tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19208183.post5040110747340088197..comments2023-10-22T14:14:16.419+01:00Comments on J. Arthur MacNumpty: Blogging and the SNPWillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978812670312106107noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19208183.post-38297999476330349762008-10-15T23:27:00.000+01:002008-10-15T23:27:00.000+01:00Good post Will.Something occured to me as I was re...Good post Will.<BR/><BR/>Something occured to me as I was reading this. I remember a labour campaigner talking about the demographic of their potential voters. <BR/>'It's zimmers and skateboards,' he said. 'If they have a zimmer they're voting for us. If they're on a skateboard, they're voting SNP or Tommy Sheridan.<BR/>Is the reason there are more SNP bloggers, simply that the SNP has more young people in it? Labour has an older demographic I think; certainly judging by the North Lanarkshire paper with all the councillors on the back. I think it may be true of other established parties as well; there aren't a lot of Tory blogs for example.<BR/><BR/>Re posts; I wish people knew how much goes into writing a post. It can take a couple of days to write a good one. But I'd hate to go down the road of complicating writing to show how difficult it is; quite to the contrary, the sign of clever writing is that it doesn't appear so. As Beau Brummel said to someone who said how elegant he was looking; 'If you noticed me, then I cannot be elegant'. Good stuff anyway, Will.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19208183.post-42928668534802528302008-10-14T22:02:00.000+01:002008-10-14T22:02:00.000+01:00I'd agree with you, IoC, but perhaps I should have...I'd agree with you, IoC, but perhaps I should have said that we need to prove that anyone can do it <I>well</I>. Leave the blogosphere in the hands of the MSM-website commenters, and all you'll do is find out what happens when you give a thousand monkeys a thousand keyboards.Willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10978812670312106107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19208183.post-32634598224357155872008-10-14T10:19:00.000+01:002008-10-14T10:19:00.000+01:00Will,If we want to encourage more people to do it ...Will,<BR/><BR/>If we want to encourage more people to do it I think we have to start by getting the more insane Herald/Scotsman commentators to start their own blogs.<BR/><BR/>After all once people see that they'll surely think that ANYONE can do it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19208183.post-39632714913675255642008-10-13T20:34:00.000+01:002008-10-13T20:34:00.000+01:00Thanks for the good wishes, people... we'll see wh...Thanks for the good wishes, people... we'll see what happens. To be honest, I'd prefer a horde of angry trolls descending on here than have this completely ignored: it'd show that I was at least making an impact, and that I'd got under the skin of some of them. And I know for a fact that people have reached this blog from the Comments section of Brian Taylor's blog - another focal point for headbangers of all persuasions. Perhaps nothing will come of this, but I thought I'd use this space for good rather than evil. :)<BR/><BR/>Stephen, you've hit on the Bloggers' Paradox: in some circles, it's a mark of quality to make things look easy; for us, it's a sign of quality to make it look difficult - for people to ask how on earth we find the time to put posts together. Of course, the blogosphere relies on it looking easy, so more people will involve themselves. A blogger's individual standing relies on the act looking difficult. Maybe we need to think of new ways to make it look easy, and as accessible as it's meant to be?<BR/><BR/>IoC - fair points, all of which are well made.<BR/><BR/>JS - very astute and reasonable.Willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10978812670312106107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19208183.post-53040455374076985252008-10-13T11:23:00.000+01:002008-10-13T11:23:00.000+01:00Agreed.I also particularly go with IoS.The interne...Agreed.<BR/>I also particularly go with IoS.<BR/>The internet being a universal forum, you're definitely going to get the weird along with the wonderful.<BR/><BR/>For the most part bloggers seem to engage their brains before going to press.<BR/>This doesn't seem to apply on the online newspapers.<BR/><BR/>The medium for both blogging and newspaper comments sites is the internet.<BR/>There, for my money, the similarities end.<BR/><BR/>Bloggers (for the most part) have a sense of humour, unlike their counterparts elsewhere.<BR/><BR/>But some of the stuff on the Scotsman and Herald websites from our side (and from others) is bizarre, and frankly, vile.<BR/><BR/>For sheer nuttiness can I also commend you to any string at the bottom of an Alan Cochrane article in the Telegraph. There you will find many interesting life forms,some of whom I'm sorry to say are supporters of the campaign for an English parliament.<BR/>(If you don't believe me take a look at the Cross of St George blog - oh boy!).<BR/>Some of these guys, unfortunately, seem more motivated by hatred of Scots, than by love of England.<BR/>This is just daft; they damage their own cause just as much as our more rabid SNP contributors do.<BR/>Neither side realises that we want the same thing (ie independence for our countries), and that tabulating these insane hatreds is just irrational and unacceptable.<BR/><BR/>I would certainly urge our contributors to keep it sane, and to just stop writing, if they can't.<BR/><BR/>One point to note is that the hour of the contribution on the newspaper strings seems to affect the input quite significantly.<BR/>Pub closing time in particular seems to trigger some of the more exotic input.<BR/>The adage; "don't write anything if you've had a drink, or if you're really, really angry about something", applies.Andyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02542854437088040337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19208183.post-40303024831795827862008-10-13T10:45:00.000+01:002008-10-13T10:45:00.000+01:00I couldn't agree more with much of this. That the ...I couldn't agree more with much of this. That the comments sections on newspaper sites still exist always surprises me.<BR/><BR/>The argument is that having comments sections allows the newspaper to get more online visitors, meaning they can sell more advertising space.<BR/><BR/>Even if this is true it's very short-sighted. I and many others increasingly avoid the online versions altogether because of the bile. And are there are many advertisers really want to be associated with this?<BR/><BR/>In any case my theory about the madder elements is this - there's no more of them now than there was before the internet. There have always been strange people sitting at home fulminating, and probably writing green ink letters. But now we can see them online.<BR/><BR/>And if it's any consolation I doubt you'll get swamped by the more insane newspaper site posters if only because I'm not convinced many of them read blogs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19208183.post-45700058628155815712008-10-13T07:44:00.000+01:002008-10-13T07:44:00.000+01:00Onb you comments on the Scottish Lib Dem Blogs I'd...Onb you comments on the Scottish Lib Dem Blogs I'd have to add that possibly because our small number does write generally a high quality product it may well tend to put other potnetial bloggers off. <BR/><BR/>Again on Saturday I had some people coming up to me saying they loved the blog but could never hope to compete with the amount, quality and standard that I (or the others) put in. <BR/><BR/>There are times I would like a little extra support out there, and may start referring Lib Dems back to my early days (at least pre-Livingston by election)Stephen Glennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03027718551675624433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19208183.post-43935784847724202142008-10-13T02:26:00.000+01:002008-10-13T02:26:00.000+01:00Very interesting. The cybernats (anonymous Scotsma...Very interesting. The cybernats (anonymous Scotsman and Herald versions, as opposed to the frequently very smart blogging Nats) are definitely damaging the SNP, not least with the journalists who write the stories they comment on. I was told there was an encouragement many years ago to members to get online, although obviously if so this wasn't the result they were after.<BR/><BR/>Good luck getting the message across (I mean it). It would be really pleasing to see a slightly calmer public debate on the media's sites. <BR/><BR/>I just hope this thread doesn't get swamped with people comparing you to ZaNu Liebour for failing to see the good work they're doing the moment the newspaper websites get updated each night...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com