I have blogged about this before (back in April) but the political blogging world has grown enormously since then. Just a few years ago, blogs were relatively rare. Now there are millions. They're devoted to every topic imaginable, from football to flower arranging, from Big Brother to Big Bands. But those who have had the most impact write about politics. Let me rephrase that. Those who have had the most impact write about politics and tend to be anti-Labour.
My fear is that we - the pro-Labour bloggers - are in danger of being swamped. Yes I know that B4L has 200+ registered bloggers but how many get more than a couple of hundred hits a day or week? How many of them are read by the likes of Nick Robinson and Adam Boulton?
Does it matter? Yes it does. There's no question in my mind that political bloggers are a major new development in British politics. They take the media out of the hands of the corporate world and put it into the hands of anyone with a computer and an internet connection. Their audiences (for Blogs like Iain Dale and Guido we are talking hundreds of thousnads of hits per month) tend to be political junkies who have almost non-stop access to a computer and large amounts of time to surf the Internet for breaking news. This is what makes political bloggers so powerful - their ability to influence the influencers!
Labour is on the back foot at present and it desperately needs to find a way of reconnecting with the influencers and political junkies before it is too late.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Is the Left useless at blogging?
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9 comments:
We should all relentlessly promote each other's posts then, and comment on the better-known blogs with a little "I've posted on this subject myself" hint. My last few posts have tried to do this by being a little teasing and inviting people to click on the link.
Also, post headings matter. B4L has but the first two lines of our posts visible. If we get those first couple of lines right, we'll get more visitors.
The plus side is that the right-wing in the UK haven't yet organised themselves on the 'net through an aggregator like B4L or LibDemBlogs.
Isn't it more to do with the current news agenda being 'anti Labour' more than the fact that Labour bloggers are pants? I don't really accept that Tory blogs are 'news leaders' either, in fact I'm trying to think of any story 'broken' by a top Tory blog.They may be read by political hacks but that doesn't make them influential in setting a media agenda.
For the first time since god knows when we actually had a news report about Labour policy this morning, I listened with increasing disbelief as Labour Minister Andy Burthem outlined his plans for an NHS constitution.Even then the journalist tried to turn it into a Brown versus Blair issue.If the government are going to keep following a Daily Mail agenda it's difficult to enthuse party members to get blogging about the party's direction ,give us the meat and we'll start cooking.
Hi Mike,
Come along to the meetup on Tuesday if you can - this will be talked about, and 'key people' will be there.
I don't personally think Iain's/Guido's approaches are to be aspired to, and the problem they have re. influencing the influencers is that they seemingly have no interest in positive policy or thought, just an appetite for gossip, trivia, and personality. Perhaps a left-wing alternative will arise, but I'm not sure I'd find them enthusing.
I'd rather see lots and lots of bloggers, embedded in their communities, and tightly networked. This seems to me to be the Labour Way.
Anyway, hope to see you in the week.
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Patrick,
There are Tory alternatives to B4L, but they're lousy - at the moment anyway. Plus the traffic has to get to B4L before you can worry about post titles and so on.
The truth is, none of us are good enough or have the time!
To do what Iain Dale does you'd have to be thinking about your blog all the time.
I haven't the time
Patrick h - thanks for the sensible advice, perhaps this is something we could look at via B4L.
Patrick (B4L) - I am unable to make it on Tuesday as I will be heading home after the great man's speech in the afternoon - sadly I have to work for the rest of the week. I do take your point about political 'gossip' sites and I do worry that we promote a few of our pro-Labour sites as the Labour version of Iain Dale and Guido.
I have a piece coming out on blogging in this week's Guardian Comment is Free site and would welcome your views and observations.
adrian - how true!
Andrew, is there any way our own blogs can incorporate your aggregator? While it would decrease your traffic, it would help turn Labour's presence on the net into a connected web, rather than having to route through the "recent posts" page all the time. Just a thought, maybe it could be discussed on the forum?
And I've recommended your comment, Mike. Quality subject. :)
Tres amusant...
Obviously some of the people who have commented here do not tead my blog. If they did they would see quite a bit of policy being discussed, as well as the fluffy bits. Surely the answer is to get a good mix.
And Adrian, you might like to know that I spend an average of an hour a day on my blog. I do have a full time job now!
You may well be right Mike but I rather think it is because those of us on the left who are actively involved tend to be out there on the doorstep a lot more. There are only so many hours in the day and we would rather give it to those we want to represent, speak up for and speak with. I have always that, simplistically I know, the right and the far left would much rather sit in their homes or in the pub and complain. The internet has allowed them to do that to a wider audience.
Jimn
Very good point - there is a danger of us all turning into armchair (or computer chair) activists and also making the assumption that everyone has access to (or the inclination to use) the internet.
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