While writing the English Ed’s site’s description of the Blog project, I came
across this marvelous passage by George Packer. It introduces his article,"The
Revolution Will Not Be Blogged," published in the May/June issue of Mother
Jones. I like Packer’s ambivalence. The article explores the nature of
blog reading more than blog writing (and blog reading in the sphere of political
journalism), with some nicely subtle shades of positives and negatives:
To see beyond their own little world and get a sense
of what’s really
going on, journalists and readers need to get out of their pajamas.
FIRST, A CONFESSION: I HATE BLOGS.
I’m also addicted to them.
Hours dissolve into nothing when I suit up and dematerialize into the,
political blogosphere, first visiting one of the larger, nearer online
opinion diaries–talkingpointsmemo.com, andrewsullivan.com, kausfiles
com–then beaming myself outward along rays of pixelated light to dozens
of satellites and lesser stars, Calpundit, InstaPundit, OxBlog, each one
radiant with links to other galaxies–online newspapers and magazines
with deep, deep archives, think-tank websites, hundred-page electronic
reports in PDF–until I’m light-years from the point of departure and
can rescue myself only by summoning the will to disconnect from the
whole artificial universe. With a jolt, I land in front of my computer.
Before long I’ll venture forth again to see what’s new out
there–because the blogosphere changes from instant to instant.