Dean's World

The pseudonymous "Billmon," a fairly typical Daily Kos writer (you know: mean-spirited, bitter, bilous, shallow, small-minded, resentful, and rage-filled?) had an editorial recently about how weblogs are selling out, are no longer populist, are being corporatized by the media, etc. I wasn't surprised. Guys like him represent a dead and dying ideology, one that John Stuart Mill would almost certainly have described as reactionary and conservative, people without ideas so much as irritable mental gestures that seek to resemble ideas. Anyone who gets too close to success is automatically suspect with guys like that.

Michelle Malkin (who I often disagree with) has pretty much the definitive take on it. Although I noted to my mild dismay that somehow, I didn't make the list of "Top 125 political bloggers" that she linked to. But that's a trend I've noticed lately: Dean's World almost never gets mentioned in listings of top political weblogs. And you know what? Somehow, I'll live. When I started this blog, I got a few dozen readers in a month. Now we get that in an hour. We've done nothing but slowly grow over time, and our growth continues. And I'm not doing a damned thing different from when I first started, except for bringing in some others to help out now and then.

Anyway, it is true that sometimes smaller bloggers get overlooked, and there's nothing wrong ith pointing them out. LaShawn is asking for info on small to medium-sized bloggers who may have assisted in the Rathergate investigations. If you are one of them, or know any, shoot on over there and tell her about it.

Just to start I'll add one: INDC Journal made major early-on contributions that usually get overlooked now.

Related Posts (on one page):

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Mike (mail):

Yeah, man, if you're, like, successful and, like, popular, you, like, have sold out the people, man. You know, only those who are, truly in tune with what the people really want, man, aren't popular, because, like, man, the people have this false consciousness, man, that Madison Avenue has, like, sold them, man, so like, if you actually are really, really, popular with the people, that isn't real, because it was created by some suits, man, but if you're not popular with the people that means you are, because, like, man, you'll be authentic and stuff.

Dig it?
Are you gonna finish those nachos, man, cause I, like, you know, really have a bad case of the munchies right now.

Whew! That stuff is hard to write! I had to shut down 90% of my brain to do it. Almost forgot where I put the 'on" switch.

9.29.2004 4:54pm

Ara Rubyan (mail) (www):

Dean, I don't see your blog (most recently anyway) as a "political blog."

9.29.2004 5:44pm

Dean Esmay (www):

It always varies, but I'm surprised that some people think of me primarily as a "political blogger" and others don't think of me of one at all.

I'd guess the content is roughly 50% political, but the amount will probably go down after the election (which can't come soon enough).

9.29.2004 6:29pm

Dave Schuler (mail) (www):

Dean, if they don't see you as political you're probably doing something right.

9.29.2004 8:06pm

Mark Jaquith (www):

When I first made my blog public (and started tracking stats), I got 60 visits in a day. Now, I get nearly 600 unique visits a day, but here's the thing: I'd do it if there were only one reader, and very possibly if there were none. Few people are likely to get rich or famous doing this, so it is nothing if not a labor of love.

9.30.2004 12:42am

I'm with you on that one Mark. I'm writing a story. It won't get published, heck no one else will see it. It's just for me because I want to write it. It's kind of fun, you know?

9.30.2004 2:04pm

Ironbear (mail) (www):

I used to read Whiskey Blog. Not sure I'd categorise Billmon as "mean spirited" or "small minded". But to be accurate, that was more than a year ago, and I dropped off my reading there before he killed his weblog. Bloggers do change - I used to enjoy Oliver Willis also. Maybe Bill changed after I dropped off of reading him.

Not really surprised that you don't make the "Top 125 political bloggers" lists, Dean, any more than I do.

While both of us write about politics, neither of us are "political bloggers" per se: we both write about a much broader range of topics. You're more of a "US Culture Blogger" if I had to categorise you.

That's not a bad thing. Gives writers like you and Michele a broader focus.

9.30.2004 3:29pm

Yeah that's probably about it, Ironbear. Although Michele does get listed among political bloggers. Not that I envy her that, since it seems to get her a lot of grief she doesn't deserve. (Girlfriend really needs to turn on comment registration.)

A thing bloggers like you and I will benefit from is that when campaign season is over, we will not run out of things to talk about since politics is only one small focus of what we do. It's just taking center stage for the moment. Come November 3rd, assuming the election is a solid victory for one side or the other and we have no more drama like in 2000 (please God please!) I'll be posting just as much and will have no end of stuff to talk about. Whereas the purely political folks will have a tougher time, and be getting into the fine and often bewildering details of petty bickering and jostling for position inside the beltway. Which I'll probably do a tiny amount of but not much, just like you I imagine.

9.30.2004 4:38pm