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
