Image via Van Swearingen
One of the downsides to the Village Voice decision to let Christian Viveros-Fauné go for simultaneously working as a critic and a fair director shows up in the amount of time I’m now spending contemplating issues of objectivity and blogging. Prior to the adaptation of blogs by mainstream publications, web editors were frequently criticized by print media for conflict of interest, a visible problem associated with the maintenance of a more personal site. A conversation now dead, in part due to the fact that web feedback systems (such as comments and email) largely made any such conflict addressable, it would seem there might be reason to revisit the topic, if only because there seems to be less currency to these systems than there was even a year and a half ago.
Some of this shift, I suspect can be attributed to the successful transitioning of large print corporations to the web. Typically journalists run these blogs, they don’t necessarily have personal connections with the people they chose to write about, and maybe they shouldn’t because the large volume of traffic is not indicative of an active community that might provide the checks and balances other sites have. Richard Lacayco’s informative Looking Around at Time Magazine provides a great example of this kind of site, heavily visited, but solicits little in the way of comments or feedback within posts.
A result of the increasing number of print publication websites, the divide between independent bloggers and reporters supported by institutions and corporations on the web continues to widen, a change that represents a large number of challenges to independent bloggers and artists. Clearly, the one man blogger team will only experience more problems competing on the web now that there are giant corporations filling Google with their links. The threat runs deeper than this however, since a decrease in visibility for independent bloggers, may also effect the desire for publications with more personal content. As the proprietor of one such operation with a preference for bold opinionated sites full of personality, I’m inclined to indulge in the premature worry that these blogs may suffer considerably in the years to come. Time Magazine may offer a little more in the way of a reliable read, but just as often, I prefer the unpredictability of self-supported blogs.
{ 10 comments }
This is a legitimate concern but you have to have the confidence that even with all its fake blogs the major media will still write about junk.
If you write about Britney Spears your blog posts will get pushed down below the results of the Time magazine blog, but if you write about something great you will own the field.
Just as a test I Googled three creative types I wrote about recently. Painter Perry House is in the top 10 Google results for his name; artist Ludwig Schwarz is in the top 20; musician Artur Nowak the top 20.
If Time writes about any of those great talented people I’m happy to have my results pushed down, because it means someone in “the system” got aboard the clue train.
This is a legitimate concern but you have to have the confidence that even with all its fake blogs the major media will still write about junk.
If you write about Britney Spears your blog posts will get pushed down below the results of the Time magazine blog, but if you write about something great you will own the field.
Just as a test I Googled three creative types I wrote about recently. Painter Perry House is in the top 10 Google results for his name; artist Ludwig Schwarz is in the top 20; musician Artur Nowak the top 20.
If Time writes about any of those great talented people I’m happy to have my results pushed down, because it means someone in “the system” got aboard the clue train.
This is a legitimate concern but you have to have the confidence that even with all its fake blogs the major media will still write about junk.
If you write about Britney Spears your blog posts will get pushed down below the results of the Time magazine blog, but if you write about something great you will own the field.
Just as a test I Googled three creative types I wrote about recently. Painter Perry House is in the top 10 Google results for his name; artist Ludwig Schwarz is in the top 20; musician Artur Nowak the top 20.
If Time writes about any of those great talented people I’m happy to have my results pushed down, because it means someone in “the system” got aboard the clue train.
This is a legitimate concern but you have to have the confidence that even with all its fake blogs the major media will still write about junk.
If you write about Britney Spears your blog posts will get pushed down below the results of the Time magazine blog, but if you write about something great you will own the field.
Just as a test I Googled three creative types I wrote about recently. Painter Perry House is in the top 10 Google results for his name; artist Ludwig Schwarz is in the top 20; musician Artur Nowak the top 20.
If Time writes about any of those great talented people I’m happy to have my results pushed down, because it means someone in “the system” got aboard the clue train.
I also worry about the Internet getting regulated and no longer being free. Right now my blog doesn’t cost me anything. They might start taxing the Internet and basic blogs may no longer be free. Also, like you mentioned, search engines might get more corporate, and it might become impossible to locate a personal (non-corporate) blog unless you know the specific URL (or fees might be charged in the future just to have a website appear in a search). There are bound to be major changes in store for the Internet, the way it works, the money streams generated, as more and more money is spent in cyberspace. Internet sales have grown exponentially. As daily life becomes more and more insular, we will become more and more dependent on the Internet. People exercise less, read less, go out into the community less. I think that the powers that be will put price tags on cyber-activities that were once free because they will have the power to do so, and people won’t have any other options. We are so habituated to these things that we won’t want to give them up. The process of insularization might speed up greatly due to environmental disasters, human generated damage to the ozone or air streams, etc. I will stop spinning this cheery web of conjecture.
I also worry about the Internet getting regulated and no longer being free. Right now my blog doesn’t cost me anything. They might start taxing the Internet and basic blogs may no longer be free. Also, like you mentioned, search engines might get more corporate, and it might become impossible to locate a personal (non-corporate) blog unless you know the specific URL (or fees might be charged in the future just to have a website appear in a search). There are bound to be major changes in store for the Internet, the way it works, the money streams generated, as more and more money is spent in cyberspace. Internet sales have grown exponentially. As daily life becomes more and more insular, we will become more and more dependent on the Internet. People exercise less, read less, go out into the community less. I think that the powers that be will put price tags on cyber-activities that were once free because they will have the power to do so, and people won’t have any other options. We are so habituated to these things that we won’t want to give them up. The process of insularization might speed up greatly due to environmental disasters, human generated damage to the ozone or air streams, etc. I will stop spinning this cheery web of conjecture.
I also worry about the Internet getting regulated and no longer being free. Right now my blog doesn’t cost me anything. They might start taxing the Internet and basic blogs may no longer be free. Also, like you mentioned, search engines might get more corporate, and it might become impossible to locate a personal (non-corporate) blog unless you know the specific URL (or fees might be charged in the future just to have a website appear in a search). There are bound to be major changes in store for the Internet, the way it works, the money streams generated, as more and more money is spent in cyberspace. Internet sales have grown exponentially. As daily life becomes more and more insular, we will become more and more dependent on the Internet. People exercise less, read less, go out into the community less. I think that the powers that be will put price tags on cyber-activities that were once free because they will have the power to do so, and people won’t have any other options. We are so habituated to these things that we won’t want to give them up. The process of insularization might speed up greatly due to environmental disasters, human generated damage to the ozone or air streams, etc. I will stop spinning this cheery web of conjecture.
Tom: LOL. Major media has already proven they mostly write junk and it’s hard to imagine them getting a clue. It’s more for those who decide to type in more general search terms — even if smaller blogs have written about the stuff more knowledgeably, they get buried in a bunch of crap. Someone looking for Painter Perry House will always find you, but the chances of someone stumbling upon through a more general art related search are greatly reduced.
Tom: LOL. Major media has already proven they mostly write junk and it’s hard to imagine them getting a clue. It’s more for those who decide to type in more general search terms — even if smaller blogs have written about the stuff more knowledgeably, they get buried in a bunch of crap. Someone looking for Painter Perry House will always find you, but the chances of someone stumbling upon through a more general art related search are greatly reduced.
Tom: LOL. Major media has already proven they mostly write junk and it’s hard to imagine them getting a clue. It’s more for those who decide to type in more general search terms — even if smaller blogs have written about the stuff more knowledgeably, they get buried in a bunch of crap. Someone looking for Painter Perry House will always find you, but the chances of someone stumbling upon through a more general art related search are greatly reduced.
Comments on this entry are closed.