So What?

I’ve been following the fallout from Richard North’s comments on the role of bloggers with some mild amusement. There’s more here, here, here, here and, feck me, now I’m at it. My, what an incestuous thing this blogging stuff is. As DK points out today, it’s still grumbling on and Dr North really does seem to have a bee in the old bonnet about this political blogging lark:

Frankly, I am getting more than a little tired of the self-obsessed indulgence the media is currently displaying with the Tony and Gordon show in Manchester at the Labour Party conference. But that irritation also extends to the British political bloggers who seem quite content to follow in the wake of the MSM and prattle endlessly about exactly the same issues.

Often the humour and analysis is about the level one would expect of the 4th form of a second-rate boys boarding school and I have heard more intelligent comment from college students in fifth and sixth forms in the lectures I have been given to schools recently.

And…

As bloggers, you can indulge in your idle tittering and puerile humour or you can act as grown ups. The choice is yours and your readers will be your judges.

Sigh. I guess my initial reaction was a massive “so what?” Some blogs are, indeed, puerile. So what? Others are more considered and heavyweight. Again, so what? Readers will gravitate to those blogs they like; either because they agree with the writer or because they find the writer informed, interesting and informative – maybe they just like the writing. Again, so what? Some blogs are simply the idle ramblings of an on-line diary. So what? Who cares? Dr North does, it seems.

That does, as I say, leave the bloggers. You – collectively – can continue to play your little games. Or you can show up the media and the politicians and make the running. Which is it to be?

I’m sorry, but I must have been asleep when the political blogger’s book of rules and guidelines was issued. Could someone forward me a copy, please?

Dr North on the one hand slings accusations of puerile behaviour at bloggers, then indulges himself:

Amusingly, the anal retentives are already fisking this post,

Yeeeeeessss… If finding his comments a bit silly and feeling under no obligation to agree with him makes me an anal retentive, I guess I’ll just have to learn to live with it. I’ve got broad shoulders; I’m sure I’ll cope.

What Dr North seems to be missing, despite several others pointing it out – and it being blindingly obvious – is that there are no rules (beyond the usual regarding defamation and libel) and there are no responsibilities. This blog is primarily focused on politics, however I feel under no obligation to live up to anyone else’s expectations or “make the running” and I neither need nor desire the backslapping we are accused of:

What they seem to miss is the acres of self-congratulatory postings, where the groupescules so love preening about how clever they are, and how they are the future – taking over from the poor, tired MSM. But, if push comes to shove, many simply end up being a pale imitation of the thing they so love to despise.

Really? Nothing like a sweeping generalisation to make oneself look a bit silly.

I don’t write this blog for Dr North or anyone else. I write it because; as DK points out; I want to. I write because it gives me a focus and an opportunity to hone my craft as a wordsmith. If others want to read and engage; all well and good. If they don’t, well, that’s their choice. If that means I fall short of Dr North’s expectations of me as a political blogger… well, too bad, he’ll just have to get used to the idea. Not that I’ll be losing any sleep over it.