BLOG NEWS

21 Comments

So about this whole blogging thing.
I’m obviously addicted (as many of you have doubtless noticed, it’s this decade’s version of crack). It seems that a lot of bloggers go through the initial rush phase, then realize that it’s incredibly time- and energy- consuming, and that it somehow doesn’t allow them to quit their day jobs, so a lot of things suffer, and they come to a crisis.
In my case, it’s mostly sleep and my home life. I have a sleep deficit that would kill a bear; a list of household chores that’s growing geometrically, and a significant other who is thumbing the pages of Lysistrata while casting meaningful looks my way.
Plus, to be honest, I don’t feel like I’m doing as good a job blogging as I’d like to. I’m not thinking things through, or taking the time to do a little more research. I’ve been working on a piece on bureaucracy and another on democracy and neither is moving along too well.
I’d like to do fewer, better posts, interspersed with a bit of day-to-day fluff. But in reality, I’m not a significant enough figure to hold even the small audience I’ve got doing that, which means I’d lose the interactions via email and comments that mean a lot to me.
So here’s what I’d like to try.
Joe Katzman is moving his blog (currently Winds of Change, although I’m lobbying for a new name) to a group blog format, and has been kind enough to invite me to be the token liberal. I have a ton of respect for him, and am deeply honored that he’d ask me.
He and I see many things in much the same way: We are both concerned about finding a path through the Islamist hatred of the West; and we see technological changes as both presenting serious threats to us and opening new doors to promising futures.
He and some of the other contributors are more warlike than I am, a lot more conservative, and he’s a religious Jew and I’m neither. It may well be that the ‘inner liberal’ who has been hidden under my frustrated criticism of contemporary Democratic liberalism will be forced to come out, which I think would be kind of a good thing. Or I’ll get pulled to the Dark Side of conservatism, in which case, I trust that Ann and Kevin will undertake a quest and mount an expedition to come rescue me.
But I’d like to give it a try. I’ll do my first post for the new site sometime late next week, and will keep this site alive as an archive, possibly as a place to do one or two lightweight things, and as a place to come home to should I choose to do that.
I’m interested in people’s reactions; what do you think of this? To quote self-proclaimed non-pedophile Pete Townsend, I really want to know…

21 thoughts on “BLOG NEWS”

  1. Oh, do I ever understand. And I have contemplated the group blog as well. But… I dunno, having you drowning in a sea of conservatives seems like an odd place for you. Do you think you’d have the discipline to do one post weekly? That would allow you to be proactive in terms of what you want to write rather than reacting to the meme of the minute.
    And now that I think about it, being placed on the same page with ideological opposites might actually be more time-consuming if you feel the need to respond to everything.
    Why don’t you take a month off and come back? Worked for Barlow, et al.

  2. Actually, part of the attraction was being as liberal voice. It’s all your fault; I’m feeling guilty about spending all my time playing Jill Stewart (don’t go there…) and bashing stupid liberals, and not enough time being an advocate for liberalism. Somehow I think I’ll have to in that setting.
    The goal is to try and do one significant thing a week, plus a bit of back-and forth more frequently.
    We’ll see…

  4. Re: “token liberal”… ” sea of conservatives…” If y’all are banking on that, we might be disappointing. I know my U.S. political equivalent (neoconservative) and religion (Reform Judaism). Beyond that, it gets fuzzy.
    I know Trent Telenko is more of a hawk on foreign affairs. No idea how he breaks on American domestic stuff because he’s never written me about that.
    Adil “Muslimpundit” lives in the UK. His religion is clear; no idea where his political allegiance sits. He may even be apolitical on matters outside of Islamism. See his “why I blog” intro today.
    Celeste Bilby… I know she has worked at CIA, and her writings hint that she may no longer be religious. Domestic politics? No idea.
    Soooo… Armed Liberal will be a definite liberal voice, I’ll be a neoconservative voice, and after that it could break any which way.
    So far, the team is off to a great start.

  5. As somone on a “mixed” (reasoned liberal (me) and ranting conservative! (Jay)) site, I can only say it’s a great idea. It may confuse some who are used to one or the other, but they’ll get used to it, and you’ll enjoy it it a lot.

  6. Whatever you do, I’ll be reading. I like the idea of group blogs, though I think KOS’ State Political Report is a more cohesive model that blends left and right okay.
    Group blogs useta be called ezines, but blending different sociopolitical views in one place can be a tricky thing since it’s hard to market to too diverse an audience.
    I wish you well though. Just don’t get laryngitis; your voice is a great asset.

  7. AL,
    Since you’re at the top of my daily read list, I encourage you to keep going however you need to. The group blog sounds like a good thing. Just taking time off to come back and get burned out again doesn’t sound to me to like an answer (although it does seem to have worked for some).
    In any case, I hope it all works for you and now I’ve got to get a new site up on my list.
    Good luck,

  8. AL,
    Keep up the good work at the new digs. Now I have to add WoC to my rotation. There are worse things to have to do. The real question will be are you going to change your handle to Token Liberal or the South Park-derived shorthand Token?

  10. A.L., you are free to do whatever will be the most enjoyable for you. But I have a bit of a sinking feeling …
    Cons: How much freedom will you have to talk about what *you* want to talk about? Group blogs can be interesting – but they can also be confusing as all hell to read. You can ‘defend liberalism’ just as well here as you can there. And so forth … 😉
    Do what ya wanna, but I agree with Inkgrrl about the URL. Heh.

  12. It sounds like a good idea, and a good group.
    The whole lone wolf approach is very time consuming. More time spent with family would be a real plus.
    Maybe you could convince Joe to convert to Movable Type?

  13. How much freedom, Devra?!? Complete freedom! What kind of a blog do y’all think we have up here?
    Lessee… Trent is comparing North Korea to “Blazing Saddles,” and Celeste is proposing weblogs for her previous employers at the CIA. Personally, I haven’t had this much fun since I started blogging (and no, I will not tell you that this is not more fun than sex. Or even Kazaa).
    RE: the URL, I don’t want Armed Liberal or Muslimpundit to lose that either. Working on it…
    And we’re DEFINITELY going to Movable Type, with a little help from Armed Liberal. I didn’t need much convincing.
    Y’all come visit us now, eh?

  14. Dude, you’re the first liberal — self-professed mind you — that I respect. (okay, that might be extreme.)
    Groups blogs may be interesting, but they lose some of the personal feel that goes along with individual ones. That’s why these are growing. The relationship the blogger has with his or her audience is important. If you start muddling around in a group, you’re becoming a member of a talk-show. The connection weakens.
    I do think it’s good that you’re joining a group. To me, it’s a different thing. I may check it out a few times, but not every day like I do yours.
    My suggestion. Post your big stuff on both sites. Post some smaller stuff for your personal readers here. Maybe even use it as a place to comment about recent group arguments. That way you won’t lose the, and I know this word doesn’t really fit, “intimacy,” that individual blogs seem to create.

  15. I meant extreme in that you’re the First. I probably respect others already. I did not mean that it was extreme to respect you, even though I have no idea who the hell you really are hiding behind A.L.
    I hate editing.

  16. LOL, Joe. I meant nothing by it. Just throwing out stuff for A.L. to think about. If I were on a group blog, I might be tempted to self-edit & avoid certain topics. But, hey, that’s me.

  17. I don’t get over here often enough, but I think you’re making a great choice. I really do.
    Look, blogging’s for fun. You do it because you like it. I think you could continue this and do moderately fine, but you know what? Group blogs do work well for some people. They just attract a different audience.
    YOu’re going to do great, and I’m glad to see you doing this rather than giving up completely.
    Now to add the new blog to my list… %-)
    Dean

  18. I don’t read many group blogs but Winds of Change looks interesting. What got me interested in it in the first place was finding out that Adil Farooq had moved there. I’ve been keeping an eye on his Muslim Pundit blog for ages hoping he would revive it.
    Anyway… I am trying to keep up with way too many blogs now. When I first started less than a year ago find a good blog was a rare event. (Yours was one of the first) It seemed like most of them were personal diaries (i don’t have anything to write today my life is so boring I don’t know why anyone would read this…” yadda yadda yadda) But now it seems like the number of quality blogs has soared. I find several interesting ones every week and I want to read all of them plus my old favorites but it’s just not possible. I’m not sure if it helps or hurts my blogging. I can always find something to link to but I almost never write anything anymore.
    One suggestion for the group blog (for any group blog, in fact) How about putting the name of the author at the top of each post so you don’t have to scroll down to see who’s writing?

  20. One For All… And All for One!

    What a weekend. Trent Telenko’s North Korea posts (“…Clinton Knew…” and “What the Defectors Say”) garnered substantial attention – and today’s post about “North Koreas’ Blazing Saddles Defense” seems likely to continue that . If

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