;)
Friday
Feb062009
With God As My Witness, I Swear I Will Never Use Me Where I Should Use I. That's Where I Draw The Line.
Friday, February 6, 2009 at 2:33AM
(For the record, I'm breaking a personal rule here. I swore I would never blog about blogging. Forgive me?)
With this post, I will lower the standards of journalism around the world. I will make a spelling error. I will probably make that error with the word 'grammer.' I will punctuate outside of quotations, I will single space where a double space is the rule, and I will unnecessarily place a comma before the final item in a list. I will start sentences with 'and' and 'because,' (I have no idea where the comma goes there) and with god as my witness, I will find somewhere to interject a superfluous semicolon. That's just how I roll.
The thing is? (So not even close to being a sentence.) I don't care. I am not a journalist; I am a journaler. (See, I totally made that word up.) (And that probably should have read, "See, I totally made up that word.") (Also; semicolon.) I am a diarist. I'd wager that a good 75% of those of you reading this are also diarists. I'm not looking to cure cancer or end world anything, I'm just looking to take some notes about my life that won't end up as grocery lists or Pokemon posters later. For that reason, I do my journaling on the internet. It's tidy.
It's an interesting thing, this internetowebosphere. For me, it seems merely like an isolated corner of the internet where a group of like minded people can meet and mingle, but I think that's a fallacy, truth be told. I believe that we are being watched, taken notice of and critiqued.
We bloggers have been called the generation of first drafts (for the life of me, I cannot find that quote), we've been labeled "Intellectual Kleptomaniacs" or "exuberant monkeys ... creating an endless digital forest of mediocrity," (those quotes won't stop finding me) and as much as those words ruffle every feather on my back, I can't exactly argue the point.
I am not a journalist. I barely graduated high school, for Christ's sake. I refer to Mad Libs for the answers to my basic grammar questions. I AM an exuberant monkey who has created a digital forest of mediocrity spanning four years. For every accusation of the blogosphere being nothing more than a glorified sewing circle, there is some group of people starting a rumour that, oh, the vice president elect's child was really her grandchild and some vast right wing conspiracy was forged to cover up the birth. For every criticism that the blogosphere is a financial drain on "legitimate business," there are headache medicine ads pulled and thousands of dollars throw down the tubes on not just the ads but the public apology for the ads because a group of people on Twitter took issue with them.
There are valid points to every criticism, that's all I'm saying. There are always two sides to any story, and I think it's important to attempt to see both sides as often as possible.
The fact that I am an uneducated diarist, however, does not mean that what I do is without meaning. The fact that I choose to put my words onto the internet rather than into a book that gets mailed to a publisher does not make them free pickings for every "respectable journalist" to use at their discretion. The fact that I am not using my words to make a living does not mean that someone else can without my permission.
My point is this: If we are expected to live up to the standards of journalism, then journalists would do well to grace us with the same courtesy. When Don Mills Diva has an interview with a newspaper and a blog post repurposed, distorted and turned into something completely different without so much as a hyperlink for her troubles, I raise an eyebrow at the editors of that news-site. When one citizen journalist more-or-less single handedly broke the biggest story to come out of the psychiatric pharmaceutical world since ECT being deemed inhumane* and subsequently had his work more-or-less stolen for profit, I stand up and take notice. Don Mills Diva and Philip Dawdy are journalists, and they are also bloggers, and if they aren't being handled with the same standards that we as basic, everyday bloggers are supposed to hold ourselves too, there is an issue to be taken. There is a line in the sand being drawn between the old media and the new media, and I am left to wonder if I've simply allowed myself to be intellectually intimidated into believing that perhaps I am the fly in the soup, when it very well may just be the other way around.
One could say that we are filling the internet with drivel, that we are writing and commenting and networking and conferencing merely to boost our own meager ad-share revenue and stats, but honestly, have you sat down and watched a 24 hour news channel lately? Sure, I may do a 7 things meme occasionally, but we had the privilege of listening to 4 hours of critiques about Michelle Obama's dresses on the night of the most significant night in this nation's history. Which is the greater evil, I ask? Which is the greater assault on the collective consciousness, me posting a bunch of pictures every Sunday on my personal blog that almost no one reads or Rick Sanchez getting his material for his major news network show from Facebook and Twitter?
Maybe they're equally as skeevy, but at least I always remember to link back properly.
All I'm saying is this: You know you've made it when you start pissing people off. We bloggers, we're arriving, and holy hell are we making waves. It's important, at least in my mind, to maintain our integrity but just as important is that we insist that the other media outlets do, as well. We have to stand up for ourselves, respect ourselves and each other, and make sure that the proverbial "they" do, as well.
*Molly @ Soapy Water can be thanked for that perfect summation. Just sayin'.
With this post, I will lower the standards of journalism around the world. I will make a spelling error. I will probably make that error with the word 'grammer.' I will punctuate outside of quotations, I will single space where a double space is the rule, and I will unnecessarily place a comma before the final item in a list. I will start sentences with 'and' and 'because,' (I have no idea where the comma goes there) and with god as my witness, I will find somewhere to interject a superfluous semicolon. That's just how I roll.
The thing is? (So not even close to being a sentence.) I don't care. I am not a journalist; I am a journaler. (See, I totally made that word up.) (And that probably should have read, "See, I totally made up that word.") (Also; semicolon.) I am a diarist. I'd wager that a good 75% of those of you reading this are also diarists. I'm not looking to cure cancer or end world anything, I'm just looking to take some notes about my life that won't end up as grocery lists or Pokemon posters later. For that reason, I do my journaling on the internet. It's tidy.
It's an interesting thing, this internetowebosphere. For me, it seems merely like an isolated corner of the internet where a group of like minded people can meet and mingle, but I think that's a fallacy, truth be told. I believe that we are being watched, taken notice of and critiqued.
We bloggers have been called the generation of first drafts (for the life of me, I cannot find that quote), we've been labeled "Intellectual Kleptomaniacs" or "exuberant monkeys ... creating an endless digital forest of mediocrity," (those quotes won't stop finding me) and as much as those words ruffle every feather on my back, I can't exactly argue the point.
I am not a journalist. I barely graduated high school, for Christ's sake. I refer to Mad Libs for the answers to my basic grammar questions. I AM an exuberant monkey who has created a digital forest of mediocrity spanning four years. For every accusation of the blogosphere being nothing more than a glorified sewing circle, there is some group of people starting a rumour that, oh, the vice president elect's child was really her grandchild and some vast right wing conspiracy was forged to cover up the birth. For every criticism that the blogosphere is a financial drain on "legitimate business," there are headache medicine ads pulled and thousands of dollars throw down the tubes on not just the ads but the public apology for the ads because a group of people on Twitter took issue with them.
There are valid points to every criticism, that's all I'm saying. There are always two sides to any story, and I think it's important to attempt to see both sides as often as possible.
The fact that I am an uneducated diarist, however, does not mean that what I do is without meaning. The fact that I choose to put my words onto the internet rather than into a book that gets mailed to a publisher does not make them free pickings for every "respectable journalist" to use at their discretion. The fact that I am not using my words to make a living does not mean that someone else can without my permission.
My point is this: If we are expected to live up to the standards of journalism, then journalists would do well to grace us with the same courtesy. When Don Mills Diva has an interview with a newspaper and a blog post repurposed, distorted and turned into something completely different without so much as a hyperlink for her troubles, I raise an eyebrow at the editors of that news-site. When one citizen journalist more-or-less single handedly broke the biggest story to come out of the psychiatric pharmaceutical world since ECT being deemed inhumane* and subsequently had his work more-or-less stolen for profit, I stand up and take notice. Don Mills Diva and Philip Dawdy are journalists, and they are also bloggers, and if they aren't being handled with the same standards that we as basic, everyday bloggers are supposed to hold ourselves too, there is an issue to be taken. There is a line in the sand being drawn between the old media and the new media, and I am left to wonder if I've simply allowed myself to be intellectually intimidated into believing that perhaps I am the fly in the soup, when it very well may just be the other way around.
One could say that we are filling the internet with drivel, that we are writing and commenting and networking and conferencing merely to boost our own meager ad-share revenue and stats, but honestly, have you sat down and watched a 24 hour news channel lately? Sure, I may do a 7 things meme occasionally, but we had the privilege of listening to 4 hours of critiques about Michelle Obama's dresses on the night of the most significant night in this nation's history. Which is the greater evil, I ask? Which is the greater assault on the collective consciousness, me posting a bunch of pictures every Sunday on my personal blog that almost no one reads or Rick Sanchez getting his material for his major news network show from Facebook and Twitter?
Maybe they're equally as skeevy, but at least I always remember to link back properly.
All I'm saying is this: You know you've made it when you start pissing people off. We bloggers, we're arriving, and holy hell are we making waves. It's important, at least in my mind, to maintain our integrity but just as important is that we insist that the other media outlets do, as well. We have to stand up for ourselves, respect ourselves and each other, and make sure that the proverbial "they" do, as well.
*Molly @ Soapy Water can be thanked for that perfect summation. Just sayin'.
Reader Comments (59)
Well, fuck yeah. (No journalism skillz here, eh?) And I start like, every third sentence with 'and'. Good thing I never accepted that scholarship from Ryerson.
Well said. I'm only a fairly new reader here, and I must say your writing style, along with a few other of my favourite bloggers, actually keep my own blogging resolutions alive when I am fraught with doubts and misgivings about the practice as a whole.
And while I do know grammar rules for my offline work, I must say I break them regularly on my blog, and enjoy doing so ;) (Like just then when I started my sentence with an 'and') :)
You said superfluous.
Marry me?
We could totally blog about it.
I think you nailed this with one word. Integrity. I fault no one who tries their best to write with it and to live with it.
As for the old guard media, that ain't nothing(great grammar there, eh?) but a three-ring circus fearful of having its thunder stolen by the new act in town.
And, it is perfectly acceptable to start a sentence with a conjunction.
Just sayin.
Intellectual property is intellectual property, regardless of "unintelligible" or "low brow" it is.
Rock on Mr.Lady! Thank You for putting it out there!Integrity is definatly important, I think that is what main stream media lacks. And it truly is nice to read others writings "in this lil corner", we might not all have master degrees from harvard, but we connect and relate much better, I think anyway! :D
All I can say is AMEN, Mr. Lady. Only time will tell what kind of impact blogging will have on all facets of life -- whether it's entertainment, informative, supportive, whatever.
I think we're all a part of something pretty special.
Wow-you've managed to put into words thoughts and emotions I've rolled around with all week. Yes, I read about Don Mill Diva and could not believe the audacity of the journalist...how incredibly stupid (yes, I will call it stupid because they should know better) of them.
Thank you for this...its perfectly written!
~K
Sing it sister! I have a hard time wrapping my head around how anyone can be so bent out of shape about blogging. Seriously, is someone out there forcing people to read things they don't care about? If you don't care about it. If you think it's drivel. Don't fucking read it! I wrote about it once comparing it to people who protest movies and TV shows with content they object to. Change the mother fucking channel on your TV or click that little red X in to the top corner of your blogger and live and let live. As for bad writing and grammar..,. have you read some small town newspapers lately? The world of journalish extends beyond the New York Times and other similar papers and the quality of writing and content varies accordingly. People just need to STFU!
Excellent. I've been an alleged journalist. And you know what? I just found three errors in a single NYT article and at least that many in a Politico article. Screw them, or at least people who have "legitimate" journalism on a pedestal. And: you are an outstanding writer. Just sayin.
Wonderful! I love it!
And FWIW, there are MANY great writers who "barely graduated high school"... http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9E07E6DD1E31E733A0575AC0A9619C946796D6CF
You are in good company ;)
I start many sentences with "and". (See punctuation outside of the quotation marks? That's because the period is not part of the word AND, it's a part of the entire sentence.") AND while it does bug me a little, being that I took almost every English class possible in college, it is how my mind works and thinks and I don't want to censor myself. Censorship would be UN-journalistic, right? AND I don't want that! :)
Wow.
I've read two newspapers this morning already and this is the most insightful thing I've come across yet.
I love your point about the dreck in mainstream media. My blog and yours and a million others resonate more and are a hell of a lot more issue-oriented even than what I'm forced to look at every day in the line at the supermarket.
And guess what?
I start tons of sentences with But. And also and. I take license with the rules and deliberately do it to maximize the emotional effect of my words.
That's what good writers do - they forget about rules and they write to maximize the effect of their words.
But you already know that.
Because you, my friend, are an INCREDIBLE writer.
Luvs ya.
xo
How do you give a digital standing ovation? Because that deserves one. And dammit, there is no emoticon that stands for that. (yep, started a sentence with 'because' and another one with 'and.')
Wow! Well put.
I'm new to blogging, but I'm going to join in... You've inspired me! :) I love your writing. I think the world tells us if we "barely graduated high school" we're not worthy of more than gas station attendant. I am not claiming to be a writer, just a blogger - pretty new one at that, but it is a lot of work! Don't people deserve credit for their work?
I'm glad I read this, as I head out to a blogger conference (Blissdom 09).
Just this morning my husband referred to "us" as "the chattering masses." I don't know what to do with that yet. I'm glad I won't see him much for the next two days, but partly because it is a chattering mass. It's just that in my mind that doesn't automatically equal worthless drivel, and I think for him it just may.
This was a good post.
You're just....cool. I love it when you get all fired up.
Excellent post, Mr. Lady. I do believe if we count enough to change an entire advertising campaign then, well, we count. Main stream media needs to recognize that fact and give us credit where it is due.
Personally, I'm trying to change the period inside the quote rule every time I blog. It is just incorrect in my opinion if the quote is not the entire sentence. Language is not math; their are no natural rules to language. People invented the rules, so people can change them.
You know what?
WE still have standards. We still self police and call each other out and say "NOT COOL!" and turn our noses up when someone does something stupid.
Old media hasn't been like that for years.
Well said. I can only wish to get to the level of pissing people off with my blog. I am a grammar nazi, but more in verbal conversation than in writing, and I usually keep it to myself in either case. If you saw me during one of those moments, you would see my eyes glaze over as I correct 'supposubly' to 'supposedly' in my head. If you get to write for the NY Times then you can be held to a higher standard. In a blog, who cares. You don't like what or how something is written DON'T READ IT. No one is making you read a blog you don't like anymore than anyone is making you watch a TV show that you can't stand.
I think you've got a standing ovation here.
WOOT! I couldn't agree more. I make up words, add commas wherever I want and ignore common journalistic skillz in my blog all the time. Because (heh) that's how I roll!
Ahh, great. Now I have to go back and proofread every post I've written or risk looking like a total idiot. Thanks for the extra layer of insecurity.
Tho problem is that, because its written word, blogging in general is conveniently compared to journalism, when it is truly not, At least not by popular convention. I believe that blogging is more accurately compared to music. Its a form of expression, created by artists. Some good, some bad. Journalists write to inform. Bloggers write to create emotional response. Just as I find myself flipping my radio to a classical station on a rainy morning, or hard rock on a nice summer day, I also find the same is true of blogs. There are some I read to feel uplifted, some I read to laugh and others I read to simply be impressed over and over again.
In my eyes, surfing through the blogosphere for new content to absorb is no different than browsing trough CDs at a music store. When I come out with a few brilliant gems, I feel fulfilled and eager to share them with my friends. I cannot for the life of me recall when I have felt that from a "true journalism site."
Whoops. That turned into a post, didn't it? Sue me.
You know how I feel about you as a writer. I won't slobber all over you again today. But I did take up the challenge and posted about it myself. Your passion is slithering all over the blog world today!
Thanks for posting this! I just left snippy (but appropriate) comments everywhere I could for those dillweeds. And, just so you know, I don't care if your writing is "low brow." I would totally rather read your blog than their pseudo-intellectual dribble. AND (first word of the sentence), you introdruced me to Don Mills Diva's blog, which is awesome. Keep it up, Mr. Lady!
And, You Rock Mr. Lady!!!
i write like i think. totally random. you don't like it? don't read my blog. 'nuff said.
hell -to -the -yes.
"generation of first drafts", we do not edit, just write and publish and screw the editing and final draft.
I am a journalist, and I am a blogger. I start most sentences on my blog with 'and' and 'but', and I don't give a shit.
And you know what (see, I did it there ...), some of the blogs I read — you being the best example — feature better writing than many journalists out there. Journalists think they can hide behind their degrees and diplomas, but you know what, a hack is a hack, whether they're educated or not.
You, my dear, are not a hack. The guy who ripped off Don Mills Diva is definitely a hack.
The face of journalism is changing. Some refuse to prepare for the ride ...
I hate it when you write eloquent, intelligent stuff like this. It only serves to remind me that I can't.
Loved this - I'm printing it out to show my husband since he thinks all blogs are a place for women to gossip on line
Blogging is not journalism. Different stroke for different folks. I rest my case.
Nice, provocative post...
what time do we storm the parliament buildings?
I think Matt put it best when he compared it to skimming through CD's. Reporters (allegedly) are just supposed to report the facts. Journalists are supposed to put the facts in their own words to make it more interesting to the reader. If they want to editorialize, they're supposed to go hide behind the cloak of the once mighty newspaper/magazine masthead; unfortunately, too many of them choose to be judge and jury in their articles. The biggest problem they have is that they are big fish, but the pond is getting oh so smaller. AND, I ain't got me no double negatives.
Tell Xbox I've got a catapult if he needs it for the Parliament storming.
Blogging doesn't need to be journalism to be respected. They are different art forms, like painting and photography. Do we judge photography for not being painting or the other way around? Not if you're sane, you don't. And do we judge either as being inferior because it is not like the other? No. But you may prefer one over the other while still respecting them both as valid art forms.
Bloggers are fresh, frequent, and free, and there are not many (or possibly any) paid journalists about whom you can say the same. That powerful combination is what draws me to blogging and is why I prefer blogs to paid journalist's writing, even while I respect the work of paid journalists.
And about "filling the internet with drivel": what- does the internet have an information capacity? Will it one day reach its limit and we'll think "Gosh. If only we hadn't filled it up with so many memes." I don't think so. Don't like it? Don't read it! The choice is yours. There are plenty of magazines and newspapers that I don't subscribe to, loads of websites that I don't visit, and I don't watch any TV at all.
I think most of what has to be said has already been well put by the other people who have commented. One thing though, when you blog, aren't you supposed to be yourself above all else? I despise fake people so I would not like to read fake writing.
If bad grammar and no capitals is who you are, then by all means, go for it! As Jill said, if you don't like it then don't fucking read it! On the other hand, bad press is good press too, so keep reading and complaining about it and the people will flock to whoever's blog you are complaining about. (and I ended with a preposition!)
Kellie
Write on, Sistah!
I do think it's interesting that in school there is a MLA standard for how to quote ANY information you get from a site, scholarly or not. I thought that, among other style guides, set the PROFESSIONAL standard for the industry. From what I have read, which isn't a lot but it did include Don's blog, the journalist didn't even follow the industry standards. (Every "house" has a style guide that includes how you do stuff) So I guess my point is, even if the author doesn't feel they "technically" did anything wrong, I wonder what the EIC thinks about someone CLEARLY diverging from the style guide and cite rules.
Makes me grumpy too.
Let's not forget some of the biggest news stories around this year's election were written by bloggers. Breaking big news is big news, baby.
That's what she said.
Brava!
Absolutely brilliantly written. I wanted to stand up and clap, but my neighbors would just call security on us again, and you wouldn't hear it anyway. Otherwise? I totally would.
I figure if Nancy Grace can rattle on about every news article in the world, making sure to snap in with her sometimes ludicrous opinions, I can write whatever I want and critics be damned! No one tears her apart when she blurts about how someone's kids should be taken away from them and then recants in the same program because someone who had her kids taken away from her calls in. I refuse to think I'm beneith them. Most of them do it for the money and the ratings. They put the speculation and rumors into the media because it gets the ratings. So if I want to voice my opinion on something I say, more power to me. I do it out of a desire to be heard and hear others. No one pays me. Last I checked adsense wasn't making millionaires out of most bloggers. When they give up those fat checks and broadcast news for the sake of society, I'll listen to what they think about bloggers. Until then, it's about as useless and one-sided as the rest of their broadcast/articles.
Well said.
I think blogging is therapy for many people.
And to be honest I prefer to read something funny / insightful / what an ordinary person thinks about etc. than a looooong boring editorial about why I shouldn't share too much personal information on my blog.
Apparently blogs are "boring" according to that news-site you mentioned. It sneers at a blogger boasting about his home made soup and yet they headline an "easy valentine's dinner for two" on their own Life & Style page.
Ironical.
(she says, delurking here at last with her bad grammer, poor punctuation, made up words and incorrect spelling)
The spelling mistake is in "headache medicine ads pulled and thousands of dollars throw down the tubes on not just the ads but the public apology..."
I'm very helpful.
Well, I love your writing style, who cares that you're "uneducated" - but then again - everyone's idea of education is slightly different.
I for one, love being a diarist... I love your journaler term too!
I always want to yell when someone posts an anonymous comment on my blog correcting my grammar. It almost always happens on a post in which I am ranting incoherently. And it's like, I am getting FIRED UP and getting FIRED UP MEANS INCORRECT USAGES OF ALL SORTS OF GRAMMAR DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?! NO TIME TO EDIT! I AM FIRED UP!! ROAR!!
If you want correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation get your own god damn blog, Anonymous.
I too use Mad Libs as a reference. It sits in between my thesaurus and my subscription to Us Weekly.
Here here, and then some ... just awesome.
Well said.
Video killed the radio star.
Internet will inevitably put the hurt to the printed word.
Copyright is the next big discussion.
Big money people get pissy when people innovate and make the monopoly irrelevant.
Yup, blogging IS a legitimate form of writing, whether professional journalists like it or not!