tend to scan most, and read the posts that genuinely take my eye.

I sincerely believe that blogging will continue to be a key tool for politicians in campaigning and in communicating with the electorate. Some politicians will continue to ignore it, much to their peril, although some of them secretly scour the blogs for personal references. …

So to all you bloggers out there- keep up the scrutiny, keep up the discussions, and happy blogging!

(Written by Bethan Jenkins, Assembly Member, Welsh blogger, creator and author of her own self titled blog)

This is the sixteenth 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