Political Blogs: Netroots Groundswell or Garage Bands?

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
In the middle of a dozen or so articles assessing the explosion of political blogs into mainstream culture, there was one story that begged to differ. "Netroots Hit Their Limits" (predictably) emerged from the stodgy and stalwart publication, Time Magazine. In it, Perry Bacon, Jr. describes "Netroots" and the concomitant rise of political blogs as "the Democratic Party's equivalent of a punk garage band--edgy, loud and antiauthoritarian." Bacon makes an interesting note. While most would agree that the political pendulum is beginning its swing back to the left, he states "moderate Democrats say it with remorse, conservatives with glee, but the conventional wisdom is bipartisan: progressive bloggers are pushing the Democratic Party so far to the left that it will have no chance of capturing the presidency in 2008." He generates some statistical data that deserves stricter scrutiny. Bacon claims that "a coarse estimate of the Netroots' numbers shows them to be something less than a groundswell. The readership of the largest liberal...
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Can the Clintons Harness the Blogs? (USA Today)

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
I wrote this essay for USA Today in response to a meeting between leftbloggers and former President Bill Clinton at his Harlem headquarters. Along with my forthcoming book, BLOGWARS, it argues that blogging has "arrived" in politics today. Politicians and political professionals (as well as journalists and media workers) are "blogging up," and trying to figure out how to use blogs in their business. Note: One of the big differences between your own blog and writing for the mainstream press is that you get edited by the latter--something I always accept (along with a check!). So, for example, I wrote the piece just after the blog lunch, but it was not printed until now because the paper wanted to put it closer to the election, which made sense. In any case, the original is below. A few lines that were cut--mostly for reasons of length--are now restored. How will the Clintons harness the political force of the blog? By David D. Perlmutter USA Today, Monday October...
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Blogging and Religion

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
Earlier this month, Kevin Denee of The Restored Church of God posted an article on the church’s website concerning the evils of blogging. While Denee focuses his attention on teens, he concludes that even adults should refrain from using blogs altogether. Given that the blog as a medium has an infinite variety of potential formats and subject matter, it is worthwhile to investigate why Denee is so vociferous in his opposition. On face, his logic seems akin to demanding that people abstain from using knives, as they could be used for nefarious purposes. Before delving into the article, it is worthwhile to note that this essay should not be viewed as a personal attack on the religious beliefs of Mr. Denee or the church. Rather, it is intended only to question some of the assumptions and accusations leveled by Mr. Denee on blogging as an immoral method of communication. It is interesting that Mr. Denee posted his personal thoughts on blogs to the...
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Live from the Front Lines–The (Blogged) Words of War

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
Update: The Interview on podcast. Another example of blogging morphing with other media: The Press release from BlogTalkRadio: Tuesday October 17, 2006 - On October 19th at 7 PM est., Scott Kesterson an embedded reporter with the US Army's 41st Brigade in Afghanistan will be calling in live to BlogTalkRadio.com for a one on one interview with David Perlmutter. This is Scott's first live interview since being embedded at the beginning of March 2006. Scott will be discussing what is going on in Afghanistan behind the scenes and on the front lines. From his first hand experiences alongside our solders during battle armed with only a camera, to filming our troops training of the Afghanistan National Guard. Interviewing Scott will be David D. Perlmutter; David is a professor and associate dean for graduate studies and research in the William Allen White School of Journalism & Mass Communications at the University of Kansas. He writes regularly for the Chronicle of Higher Education and has published over 130...
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The Boss Is Watching Your Blog!

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
On the heels of the HP corporate scandal is a timely article from Annalee Newitz of the NewScientist.com news service, which explores blogs in the context of employee monitoring. The concept of companies monitoring their employees to ensure productivity is not new, but the relatively quick ascendancy of the blog as a medium demonstrates that innovation has once again outpaced legislation. Mainstream media has widely reported that the line between public and private spheres is being blurred with the steady evolution of the pda. But today’s companies are taking things a few steps further, as Newitz notes, “log into work computers from home and employers can track what blogs you create, sign into or post to, or what you write on newsgroups, even outside work hours.” Suddenly the blog begins to look less like an outlet for personal expression and more like a minefield of potential missteps disallowing employment or advancement. The National Workrights Institute (NWI) in Princeton states that current laws...
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A Silent Blogging Majority?

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
This past week, “Vox” was released: it is new software for blogs designed to draw an even greater number of people to the medium. Now instead of the author’s thoughts being catapulted into cyberspace for anyone to see, a greater number of security features are offered for the more cautious (or self-conscious) author. Vox allows the author to control access to each post, in addition to determining who may read or add comments. The idea is to bridge the divide between the blog and other forms of communication like instant messaging or emails, where there are intended recipients of the message. The hope is to generate some sense of security for bloggers who are concerned that their thoughts on an issue may not be suitable for a larger audience. While privacy concerns for authors in the United States are certainly understandable, in other nations it can become an issue of much greater import. Over the past few months, China has created a...
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Remnants from Rumsfeld: The War of Ideas

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
a.k.a. “Bush and Rumsfeld and Iraq and Troops and “Terror! or Insurgen!” and “Mess” In what was dubbed a “referendum on Iraq,” voters in the midterm elections were characterized in mainstream media as casting votes not necessarily for a particular candidate, but against the war in Iraq. And while in some cases such a blanket statement is inaccurate, the very fact that it is was mentioned with such recurring frequency suggests it played a materially significant role. The GOP was battered with barbs from both the right and the left in the weeks leading up to the election. The generic charge was that they were “out of touch” with reality. One of the chief targets of criticism was the recently-retired Donald Rumsfeld. In what may be viewed as an appropriate parting gift, The BBC reported the Department of Defense established a new program at the Pentagon to “boost its ability to counter ‘inaccurate’ news stories and exploit new media.” The program is designed...
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The Daily Blog

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
As a longtime viewer of both shows, it is both surprising and easy to understand why The Daily Show and The Colbert Report have garnered such a large and loyal following. They utilize a methodology that is familiar to bloggers: filtering through a number of “news stories” and providing a provocative caption for the action. The back-to-back shows have become “must see TV” for many viewers that are dissatisfied with mainstream sources of information, again a common reason that people flock to blogs for insight. The current issue of The Rolling Stone features Stewart and Colbert on the cover, bearing the title “America’s Anchors.” The interview itself demonstrates the utter ease with which the duo uncovers the humor of any situation, from the moment that Maureen Dowd set the recorder down: “’I had one like that in 1973,’ Colbert notes. ‘I thought it was a chaise,’ Stewart says. ‘I was going to lie down on it. I suppose there are two...
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Zombietime, Blogs, and the Anti-War Movement

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
UPDATED As of this writing in winter 2006, there is a paradox in American politics. On the one hand, we are fighting an unpopular war in Iraq--at least as measured by public opinion polls. (See below for more on this complex question.) On the other hand, there is no visible large-scale anti-war movement in the traditional sense. Many explanations are possible for such a seeming contradiction. Practically speaking, the lack of a draft relieves most young people of a sense of personal connection to the struggle in Iraq. But the Internet in general and blogs in particular have provided an outlet for activism and for creating organizational links between people distant from each other in space but sympathetic in politics, so that one could make a case that there is simply no longer a need to take to the streets. Perhaps the “whole world” is marching and watching via blogs, YouTube, Facebook and MySpace? But there is another side to the...
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