on a week of dealing with blog piracy
Content piracy: not just for MSM any more! (foto via GayGamer)
One of the most common slights against the blogosphere (that word itself now somewhat of a slight as it segregates blogs into a shady lawless bubble separate from polite media society) is that bloggers are a parasitic bunch who take the output of hardworking journalists and adorn it with their own commentary, snark, derision, insights or, occasionally, supplemental information. This happens, as the trope goes, while bloggers concurrently deride the value of traditional media such as the Times and CNN, throwing hand grenades of viral discontent at the very hands that feed them (for no charge too).
This is no doubt true in many cases. The vampiric media syndrome is the bane of journalists who watch people tear their work to shreds on the internet, knowing full well that bloggers would have nothing to talk about if the New York Times, WSJ and so forth suddenly stopped publishing. Even on a large-scale, successful blog site, such as Gothamist, I’m not a fan. The Gothamist model essentially rounds up the interesting news items from the Times, Post, Daily News, NY1 and others and summarizes it for their audiences, adding a level of humor, snark or commentary (which is admittedly lacking from the big sources) and repackaging it in a more attractive way for the blog-savvy masses. Continue reading
Inverted Soapbox 