Afterthoughts on a recent blogospheric event and a modest proposal
Note: This post is not about CZ at all, but offers some observations about the Singapore Blogosphere in light of recent events and makes a modest proposal toward the end.
Simon called it "a major dust up in Singapore's blogosphere". Others words used to describe it: "witchhunt", "scary", "over-reaction"...but what is implicit is made explicit in other phrases used: "the power of blogdom", "Never underestimate the power of the internet".
How powerful? I don't know. In fact, I'm inclined to say: not very at the moment. The whole affair "hit the fan" mostly because of an extra-blogospheric intervention: someone (a forummer as opposed to a blogger, to be precise) tipped off old media, which published it (obviously) for its own reasons.
But "not very powerful" is not to same as "powerless".
In fact, I think that the whole affair has revealed the power of the blogosphere in a more specific sense--not so much to influence events, but to make possible the voicing and hearing of a range of opinions among people who care about the outcome in a format that tends to conduce more toward argument and discussion (as opposed to mere expression). This format is comparatively friendly to expressions that are more thought out, less caught up in the heat of the moment or influenced by the need to respond immediately, exegencies as might be experienced in a more traditional online forum. And in some cases at least, the exposure to other points of view may have lead to reevaluation, rethinking, reconsideration, more nuance. I would like to think that my collation helped in that direction.
One inherent weakness of the blogosphere as an engine of civic discourse is its fragmentary nature--many voices, more by way of self-expression than the give and take of discussion (see this and this). (Nothing wrong with self-expression, but just that it should not be confused with discussion.) One way to overcome this structural obstacle is meta-blogging--a simple collation of as many of the relevant posts on the issue as possible will do, a collation that acts as a clearing house for those looking for information and possible positions--'out there'--on the subjects of the day. Already, a reader left a comment asking if I would "have time to compile an anatomy on the SG casino debate process"--the answer is "no", not if I have to do the work of seaching out the entries by myself. I won't have that kind of time.
This is where my modest proposal comes in: I am open to the idea of hosting, and would likely support other bloggers (given topics that interest me) who would like to host web symposiums. That is, put out a call for entries and have the bloggers submit the links (together with a one sentence abstract) to the host, who would then list them. That will still take some work on the part of the host, but not as much as would be needed the way I did the CZ affair. [FURTHER NOTE: This way, it also allows the bloggers to decide whether they want to be heard by a larger audience, an issue highlighted by a passerby who left a comment recently.]
So, Wandie (who left the abovementioned comment), you might have your wish after all, if the Singapore Blogosphere is game.
Are we?
News Flash: it's on.
[Technorati: singapore, blog, blogs, blogging, blogosphere]
Simon called it "a major dust up in Singapore's blogosphere". Others words used to describe it: "witchhunt", "scary", "over-reaction"...but what is implicit is made explicit in other phrases used: "the power of blogdom", "Never underestimate the power of the internet".
How powerful? I don't know. In fact, I'm inclined to say: not very at the moment. The whole affair "hit the fan" mostly because of an extra-blogospheric intervention: someone (a forummer as opposed to a blogger, to be precise) tipped off old media, which published it (obviously) for its own reasons.
But "not very powerful" is not to same as "powerless".
In fact, I think that the whole affair has revealed the power of the blogosphere in a more specific sense--not so much to influence events, but to make possible the voicing and hearing of a range of opinions among people who care about the outcome in a format that tends to conduce more toward argument and discussion (as opposed to mere expression). This format is comparatively friendly to expressions that are more thought out, less caught up in the heat of the moment or influenced by the need to respond immediately, exegencies as might be experienced in a more traditional online forum. And in some cases at least, the exposure to other points of view may have lead to reevaluation, rethinking, reconsideration, more nuance. I would like to think that my collation helped in that direction.
One inherent weakness of the blogosphere as an engine of civic discourse is its fragmentary nature--many voices, more by way of self-expression than the give and take of discussion (see this and this). (Nothing wrong with self-expression, but just that it should not be confused with discussion.) One way to overcome this structural obstacle is meta-blogging--a simple collation of as many of the relevant posts on the issue as possible will do, a collation that acts as a clearing house for those looking for information and possible positions--'out there'--on the subjects of the day. Already, a reader left a comment asking if I would "have time to compile an anatomy on the SG casino debate process"--the answer is "no", not if I have to do the work of seaching out the entries by myself. I won't have that kind of time.
This is where my modest proposal comes in: I am open to the idea of hosting, and would likely support other bloggers (given topics that interest me) who would like to host web symposiums. That is, put out a call for entries and have the bloggers submit the links (together with a one sentence abstract) to the host, who would then list them. That will still take some work on the part of the host, but not as much as would be needed the way I did the CZ affair. [FURTHER NOTE: This way, it also allows the bloggers to decide whether they want to be heard by a larger audience, an issue highlighted by a passerby who left a comment recently.]
So, Wandie (who left the abovementioned comment), you might have your wish after all, if the Singapore Blogosphere is game.
Are we?
News Flash: it's on.
[Technorati: singapore, blog, blogs, blogging, blogosphere]
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