Give it a rest already
The Doc Searls Weblog -> Sell what?.
What I love about blogging is the way we inform each other.
Steve MacLaughlin says Blogger sold out. In his first paragraph, Steve says, "Who knows what plans Google has for the company, or more importantly the over 1 million registered users of the service." In the next he says, "It's just one company deciding they can take out the little guy for some printed paper, and the little guy gets released from his silicon handcuffs. It's just another company that you thought was different proving that they're just like all the other sell outs."
Then he compares Pyra's sale to Google with Ben & Jerry's $326 million sale to Unilever.
While Steve disclaims his post by closing with This moment of sarcasm has been brought to you by the letter "B", the post reminds me of the truth behind what Burningbird wrote two days ago in Google is not God, Webloggers are not capital-j journalists, the only thing emerging is my fear of war, and a headache. Sez she:
For the most part... we're a bunch of editorialists without much concern for research, fact checking, or accuracy.
When it comes to world news and opinion, he or she who gets the most links, wins in the world of weblogging. Those with the pareto charts and your esoteric algorithims of popularity tend to prove this out. According to the charts, rather than a new form of connectivity, we're really just another instance typical of medieval community: with the indifferent, smug supremacy of the elite at the top and rule by the mob at the bottom (we know about the viablity of mob rule for fair and ethical treatment of either person or subject).
Within this view, occasionally the mob and the elite might join forces, briefly, and we might help with a story, such as Trent Lott and his big mouth. For the most part, though, we're a bunch of editorialists without much concern for research, fact checking, or accuracy. That's okay, though, because I didn't start writing this to become yet another journalist-wanna be. Nor an elite. Nor part of a mob.
I happen to think we have neither elites nor mobs here, esoteric research on the matter notwithstanding. But I agree with BB that we would be well-advised to get our conclusions to line up behind some facts. The "who knows" in Steve's first paragraph does not support all the supposition that follows.
We know approximately nothing about the Google-Pyra deal. In fact, we know less than nothing, in a way, since Ev has sadly stopped blogging for awhile. I'm a little busy right now, retooling for a different life. So I've taken the blog offline to clear my head.
I say take the lead from Ev. Give it a rest for awhile. Or at least confine our editorializing to thanks for the good work his team has done and suggestions for the better work we'd like them to start doing. [The Doc Searls Weblog]
6:05:39 AM 
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