On Irish blogging being ‘over’
Posted on | January 5, 2010 | 254 Comments
by Una Mullally*
[Disclaimer: I’m not a tech head, so there are probably hundreds of techy blogs out there in the Irish blogosphere that I don’t read and may well be marvellous. What I’m talking about here is the bulk of the Irish blogosphere, a mess of personal and pop culture musings, which appears to be falling apart, or at least waning in influence given the retiring of ‘names’ from the ‘sphere, and also due to the continuing and frantic adaptation of Twitter as a prime social media tool. For the record, I used to have a blog called UnaRocks, and I currently have one publicising the club night I run called SoundCheck. Outside of that, I’m a journalist with the Sunday Tribune and a presenter with TG4.]
There’s a point in ‘Monsters Inc’ where Randall (the evil chameleon-type monster) says, “shh, shh, shh, do you hear that?” before cupping his hand to his ear to listen to nothing, and adding “it’s the winds of change.” Perhaps nothing spells change more than a similar silence, or things just… stopping. This week, Rick O’Shea, much loved blogger and 2fm DJ, stopped blogging. Rick holds unique stature in the blogging community. He likeable, prolific, award winning, and hosts the blog awards, but also, many saw him as some sort of blogging agent in RTE. A guy firmly steeped in new media who holds a strong position in the oldest old media in Oldtown, the State broadcaster. And now, like other bloggers of late, he quit.
The Sunday Times recently tried to articulate in an inevitably ham-fisted fashion that blogging in Ireland was somehow over just because it doesn’t seem to be as buzzy as late. Are they right? Not entirely, but the winds of change are picking up. Or should I say *winds of change pick up*.
So, why now? Well, Twitter (duh) has a huge amount to do with it. Blogging isn’t over, but Twitter has obviously taken the place of short form thoughts, linking, news, titbits, whereas blogging will increasingly be about longer form pieces. Unless a blog is absolutely useful, busy and original in its collection of content and thought (like Agenda Inc for example), then why would you blog instead of tweet? And check this out, some people actually have better things to do then blog. When I quit blogging, a giant chunk of my time was freed up. I didn’t notice how much time I was spending blogging before quitting, because blogging was a part of the very fabric of my day. Twitter doesn’t seem to take up much time. Just a couple of seconds per tweet. I went back to blogging recently, started posting and realised I didn’t have the time for it, and my automatic reaction when it came to sharing something with the rest of the interweb; a link, a video, an opinion, was to hit TweetDeck, not WordPress. So I quit. Again.
Along with bloggers heading to Twitter, blog readers as an audience are also migrating there too. For this, Irish bloggers probably only have themselves to blame. Despite the attempt at group blogs, apart from Blogorrah, we’ve never had that big hit for blogs in Ireland. There’s no Gawker, no Perez, no Huffington. Apart from a few exceptions (most of them quite niche, like Beaut.ie) we never came up with a mainstream platform that everyone would love reading and keep reading. The bloggers who have quit seem to have been going for a while, and have reached the end of their blogging cycle and are moving on to other things, or perhaps just concentrating more on the things that they already do.
But mostly, I think blogging is falling a little flat right now in Ireland because it was never very inflated in the first place. The problem with Irish blogs (as is with a lot of stuff, Irish or not) is that most of them aren’t any good. Most are poorly researched, badly written, lacking in authority and unoriginal if they’re about ‘something’, or boring, annoying or pointless if they’re about ‘someone’. I have to admit, I read very few Irish blogs, even when I was blogging. So I read Nialler9, because it’s a music blog that stands up internationally. I read Dublin Streets because I like looking at street style photos in my neighbourhood. I read Maman Poulet because it’s probably the best Irish blog in terms of generating content that’s actually newsworthy. I read Twenty Major because I find the ‘voice’ funny and well written. I (used to) read Rick O’Shea’s blog because I like his point of view and his photographs. I read On The Record because it’s a must for any one who has anything to do with music in Ireland, and because Jim’s a great writer and not afraid of pissing people off, which is refreshing. I read Mulley’s blog just out of habit I suppose, although I find his penchant for responding to a tickle with a punch rather disconcerting. I read Panti’s several times a day because it’s by far the best pop culture blog in the country and beyond and turns up countless gems for me on a daily basis, as well as occasional news/rants/info on relevant gay stuff. I read Gaelick too. I read others authored by friends; Lili Forberg, Davih Speaks, Tainer Bang, etc, but that’s about it. Maybe that seems like a large reading list, but it’s dwarfed by what I read internationally. Should one compare Irish content with non-Irish (namely American) content? Is it fair to compare like with kinda like just because Ireland has a much smaller population? Maybe not. Or maybe so, considering the internet is a borderless entity.
The veracity with which bloggers fight back when Luddites in ‘old’ media accuses them all of being ill-informed moaners is stoked by the inner knowledge that a lot of blogging is muck, especially in Ireland. That’s not to say that a lot of ‘old’ journalism isn’t muck as well, but that’s besides the point. The unrelenting hypocrisy of bloggers going apeshit when a newspaper, radio station or any other offline media source nicks a story or theme is beyond ridiculous considering that the bulk of non-personal blog content is culled from those very media sources. Then again, the old media V new media argument is as pointless as the public sector V private sector one. And there’s a bang of wood from the trees from it. In the same way that public and private sectors should be joining forces to fight the bigger pain of the government itself rather than each other, old and new should be vying to provide higher quality content, not slamming each other for falling short. This constantly flickering inferiority/superiority complex doesn’t do anyone any good, and serves merely to dig up insecurities within both old and new media.
No matter how much it is contested, the blogosphere is horrendously backslapping. It’s like a really insular music scene where everyone feeds from the same influences, collaborates with the same people, goes to each others shows, and then congratulates each other on how brilliant they all are. But everyone is missing the point. Because it doesn’t matter what people who are doing the same thing think about what you’re doing, what matters is who outside your clique you’re reaching. As a result of this insularity, quality falls, but the artificial gauze of quality lies over even the most incredibly mediocre content due to the blogger’s and commenter’s (often bloggers themselves) tenacity for praising each other. If I had a euro for every shite post being heralded as great by someone, I would be a rich, rich lady. At least rival journalists hate each other, and slag each other off, which although unpleasant, fosters competition. While it’s all very lovely to have a nice community where everyone can chat and compare notes, lack of competition fosters laziness, and laziness fosters below par output.
Bloggers often pretend to be a proud stand alone source, but that’s not entirely true either. Many seem to use blogging as their first stepping stone for getting on in other forms of media. Because of this, blogging will always be seen as rung number one on the media ladder, unless you work for the Irish Times or something and you’re dragged by the scruff of your neck into blogville. I think it’s only unfair in exceptions to describe blogging as anything else. The Irish blogsphere is populated by wannabes using a blog to broadcast themselves in the hope of latching on to other gigs, branding themselves as if their opinions or writing or indeed their ‘selves’ as a product is worth branding, and publicising various projects/work/whatever they’re undertaking outside of their blog. Why would anyone want to read that?
I think that ‘first wave’ of Irish blogging was over a long time ago, probably around the time Blogorrah hit the dirt, but in spite of time and an increase of participants and bigger audience there seems to be no real drive to improve content. People will always read something good – online or offline – and until that something good (hopefully in plural) starts to emerge and while good bloggers log off indefinitely, Irish blogging, for what it’s worth, is in a state of disarray.
—-
*Not me.
Similar posts
Comments
254 Responses to “On Irish blogging being ‘over’”
Leave a Reply
January 5th, 2010 @ 4:23 pm
That’s some big ass byline font you got there, Twenty.
January 5th, 2010 @ 4:25 pm
First in on epic blog post.
January 5th, 2010 @ 4:29 pm
A touch large, all right. Now modified.
Worst first ever, Kitteh.
January 5th, 2010 @ 4:31 pm
Does anyone care?
January 5th, 2010 @ 4:32 pm
The best, most authoritative Irish blogs aren’t written by “bloggers”; IrishEconomy, IrelandafterNama, Human Rights Ireland, True Economics, Ronan Lyons all emerged in the last 12 months. Irish “bloggers” as a group are dying off because the people writing blogs aren’t necessarily bloggers anymore.
And that’s a damn good thing. Less groupthink. Irish blogging is improving because there are less “bloggers” and more regular Joe Soaps (and authorities) it’s becoming more reflective of wider society.
Just my two.
January 5th, 2010 @ 4:34 pm
First time I have read a blog post in yonks…says it all really. Not a blogger myself and stopped reading them when it stopped feeling essential too…like I had to before incase I missed something. Now I miss nothing – sure how could you when they are all on twitter anyway?
January 5th, 2010 @ 4:35 pm
Delighted I could help you through the years with material for the Tribune both unattributed and uh.
January 5th, 2010 @ 4:37 pm
Damien – I predicted you would take offense, but naturally, none is meant.
January 5th, 2010 @ 4:38 pm
I’ve never tweeted, twittered or been tweeted. Is there something wrong with me?
January 5th, 2010 @ 4:40 pm
There are only a few Blogs i bother to check out everyday,but then again,they are probably the same ones i checked out all along..
I feel i would be missing out on anything by not reading them,but having limited internet access in work means that apart from 2 or 3 blogs and the online newspapers,I fear i might actually have to do some work of a day..
Twitter still hasnt grabbed me although i do have an account,but sometimes 140 character arent enough…
January 5th, 2010 @ 4:40 pm
You’re special Peader.
January 5th, 2010 @ 4:41 pm
I think there’s more than a hint of panic from the dead-tree press about blogging. I agree that Irish blogging sorely needs a Guido Fawkes style blog.
There’s one overriding reason why blogging will kill off the print press-its a way of communicating that isn’t controlled by newspaper editors on behalf of wealthy people.
The best thing about the internet overall is that politicians absolutely detest it, no matter how much they publicly praise and engage with it.
The old days of editorial spiking of stories are coming to an end because whistleblowers can go to the blogger community if the newspapers try to bury or spin a story.
There have been a lot of politicians caught out and embarrassed by bloggers- not to mention more than a few newspapers as well.
Its the best development in democracy since the guillotine.
January 5th, 2010 @ 4:42 pm
and he has a REAL PURTY Mouth…
January 5th, 2010 @ 4:45 pm
But is blogging really dead, or has this clique of (it has to be said mainly Dublin based) bloggers grown tired of the fad and have declared it dead? I agree that twitter has killed many blogs, but that’s because a large majority of the Irish ‘blogosphere’ was people posting obscure videos they found on YouTube, and linking to their online friends blogs if they beat them to whatever they were going to do.
My main point is that Irish Blogging isn’t dead because an insular ‘blogosphere’ says so. Look beyond pop culture obsessives who have formed a clique through their shared interests and geographical proximity. Look at blogs by those who aren’t looking to add their new Blog Award night out buddies on facebook and there is depth.
I’m not an Arsenal fan, but Arseblog’s a great read for example. Laugh you may, but RTE has a decent enough blog on domestic football. These are 2 examples, and I’ll admit, decent ones are scarce.
This post is a good one, hosted by a blog I really enjoy reading. And this blog is probably the best known in Ireland, but is matched in quality elsewhere. Because a few ‘high profile’ bloggers say the medium is dying in Ireland doesn’t make it so.
In fact, that a clique of bloggers may it upon themselves to diagnose the health of the medium smacks of the very arrogance that bloggers accuse the established media of, when newspapers give accounts on blogging for example.
Irish blogging isn’t over – there is no ‘blogosphere’ for many people who just want a good read. It is a collection of articles. Blogging should be an author reflecting on a chosen subject – not necessarily an inter-connected network of contributors who give each other kudos and pingback.
January 5th, 2010 @ 4:49 pm
Fair comment, Joe. And Cap’n too.
January 5th, 2010 @ 4:50 pm
I’ve been told before that I’m special. It must be true
January 5th, 2010 @ 4:56 pm
But is blogging really dead, or has this clique of (it has to be said mainly Dublin based) bloggers grown tired of the fad and have declared it dead? I agree that twitter has killed many blogs, but that’s because a large majority of the Irish ‘blogosphere’ was people posting obscure videos they found on YouTube, and linking to their online friends blogs if they beat them to whatever they were going to do.
I think this is the best point expressed so far.
January 5th, 2010 @ 4:57 pm
Which came from Joe.
(sorry, forgot to attribute)
January 5th, 2010 @ 5:17 pm
Good point well made, Joe.
January 5th, 2010 @ 5:17 pm
1562 word article. Tried hard to read it all…failed. Thank god for twitter.
January 5th, 2010 @ 5:17 pm
Interesting read Una.
I admit that I don’t agree 100% with what you say I can certainly see that in some ways blogging and levels of same is declining yet in other ways it could also be seen as evolving rather than dying. It is natural for people to give up something. People give up their own business in high numbers yet I don’t think we can claim that entrepreneurship is ‘over’.
If we look at blogging as an evolving medium I feel that the current movement of people away from it makes more sense.
I have been blogging in various ways for over 5 years now. Has my main blog, cubikmusik, evolved during this time? Absolutely. It has to.
I continually try and understand what else the blog should/ could be for readers, artists and record labels alike. Incorporating twitter and various other elements will be part of that.
When I started the blog there were a few hundred music blogs around the world. Nowadays a glance over at hype machine’s list gives an insight into the volume of just music blogs that are out there. Are they all ‘good’ or even ‘decent’? Well, that’s debatable really but a significant number of them produce content on a regular basis that is considered as quality and useful by many readers.
A few other points/ questions/ etc.
- First one (as tweeted just now):
I wonder how many links we click on twitter bring us to blogs?
For me twitter is a gateway/ keeper to much more content out there that i can’t/ won’t find through lack of time for the most part. It serves a purpose in finding new sources of info/news/content and as such i tend to move from twitter to blogs throughout the day as i get directed by those that i follow. so, the need for blogs is still there to provide the end content. Twitter’s 140 characters doesn’t give me all i need, it teases me and so i take the bait and click through.
- I don’t understand how one can look at this as just an issue of ‘irish blogging being over’.
What’s Irish got to do with it? There are plenty of blogs that are located/ based in Ireland yet have more readers from USA than from Europe. Location is not as relevant, unless of course you are an Irish based blog writing about Irish matters/ subjects. I find this to be a very insular way of thinking of to be honest quite against the grain of what blogging (and social media usage) is about.
In saying that, I am sure you will clarify why you focus on Irish blogs so perhaps I am barking up the wrong tree.
- At the recent talk you did with Nialler9 and Jim I recall you saying that there weren’t really any good Irish music blogs apart from Nialler9s. I found that to be a curious statement and can hear elements of it above.
Can you define a ‘good’ music blog?
I love Nialler9′s blog and reference it daily as it serves a certain purpose in my music and media consumption but is it the be all and end all of my Irish music blogging needs? Of course not, it can’t be.
-Can you say something is over just because a there’s appears to be more high profile bloggers giving it up? Is the success of blogging defined by high profile bloggers?
You’ve raised an interesting subject so its good to talk. ;)
January 5th, 2010 @ 5:34 pm
Yeah but shitting, drinking or wanking are more interesting subjects
January 5th, 2010 @ 5:35 pm
Very interesting piece and a few desperately needed home truths. I think Joe hits the nail quite squarely on the head – the notion of a ‘blogosphere’ is in itself a very cliquey phenomenon. Nobody refers to newspapers or broadcasters as existing in their own semi-autonomous platform and blogging perhaps shouldn’t be either. The problem with perpetuating this concept – that the ‘blogosphere’ is some sort of entity where the values of what’s worth reading are somehow skewed from the rest of the world. It has, to be fair, led to a lot of people writing extremely vapid posts and getting spurred on to do more – through a circlejerk of “OMG LOL AMAZING WTF!!11!” from people who contribute only similar content.
I’d be uncomfortable with declaring Irish blogging being ‘over’ though – as I write this comment I noticed Suzy’s post revealing that Bertie Ahern’s book earnings have been declared tax-free, a piece that’ll probably make a significant mainstream media imprint because of its sheer newsworthyness. Blogs are only relevant as news sources if bloggers notice this kind of thing before a paid professional journalist can do it, and Suzy in one swoop has managed to proof that there’s life in the young dog yet.
I think there’s a difference between blogging being ‘over’ and the staple figures of early Irish blogging – Twenty, Rick, yourself (Una), Blogorrah – all moving on or finding their lifestyles changing as they inevitably will. For someone like myself who’s dabbled in it for about three-and-a-half years, the demise of Blogorrah or Twenty’s retirement were akin to a longrunning TV show being cancelled or the death of a statesman. Of course it changes the landscape a bit when a respected senior contributor disappears, but I don’t remember TV being dead when Gaybo quit the Late Late or soap operas being declared defunct when Brookside was cancelled.
As far as I can make it, Ireland is an unusual and somewhat perverse circumstance where because of the everyone-knows-everyone-sure-isn’t-it-a-small-world culture we have in real life on this island, some people have an instinct to only read content that’s written by Irish people. Again, this would be akin to people making a principled point in ignoring British TV or newspapers – it’s just too small a pool for many people of real impact to make any significant following.
I agree – but there’s not likely to be. A Gawker would need there to be an enormous talent pool of Irish celebrities to ensure a reasonable turnover of content, where there simply isn’t. (An Irish Gawker would be an electronic form of the Sindo Life magazine.) Perez the same reason – even he started as a boring whinger who just got a following because he scrawled on celebs’ protos in MS Paint. (Check his first post for proof of how vapid he was.) There’s no HuffPo or Guido because Irish politics is nepotistic, petty and severely underresourced. Ireland is simply too small for this kind of stuff; it’s why we don’t have a Guardian or a real political spectrum of print media, why we don’t have a major soccer league, and why we have a constant chip on our shoulders about people telling us what we do is insignificant.
Blogging won’t ever be ‘over’. Bloggers just do other things. There is no small irony that this post was published on the blog of someone who has quit blogging before, by a former blogger themselves.
One final point – it’s hardly any wonder that Una didn’t use her STrib column to make this point – it’d only reinforce the artificial barrier between the media in the first place.
January 5th, 2010 @ 5:35 pm
Did you pass your Wexford Junior cert then Peadar?
January 5th, 2010 @ 5:39 pm
blogging it seems is a bit of a faze, but it seems to pass for most people. You need a cause or a niche… and when it becomes work-like it looses its looses its appeal. Hunter Thompson reminded us that you rarely hear an old whore giggling…
I thought this article was a well framed challenge for people to try harder. And maybe they will..
January 5th, 2010 @ 5:39 pm
Anyone fancy a pint?
January 5th, 2010 @ 5:40 pm
I’d love one. Can I bring me two lads with me?
January 5th, 2010 @ 5:41 pm
Perez is still vapid, Gav. Good points though.
Pint of wine, please, HM.
January 5th, 2010 @ 5:46 pm
Great guest blog, Twenty.
January 5th, 2010 @ 6:05 pm
Bloggorah was no great shakes.
January 5th, 2010 @ 6:22 pm
Bloggorah? Is that the one by your man who now writes about dogs or something? that was crap.
If the above makes no sense ignore it. I’m not well
January 5th, 2010 @ 6:29 pm
I’d like to go on record as saying how brilliant I think you all are.
That aside, I think anyone that quits because they feel a shift in some imagined ‘blogging landscape’ was blogging for odd reasons in the first place. Was tempted to say ‘the wrong reasons,’ but I’m nobody to judge.
If there’s an absence of criticism – or some perceived sycophance – it’s because there isn’t the same remove that exists between a reader and a piece of print journalism. Criticism goes straight to the source, in miliseconds.
I also don’t see how giving kudos if you read an interesting blog entry leads to a dip in quality. I, for one, am spurred on to (hopefully) better writing by praise far quicker than by criticism. Maybe I’m alone in this.
January 5th, 2010 @ 6:40 pm
Piss off Maria!
January 5th, 2010 @ 6:41 pm
I’m astonished that people have read this pile of shit and are actually agreeing with it. For starters, who gives a fuck what Una Mullally has to say about anything? The fact that she apparently has a weekly column in the Tribune is laughable enough. Secondly, thinking that the whole blog community revolves around your own personal little social circle is a bit narrow minded for a so-called journalist. The world did not end when you stopped your self indulgent social diary. There are plenty of great Irish blogs still out there (this isn’t one of them, by the way. Eoin Butler had it spot on).
I have to say, though, the funniest bit of the whole piece was when she mentioned people praising below-par blog posts when the posts are not worthy of the praise. Is this not what her entire blog was based upon?! Example: “Me and RoRo and Mitzi went to The Dragon last night and drank mojitos. Then Jimmy Tandoori came along and we went backstage to meet DJ Funkytunes and sat up drinking mojitos with him all night until Sally Saucepan crashed into the wall after going on SingStar and the neighbours complained. Rock on!” Reply: OMG UNA LOIKE YOU’RE SO AMAZING LOIKE I WISH I HAD YOUR LIFE LOIKE.
Una, you don’t have opinions. You simply latch onto other people who are deemed to be ‘cool’ and shove your nose up their arses, follow their leads and hope that they’ll give you ‘shout outs’ so you’ll be in the cool club too. Fuck off, Una.
PS. It’s hilarious the way you talk about cliques like they’re something you’re unaware of.
January 5th, 2010 @ 6:55 pm
Can’t help but feel equally offended and described by parts of this post. I’ll happily admit that blogging/writing has essentially been the way I’ve earned my keep since I was eighteen or so, but I don’t see the divide between “new media” and “old media” to the same extent as some others.
I write some things, some of it goes to work, and some of it goes to my blog. There needn’t be a distinction in the quality of those two things; the distinction isn’t in the calibre of the content, but in its subject matter.
If I’m entirely honest, I personally feel that my blog is of higher quality than some of the things I write for work, but it doesn’t cater to the same audience, so it goes to my blog.
I’m intrigued by Una’s statement that blogging simply takes too much time. It’s something I’ve felt from time to time myself, but in my experience there are always times when something strikes that I feel I simply must write. A blog is a solid space for that.
It may be read by practically nobody, I may point a person to whom I think it’s relevant in the right direction… I’m hard pressed to place that in the descriptions I read of the Irish “blogosphere.”
Ah well, thought provoking blog.
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:04 pm
PS. It’s hilarious the way you talk about cliques like they’re something you’re unaware of.
Oooh! get her!
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:06 pm
Simon – You’ve summed it up perfectly in my opinion.
That an ex-blogger, who admittedly reads very few blogs, has decreed blogging to be dead because one of that teeny tiny circle of “worthy” blogs has ceased to be is ludicrous.
The choice of blogs “worthy” of being read is interesting to me too – Damien’s because well, you have to don’t you?; Rick’s because it’s interesting (nothing to do with his celebrity, heaven forbid), Twenty, because she likes his voice (and no doubt the fact that this is one of the most well-read & talked about blogs in Ireland), and Nialler9′s because it “stands up internationally”, (again, nothing to do with the status that the blog holds at all).
So really it would seem that Una largely reads only the blogs one is “supposed” to be seen to be reading and, oh yeah, those of her friends. Superficial much? Yes. Surprising? No.
Who better then to comment upon the state of the “blogosphere”? That’s right, someone who clearly has a very poor understanding of what blogging is about.
As seriously as some people take it, for most people blogging is really just hobby. You remember hobbies right? Those things that catch your interest at certain points in your life. Some of which you carry with you for years on end. Some of which you move on from & leave behind.
There are some good points in this blog, but they’re sadly largely outweighed by the rubbish that makes up the rest of it.
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:13 pm
what is wrong – or in any way unnatural – with being a clique ? Like minded people congregate together. Nobody is forcing anybody to participate.
Blogs can also useful for exchange of opinions and info that would otherwise be lost in the surfeit of material that is available.
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:17 pm
Joe nails the fact that the main driver behind much of the move to twitter from blogging for many people appears to be about retaining the community element or the notion of an Irish blogosphere. Once the numbers who were blogging or had tried it for a time moved outside the range that could be corralled into a supposed community it then seems to have lost its main attraction for some folks. For others that is the point it succeeds in being seen for what it is, a technology, a tool, a means to an end and not some great reshaping of the world.
Twitter is a better means for those who want to talk amongst themselves, where you know by in large who is going to read it. That isn’t a bad thing per se, my own first attempt at blogging back in 2005 was a means to share stuff with mates who did similar, none of whom were ever part of or even aware of the ‘Irish blogging community’. A blog still works for the job of talking to people you don’t know and can’t know from the outset who might read it.
Captain, I’d love to see an Irish Guido but the scale isn’t there to fund it, the UK is 20 times the size of the market here and for all that he talks a good booze up, he’d not be quaffing champers from the blog alone if he had started it with no arse in his trousers.
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:19 pm
This would be the Una who blogged without disclosure about all the free shit she got or just linked to Pantibar content. Every week there’s something in the paper from her mates in . Not sure she knows anything about blogging given she only uses them to pad her Tribune thing or when being an expert on nothing on RTE or Phantom. Honestly, she can’t even Google straight it seems since she gets others views wrong.
Anyway I thought she stopped blogging because people gave up reading about her and roco or trevo and all her flatmates and the comments turned nasty as she dived deeper into her rabbit hole of neurosis. Simon sums it up too well actually. The wikipedia example of cliquey would be her blog and now her Twitterings. Nice accent btw.
It’s a shame that Rick O’Shea was used as an excuse for yet another scared journo to attack what they think is the enemy. Your enemy, love, is the sucking on the teet of trivial garbage for your career. Rick is a nice guy and his blog is “nice” but losing a “nice” blog means what?
Nice to see the lickarse Mark back up yet another “famous” journo. That’s how you get shifts in the newsroom kid. That and exploding all over your screen about the Irish Times having a news story that’s already 12 hours stale. You won’t get famous from working on quality so stay away from republishing the work of Ken Foxe.
Blogging is what now? I heard blue biros aren’t as big as they once were too so that’s a lesson right there. Only use cross pens from now cos the bible was written using them not some scummy blog.
First time commentator Twenty. Your “people” are hilarious.
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:24 pm
You clearly have issues with Una, Simon, but surely you can address the points without making it so personal.
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:24 pm
There was an Irish blogosphere?
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:25 pm
Meh Simon, Meh.
If it’s a good read it’s a good read.
This blogosphere marlarky has always been cliquey, it’s still new and shiny.
Some of the sheen may have gone but give it a good rub.
You can’t blame twitter for the demise of certain blogs. It’s merely another form of communication and there will be many others as the technology matures. I can’t even guess what will be on offer in ten years time.
What’s the problem?
I’d like to blackslap the lot of you.
Takes some commitment to keep these things going maybe that’s the answer.
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:26 pm
Lovely exercise in “2 2 = Burn The Witch!”
Yes, there can be cliques in blogs but the same goes for everyday life, the social elements of the Internet or no exception.
As for people quitting like yourself and Rick, blogging is something people are free to do and free to abandon, it’s absurd to say that it means the end of the medium entirely – such a specific example and reasoning only makes it harder to become general truth.
The quality of Irish blogs compared to international blogs – that’s your opinion and just because you tire and remain uninterested in some doesn’t mean there’s a poor quality overall. Try to remember how many Irish citizens there are versus the US – if you at least used a comparitive population in size, that would have been more valid.
You’re clutching… Poorly. I hope this gets no attention from the standard media outlets because that’s evidently all you want – to aggitate whilst poorly positioning yourself on the fence.
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:26 pm
And you know, maybe it’s time people stopped trying to figure out what blogging is and what it means and what it should be and accept the fact it’s just a thing that some people like doing.
Some are good, some are bad, some are vaguely important (on an Irish level), most are not, but people enjoy writing them, others enjoy reading them. That’s about it, isn’t it?
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:31 pm
I think you meant “stopped trying” not “started trying to figure out”
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:32 pm
p.s.nobody has used the cunt word – is this a record ?
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:33 pm
Daniel, yes. Ta. Comment corrected.
Takes some commitment to keep these things going maybe that’s the answer.
There’s another thing.
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:34 pm
I blame Maria. It’s on a subconscious level.
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:36 pm
For me-because I work from home- the blog is just the interwebular water cooler, where I can get to chat to a few people about whatever crosses my mind that morning. It’s not the be all and end all of anything, just a place where like minded folk can and do have a natter. If Irish blogging is gone off the boil so be it, swings and roundabouts innit?
I think Simon has a point too, albeit with more zing than I would have used.
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:36 pm
@Gav Reilly don’t really think this is Trib column material since it’s quite ‘niche’ in comparison to other more general/widely read current affairs.
Enjoying all the points being made – especially all the ones slagging me off! – if anything my post has sparked a debate which is generally a good thing. Thanks to Twenty for allowing me to guest.
ROCK ON.
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:41 pm
OMG UNA LOIKE YOU’RE SO AMAZING LOIKE I WISH I HAD YOUR LIFE LOIKE…
heh..
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:42 pm
Don’t laugh, Fill, we all know you yearn to drink mojitos in the Dragon.
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:43 pm
One thing – to develop a point made about this, after all, being only small island – because Ireland has “punched above it’s weight” in other arenas are expectations too high ?
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:45 pm
Fuck the begrudgers una. Your shit hot.
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:45 pm
Well that’s the thing. Anyone with expectations that a blogging scene in Ireland can match the US or even the UK is going to be disappointed.
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:46 pm
maggot, you’re an awful cunt.
There it’s been done.
Una and Joe had some valid points, enjoying the discussion but I’m a bit like Twenty on my opinion of blogging.
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:48 pm
What would the line-up be if Soundcheck were to host a ‘Battle of the Bloggers’ night in 2010?
(srsly)
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:49 pm
Wow. A lot of negative feedback for this particular guest post… and though I kinda like Úna, I must say I agree with a lot of it.
I find myself agreeing with Dena (and to a slightly lesser and less vitriolic and personal way with Simon) in that it isn’t up to one individual person, who admittedly didn’t read that many blogs in the first place, to decide that blogging in Ireland is “over”.
Irish blogging isn’t dead or over. It may be in a bit of a lull and it may have lost a couple of it’s more famous or celebrated characters – (and I’m sure a lot of us will miss their contributions) but it’s certainly not dead.
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:55 pm
Question for Una – what did she expect and want from Irish Blogging ? What are blogs for Una?
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:58 pm
I don’t know much but I do know this.
This blog is the nuts.
The captain has possibly the worst taste in music in the whole wide world.
January 5th, 2010 @ 7:59 pm
maggot, you’re an awful cunt.
compliments always welcome
January 5th, 2010 @ 8:16 pm
I agree with some of this but I disagree with a lot more of it.
I just find it kind of disappointing that someone like Una Mulally who comes across as quite intelligent and cultured in her writing seems to host that much ridiculed Dubcentric attitude of ‘if we’re not doing it then it doesn’t count’ I would have thought she’d be above it but obviously not. To be honest she should just keep her head down and do what she’s good at instead of ‘guest’ blogging about what other people aren’t good at. I honestly thought she’d be above this kind of thing. Evidently what the lass is not good at is seeing beyond her own social clique. It’s not that small a country Una.
January 5th, 2010 @ 8:19 pm
Heh, I knew you’d take it in your stride!
January 5th, 2010 @ 8:20 pm
Much of what Una says in on the mark. Twitter is more convenient and has “the buzz” about it being the (relatively) new kid on the block so naturally it has attracted some former bloggers.
But I think the main thing that has happened is simply down to economics. Almost all bloggers have a day job. Usually a family too and hobbies and interests of which blogging is only one. With the crap of the last couple of years descending on everyone people are having to work harder to earn a living or justify their job. The quality blogs of which she speaks obviously require a large amount of time inputted and many, I imagine, just can’t afford that commitment any more.
January 5th, 2010 @ 8:35 pm
@twentymajor
you don’t blog anymore?
i only just added your feed to bloglines!
arse.
re:
“And you know, maybe it’s time people stopped trying to figure out what blogging is and what it means and what it should be and accept the fact it’s just a thing that some people like doing.
Some are good, some are bad, some are vaguely important (on an Irish level), most are not, but people enjoy writing them, others enjoy reading them. That’s about it, isn’t it?”
Is that in response to Una or some other comments?
@Una
Would like to see you engaging in the conversation that follows your piece tbh. If not I feel you reinforce the feeling from some people that in fact you never ‘got’ blogging in the first place and have less authority to write about how its over.
imho.
January 5th, 2010 @ 8:43 pm
Far too many excessively long comments as well as the post so couldn’t be arsed to read them all.
keep it short and sweet like peadar.
I don’t really care if blogs are waning or waxing, i read Twenty’s and FMC’s blogs daily because they are enjoyable to read, sometimes serious usually not, and there’s good banter afterwards. As long as Maria isn’t there.
Fair fucks to anyone who writes a blog for our amusement/information. keep it up!
PS: I think Nonny should re-appear.
January 5th, 2010 @ 8:49 pm
Una, I found the Tribune in the Pub on Sunday and read your Column. I cant remember what it was about but I do remember noting the chattiness of the style and thinking that the blogging style of writing was creeping into print writing a lot more.
But then I havent read a column in the Tribune since Joe O Conner left….
January 5th, 2010 @ 8:56 pm
Cubik – yes, I’m still blogging. And the comment was a general one. Always got the feeling people wanted blogging to be something more than just … well … blogging.
January 5th, 2010 @ 8:59 pm
Software is simply a tool. Human conversation is the art and that endures though all else.
January 5th, 2010 @ 9:02 pm
Cubik – yes, I’m still blogging.
It is very obvious that Dirty Dave has been writing this blog for some time now
January 5th, 2010 @ 9:03 pm
Nice one HM.
And Twenty the blogs that are more than just blogs are the ones that endure… one would hope.
Flights of fancy and imagination and all that jazz.
January 5th, 2010 @ 9:03 pm
@twenty
ok, cool. i thought some commenters were alluding to you having given up.
cheers
January 5th, 2010 @ 9:04 pm
True, Div. Comments can be more entertaining than the blogs …
January 5th, 2010 @ 9:08 pm
I seriously didn’t think anyone would notice, let alone write an article spurred by it.
Actually, fuck it. I didn’t say why I was giving up over there and while this is all a topic of conversation…
I didn’t lose my fire for blogging, I lost my fire for that kind of blogging. There are only so many kinds of funny Youtube or cool piece of nonsense website you can stick up there before it becomes rote and boring, to the writer at the very least.
Una’s right too in that once you blog less you do more with your time. Time got tight for me in the real world and thus something had to give and it wasn’t going to be my real life.
There were days too when I was just sticking things up just to keep it ticking over because I was conscious a lot of people were reading. Worst reason to do anything.
And simply, mentally, I haven’t been in the form to be around on the web for while now.
The presumption is that I’ve given up blogging whereas the truth has been far from it. I was writing a longform blog under a psudonym and I’ve been writing a specialist one, again under another name, for quite a while now. I always found both very satisfying and head-stretching.
And Una, I’m still the new media agent hiding in the old ;-)
January 5th, 2010 @ 9:15 pm
Always got the feeling people wanted blogging to be something more than just … well … blogging.
Those critical seem to be approaching it in the manner people criticise the Output of RTE, the BBC or Sky. But the difference is that when they pay their TV license or subscription they are entitled to a level of service. That does not apply to blogging.
January 5th, 2010 @ 9:17 pm
I arrived late to ‘blogging’ only starting just over a year ago, I only discovered blogs maybe 2 years ago and I arrived late to the twitter train [bandwagon]. While there’s a lack of quality out there now I do feel that as more and more people blog and discover blogs that you can specifically choose your blogs to follow. This in turn results in less essential mainstream ‘in yer face’ blogs! Does this mean the ‘blogsphere’ is in a ‘mess’?
As someone who blogs as a hobby reading Una’s piece and the comments reinforced for me that it honestly doesnt bother me if I had 10 visits or a million visits a day because I write for me only.
January 5th, 2010 @ 9:17 pm
Una’s post reads like jingoistic creep of a journalist that wants the laurels of encapsulating a cultural trend in a neat little package for dissemination. A trend that bestows a certain insight into a time and place. Anderson has his Long Tail and Shirky, his Here Comes Everybody moment. We’re all philosophers now, Pinky…
Blogging is no more dead than the art of writing itself. I miss some voices that blogged have since moved on. I rejoice in some of the fresh blogs I subscribe to. I don’t blog for anyone else and go on blog holidays a couple of times a year, this doesn’t mean it’s dead to me.
This piece is clearly a column more than a post and just shows that blogging is dead to Una.
Live and let live. And write if you want to.
January 5th, 2010 @ 9:19 pm
First time commentator Twenty. Your “people” are hilarious.
You seem to know more about them than me.
January 5th, 2010 @ 9:34 pm
Blogging doesn’t necessarily have to take up huge amounts of your day. I tend to open WP, write for 15 minutes, and publish, and that includes error-checking time. It’s like a muscle – the more you do it, the better/quicker you become.
January 5th, 2010 @ 9:42 pm
Rick – Haven’t been able to get on to said longform blog for a while now, wondering if you killed it?
I’ve just left Twitter, not a kneejerk thing, just found it more and more irritating and I’d be lying if I said reading down through this wasn’t the tipping point.
January 5th, 2010 @ 9:43 pm
The flights of fancy and imagination I was referring to weren’t just the comments.
Or does Ron’s bar, Dirty Dave & Stinky Pete actually exist? I’ll be terribly disappointed if they do.
Don’t tell me this is your diary!
January 5th, 2010 @ 9:45 pm
Tommy do mean blogging is like wanking…the more you do it,the better/quicker you become !
Just thought i would get into the spirit of things . . . sorry. . . . bye X
January 5th, 2010 @ 9:45 pm
Oh yes, and forgot to add. If you are feeling unmotivated, try writing a top ten list. Or something..
January 5th, 2010 @ 9:46 pm
haha, they don’t exist exactly, Div. Don’t worry.
Radge – this post is the antidote for Twitter. It’s like Pasteur all over again.
January 5th, 2010 @ 9:47 pm
Top 10 posts about blogging, Lexia?
January 5th, 2010 @ 9:48 pm
I’m de-cladding as I read. The words, the beautiful WORDS unrestricted by CHARACTER counts and RETWEETS. Oh the majesty of the longevity of the…
Oh fuck.
January 5th, 2010 @ 9:49 pm
That’s a start. Or Top 5 Twitter trending topics and how they relate to genital warts..
January 5th, 2010 @ 9:56 pm
Una, I think that blogs are about content and not location. I read blogs and don’t honestly give a rats ass about where they are written. Is that an Americanism? Oops!
Tweets are great as a “ping” to the world. Simply “checking in” and saying we are still here. Blogging does require more effort but has the advantage of allowing for more depth. Both tweets and blogs have their place. If they can be
mixed together, ( they can ) they save the blogger having pressure to fill space while keeping the blog itself alive.
With minimal effort.
My 2c worth.
D
January 5th, 2010 @ 9:58 pm
Incidentally, when you’re blogging about blogs being dead, can we finally say that something has become so firmly metatextual that the fact that it almost includes the phrase “can’t see the woods for the trees” isn’t able to make it more ironic? ;)
January 5th, 2010 @ 10:04 pm
Irish blogging isn’t over. It’s arguable if it ever really got off the starting blocks to begin with.
One good place to start would be to get over the hackneyed nonsense about ‘old’ media (by which people mean established, profitable media that is big business) and ‘new’ media, (by which they generally mean themselves.)
Blogs aren’t replacing newspapers any more than TV replaced cinema. The blogosphere in Ireland never functioned as a realtime newsbreaker up against the likes of Sky, as bloggers have in the US.
And it has functioned for some of the best, as in Britain, as a stepping stone towards a journalism or literary career rather than a replacement thereof.
At one point, it looked to me that Irish blogging was forging a uniquely cultural face, with most of the country’s foremost bloggers functioning in the area of artistic criticism.
That was interesting to me, because it said that firstly the public are shit-bored with our established critical voices, and secondly that they are interested in the arts and discussing them.
People will get over Twitter like they did with 8 tracks. It’s a backwards techno-move that is fuelled purely by fad right now.
But as the electronic equivalent of speaker’s corner, or as voluntary contributions to areas of niche interest, blogging will last, I reckon.
It’s due a second wind in Ireland sometime soon. Maybe the recession will provoke some great blogging. I’d like to hope.
Meanwhile, I’m going nowhere. Skinflicks will continue to bear my rage for a long time yet.
January 5th, 2010 @ 10:14 pm
cunt
Not anymore :P
January 5th, 2010 @ 10:25 pm
I had a lengthy comment written outlining many ways I disagree with comments made in the post and comments left by some people above. Then I deleted it.
The post is about “a mess of personal and pop culture musings” and not the the entire blogosphere. Perhaps it’s just the pop culture kids that have grown up and found themselves a dying breed, not being replaced by a younger generation?
January 5th, 2010 @ 10:27 pm
cunt
Not anymore :P
You have had the operation JJ ? Ireland’s first strapadickomy ?
January 5th, 2010 @ 10:39 pm
I think it’s kind of weird that people are taking the opportunity to attack me personally when all I’ve done is just put an opinion out there on a ‘state of things’ buzz to provoke debate…
Much like what many of the commenters think that post is made up of; there are a few good points here, but many outweighed by bullshit comments from other people.
I still don’t see anyone challenging my opinion that most blogs – Irish or otherwise – are badly written by people who don’t have opinions worth listening to. But as I said to Twenty earlier, 98% of everything is shit…
Also, you’re all quite a touchy bunch!
January 5th, 2010 @ 10:42 pm
@Christian, good point on the pop culture kids growing up. An almost academic approach to analysing pop culture seems to be very much a non-kids game.
January 5th, 2010 @ 10:48 pm
Una – why does it matter?
You write as if you were reviewing content you had paid for via a TV license or subscription. What do you expect – the online equivalent of the writings of James Joyce or John McGahern ?
And how is reading a blog different to listening to someone wittering on in a shopping queue or sitting beside you on a bus or train ? Why should blogging be any different to the rest of human experience – most people DON’T have opinions worth listening to in real life.
January 5th, 2010 @ 10:54 pm
Im not reading all that shite.. can someone sum it up for me in 140 characters or less
January 5th, 2010 @ 10:57 pm
I never started blogging to be part of a scene. I didn’t even know there was a scene when I started. I didn’t even know what a blog was. I just wanted to have a laugh on the internet and have a website.
I have never referred to my self as a blogger, and never will. The word Blogosphere makes my shit curdle.
I’ve posted prolifically, intermitttantly and scarcely over the last few years, with varying degrees of interest, praise and abuse.
I must admit that I enjoyed the whole blog awards thing a couple of years ago, and even went along to the yoke in the hotel, and got my hole out of it. But I soon lost interest in even reading blogs that I liked – Irish or not.
How can you have national boundaries on the fucking internet in the first place?
It is true that there was a certain cliqueyness – if that’s even a word – among certain people who had become the self styled brat pack of the Irish blogging world. As a result, a lot of blogs, like Una’s, may as well been little more than a public facebook page.
I wouldn’t ever have noticed that Rick O’Shea had stopped doing his if I hadn’t read it here.
It’s typical of Una Mulally to proclaim a ‘scene’ as being ‘dead’ once a minor radio celebrity stops doing it, or after Graham Linehan mentions that ‘Twitter is where it’s at’ in the paper last week.
Can she not accept that a lot of people write stuff and post it on the internet simply because they want to, and not to be part of some media revolution or zeitgeist defining movement?
If a load of kids form a band and play songs that sound like they were written in 1972 because they like the way they sound simply give up because some try hard social diarist tells tham that the sound is ‘dead’ and that ‘dubstep is where it’s at, blud.’?
No is the answer to my shit analogy.
January 5th, 2010 @ 10:58 pm
I apologise for that being so long.
I’d never make it in the Twittosphere.
January 5th, 2010 @ 11:00 pm
by the way.. twitter is dead.
January 5th, 2010 @ 11:02 pm
@onefortheroad so… Who did you shag at the blog awards?
January 5th, 2010 @ 11:02 pm
Great post Una. I don’t know you, and therefore cannot say I used to enjoy your more personal posts on your blog when it was going because I usually just skipped over them – but UnaRocks was a fantastic source for new music (bring back the Dirty Dozen!), info on events going on around Dublin, well-written opinions on topical issues, and the ‘UnaRocks Articles of the Day’ posts were always great for condensing a collection of links to great reads into one handy go-to spot.
I’ve never been a blogger and I don’t post on Twitter – nevertheless, I do have a Twitter account which I use only to ‘follow’ various news sources, magazines, blogs, and journalists. I log in when I have free time for a bit o’ reading, and when I do I am greeted on my homepage by a list of links to interesting articles, videos etc. from credible sources (special kudos to MarkLittleNews!)from which I can pick n’choose. Sure as hell beats trawling through dozens of bookmarked blogs as I used to!
January 5th, 2010 @ 11:03 pm
Cheers for the comment, OFTR.
January 5th, 2010 @ 11:05 pm
by the way.. twitter is dead.
But is it over?
January 5th, 2010 @ 11:16 pm
typical of my luck….I come back the day internet ends….meh…
January 5th, 2010 @ 11:18 pm
I agree that just about everything written by Irish people on the internet is illiterate shit. But there seem to be an awful lot of illiterate shits about who really like illiterate shit, written by illiterate shits.
And repetition. They like repetition too.
January 5th, 2010 @ 11:38 pm
I’m genuinely caught off guard by the comments saying,
“I still don’t see anyone challenging my opinion that most blogs – Irish or otherwise – are badly written by people who don’t have opinions worth listening to,”
and,
“I agree that just about everything written by Irish people on the internet is illiterate shit.”
It may be that I just maintain my own little blog in a corner somewhere, not looking on an awful lot of other Irish blogs specifically, but surely it’s not quite as bad as that.
January 5th, 2010 @ 11:41 pm
The Internet never ceases to amaze me. It’s growth rate has been exponential to the nth degree. I saw my first email client in a classroom in ’95 when none of us even thought it was pretty neat or kewl. I saw my first file being downloaded from the Internet in another classroom in 1996. I’ve pretty much worked and socilised in the internet since November 1999. If I could pull my bed into the Matrix I probably would and never look outside again…
Why? Reality sucks!!! People we meet every day lie intentionlly and unintentionally most of the time whatever the “motive” may be…I’ve a great boss, one of the best so far, who I can pull aside every now and again, and ask what’s the story and get it on-off the record at the same time, but mostly he witholds stuff because its his job, too…on the line.
That’s life some would cheerfully remind us! Business is business, et al. Life goes on…and on. Today if my work email inbox does not fill up I’m in serious trouble…no job…I got this job on the Internet 5 years ago and have never looked back. If I don’t want it anymore can I send it back???
I’ve met the woman of my dreams a year ago, my soulmate I believe anyways, on the same Internet and we are getting married in 3 months time. Also I have so many Internet email accounts around the place I’ve forgotten half of them. Joined more social networks than I care to remember, closed them, rejoined them, lost interest eventually…
A funny thing happened one day a workmate invites me to join him on Twitter. While still trying to figure out this vehicle for terse statements on Blah, blah, blah…I start “following” other twitter-ers? and was led to this blog. Have not looked back and I’m sure I’ll remember my twitter password if I ever get back to it but not right now…
What I love is the free speech that issues from it. Where else would you find it? Even novels fall under the censors hammer now and again some where. Music, movies, etc. To my mind I’ve never experienced this much freedom and that leaves chattering and twittering far behind anyday of the week.
I believe if you have something to say then blog it, get it out there, take the risk. As the old saying goes 50% of the people may agree with you and the other half may not but you won’t know till you try…I say this as someone who grew up from childhood in a brutally repressive regime the whole world scorned until it collapsed thankfully in the early 90′s hopefully never to be experienced again!
Censorship comes in many shades in my experience and someone, somewhere out there, probably
hiding under a table in a very dark room, is plotting the next form of control madness over what people are currently “saying, doing, believing in”, etc.
Blogging? I’m all for it so much so I’m going to start my own soon, in time. Falling apart? It sounds a bit like to me the story about the chicken running around the farmyard convinced the sky is going to cave in. Let the Internet continue on and blogging go boldly where no one else has dared to go before, and the human race may still well be in with a chance….
Cheers Twenty for my introduction to my first blog ever, really and apologies for the long “comment”.
For those who got bored allow me to finish with the “C” word:
Cats, Cats, Cats, Cats…aw feck it…CUNT…erm not directed at anyone in particular probably just myself!
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:12 am
Piece makes an awful lot of sense to me, but then what do I know. Think the personal attacks on the author are very immature. The right to express an opinion seems to be a value to far for some.
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:20 am
Thank God for Twitter so we don’t have to wade through blogs anymore.
And a double thanks to all those above commentators who use Twitter to say NN and ‘ello and other deeply engaging musings.
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:26 am
Now we are being told what to put/not put on Twitter…
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:27 am
I just control-F’d this post for my two old blogs and neither were mentioned. You christies don’t know what you’re missing.
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:28 am
I’ll probably lose my original point after reading all the replies, and it’s probably all repeated above in some form or another, but I’ll try to make it interesting.
First of all, its slightly hypocritical to be offended by people attacking you personally, when you’re attacking Mulley in your post. And, are you really surprised? A lot of bloggers are cunts. The fact that you have the option to comment in a blog just ensures that you’ll be attacked personally. Its almost the norm on any blog now that some cunt will post a nasty comment, hiding behind his “alias”, usually forgetting the blogger can see his e-mail address….but that’s just how cunts think
The subject of the post is a bit annoying to say the least. Who gets to say when blogging is “over”? As long as one person blogs, it isn’t technically over. I mean, blogging used to be so fetch…. Does anybody actually give a shit what the Sunday Times think? All the newspapers are trying to be “cool” lately, trying to please everyone, because their ass is COOKED and their content is readily available online for free. Personally, I think they’re all cunts, but especially the Daily Mail. They’re a special, sheltered breed of cunts.
In Twitter’s case, its definitely benefited Irish blogs, killing off the daily rubbish that can go on Twitter
Blogging never really established in Ireland because the original bloggers were such uppy cunts! I read plenty of un-established blogs and find them much better than the established ones at times. I’m not subscribed to any blogs. I do regularly view Mulley’s Blog, Hotpress, State, Nialler9 etc. i.e. music and Mulley. Other than that, I used Twitter to let people link themselves. I’ve left Twitter so I need to start subscribing to people I followed, now. On the music side of things, its out of sheer lack of numbers. In an ideal world, I’d rather have an alternative to Hotpress, State and Nialler9. I find the quality of journalism pretty bad in this country, in all cases. You’ve got Hotpress reporting Van Morrison is to be a father half a week after the world knows it isn’t true, State isn’t updated enough and I don’t enjoy the reviews, and I find Nialler9 to be a niche market of music. I don’t really give a monkeys bollocks about who the new indiemo band is. Its the fact that people only read “established” blogs that the quality is so shite
Again, I find it strange to be giving out about cliques. I don’t think this is true in the grander scheme of blogging. Yes, in the music industry where you are, but not as a whole. Yourself and the Spy Socialites aren’t exactly innocent, loike. Don’t wag that finger at us, missy
Again I disagree with the opinion that its only a rung on the media ladder. I know plenty of people who do it just for sheer enjoyment. Personally, I blog when I feel like it. I blog if there’s something I want to get off my chest (that’s of interest) or if I want to discss something. I don’t feel pressured to force a post out every week, and I won’t post something I’m not happy with
“I still don’t see anyone challenging my opinion that most blogs – Irish or otherwise – are badly written by people who don’t have opinions worth listening to. But as I said to Twenty earlier, 98% of everything is shit…”
I’d challenge that. You can’t make a sweeping generalisation like that when all you read are established blogs or those of your friends. There is some quality in Irish blogs, but they’re over-shadowed by the establish bullshit
There’s plenty of valid points here too, Una. Don’t miss their point just because they mention you. You’ve stuck the post online, prepare for opinions….
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:29 am
*ding* there goes the passive aggressive bell for Bernie
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:35 am
Here’s a big hug for Alexia and the Red Links that power my morning coffee break.
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:38 am
Ah time to leave the love in has started
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:40 am
@Una
I agree, it nuts that anyone would want to attack you personally.
I was actually originally going to writ: “At the end of the day this (post) is the personal opinion of one person. The comments about that post (my own included) are from individuals. There’s no right or wrong, only opinion.”
In my youthful naivety (ahem…) I figured it wasn’t necessary to point this out. Seems I was wrong.
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:46 am
A couple of thoughts (preceded by the word “Fuck”).
a) Fuck blogs that are wannabe versions of same old jaded wank we’re served up by mainstream media. If they’re “dying”, they deserve it.
b) Fuck this desperate need to “cross over”. Fuck “mainstream platforms”. There are plenty of blogs I love whose readership probably doesn’t stretch beyond a modestly-sized roomful of people. But so what?! If they’re good (and original), they’re good. A meaningless rubber-stamp from a mass/mainstream audience surely only matters to the chronically insecure.
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:47 am
I keep hearing mention of the “Irish Blogosphere” and “cliques”. Where are they? Who are they? To whom do I apply to join?
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:51 am
Batons get passed on, or given up, or taken away. The people who give them up or lose them frequently think it’s the end of something but often it’s not.
It’s just on to the next stage… without them.
Good post.
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:52 am
@Grandad, you’re on my owes-me-a-pint list, which is a very special clique reserved for some of the very best.
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:57 am
@Bernie, you owe me a pint? That’s nice. What have I done to deserve that?
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:58 am
“I still don’t see anyone challenging my opinion that most blogs – Irish or otherwise – are badly written by people who don’t have opinions worth listening to. But as I said to Twenty earlier, 98% of everything is shit…”
Nobody’s challenging it because it is completely invalid coming from you. You are, as someone said earlier, an expert on nothing whatsoever and have no opinion of your own. You attempt to create controversy by having these ‘wacky’ opinions to sound ‘cool’ because someone else said so, and then can’t back them up for shit when someone calls you out on them.
Speaking of cliques – nobody gives a shit about Rick O’Shea and whether he’s blogging or not, except for his little band of yes men/arselickers/backslappers who constantly tell him he’s great, he should be this, he should be that. That is a perfect example of a clique. Mulley is another one. All self-important fuckwits with Messiah complexes. I stopped reading those blogs, as I did yours, because it was clear that you are more concerned with being famous than you are actually forming a fucking original thought. As for the rest of us, we’ll continue to enjoy the GREAT Irish (and otherwise) blogs that are well worth reading, and you fuck off to CrazyBongoClub with your VIP pass.
“Cue: another of Rick’s ‘I wasn’t going to comment on this…… but y’know what, fuck it’ cringy ‘heartfelt’ rants*
January 6th, 2010 @ 1:00 am
Saddle up to me at any Dublin pub. You’ll know me by my empty pint glass–or my sure-to-be-filled glass if you’re within tapping distance.
January 6th, 2010 @ 1:01 am
I just had toast with marmite and Roses Lime marmalade – splendid combination and splendid supper. Is that a Tweet ?
January 6th, 2010 @ 1:06 am
@maggot You’d be a model twit if your tweet originated from Foursquare so we could join you with our Flash Mob.
Try again and stay within 140c.
January 6th, 2010 @ 1:09 am
Yay for photoblogs, cause we don’t write we go unnoticed it’s fucking lovely. Still loads of photographers doing there shit on blogs, many of whom have also made careers from it but as I say photoblogs go unnoticed!
Blogging ain’t dead but is changing and for me it’s a great thing so many new blogs have also appeared on the scene, again brilliant! Twitter has effected blogging worldwide but when it was created it was another new form of miniblogging.
I agree with some points in this post, but also think some things written do not stand up! But then again this is what blogging is about peoples opinions if you don’t like them well so be it but no need to attack the writer or other people commenting, that’s kinda pointless to me!
So yeah blogging ain’t over, you should really check out some of the amazing photoblogs out there for proof!
January 6th, 2010 @ 1:10 am
FFS – what crap
“Ahern’s biography earnings granted tax-free status”
“The perk is granted to a work that is “original and creative” and is “generally recognised as having cultural or artistic merit”.”
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0106/1224261731760.html
January 6th, 2010 @ 1:10 am
“It’s like a really insular music scene where everyone feeds from the same influences, collaborates with the same people, goes to each others shows, and then congratulates each other on how brilliant they all are. But everyone is missing the point. Because it doesn’t matter what people who are doing the same thing think about what you’re doing, what matters is who outside your clique you’re reaching.”
Can’t say I can relate to this at all. Firstly – what’s a clique? Really. If it’s merely “people who like you & your writing” then I can’t see what other readership you could possibly expect (in any medium).
Even if it does have a meaning (and does exist) – in a back-slappy sense – then it’s a major stretch to suggest it’s ubiquitous. Reciprocal liking (of good stuff) can surely exist without it being “cliquey”.
Finally (and to labour my previous point), why should anyone give a shit about reaching a wider audience or drawing previously disinterested people in? This isn’t TV we’re talking about. You write stuff. Some people dig it (Yay!). Some people don’t (Meh). That fact doesn’t impact on the legitimacy or quality of what you’re doing.
January 6th, 2010 @ 1:13 am
Meh loada bollix to me. I still enjoy reading blogs. Stop thinking about it so much, just because there’s a lot more people blogging about crap now doesn’t mean the good stuff is gone.
A pointless post. Though it sure sparked up a debate.
Opinions opinions opinions…
January 6th, 2010 @ 1:24 am
I think any criticism of blogs needs to deal with the issue that no-one is forcing any one to read a blog or a twitter for that matter. It also needs to deal with the fact that blogging is simply a blank sheet of paper that some people write on, others draw on and others scrunch up into a ball and throw at people.
Secondly, the idea of influence is a difficult one to define. Is it influence when a newspaper takes a person’s content without attribution? Is it influence when a blog is the top of Google for something? And since when has influence meant something has been good? Jedward, anyone? Jane Austen didn’t become a big deal until she was dead.
Influence is overrated. Matters for nothing in the long term. How many people would know the name of the style and cultural journalist for the Times from the 1920s? How many people remember the name of the people who reported on Hendrix, the Beatles or Buddy Holly? Most people don’t want to be influential. They just want to live their lives and do whatever it is they enjoy doing in their spare time. Be it blogging or whatever.
Thirdly, there’s more international blogs out there so people in general will be reading them compared to Irish blogs. In English speaking terms, you have America, Canada, Great Britain, Australia. All of which have several times the population. Your argument about the internet being a borderless entity holds some merit but the lack of borders in Internetland doesn’t mean a person leaves their cultural baggage behind when they travel through it. You can’t assess influence without a reference point. Is Irish acting over because I haven’t seen any of movies featuring them for a while? I don’t think so.
Úna said:
At least rival journalists hate each other, and slag each other off, which although unpleasant, fosters competition
Never seen the looks on people’s faces at the awards when they don’t win? Or the posts that follow them about massive conspiracies and how it’s all a fix? Check out the judging software designer’s business card. It’s there in black and white for all to see.
Finally since I’ve mentioned Blog Awards…
Best moment at any Blog Awards for me was the look on Twenty’s face when Mr. Mulley Snr called him a c***, turned around and walked away. Priceless :-)
January 6th, 2010 @ 1:26 am
the look on Twenty’s face when Mr. Mulley Snr called him a c***, turned around and walked away.
DBAB – are there pictures ?
January 6th, 2010 @ 1:30 am
@una, I’ve never read your blog and am otherwise unaware of your work. I think that much of what you say is true for a small proportion of an ever growing amount of bloggers who happen to be Irish. Agree very much with Joe, and also OFTR’s comment about Irish blogging being part of the Internet. The small proportion of early adopters who are perhaps a bit bored now have slackened off, undeniably, but the arc of nobody’s life depends entirely on movies, gigs, my random musings (that a bona fide cliche yet?) and oh yeah, this thing I found and just had to embed. And that seems to be the goldfish bowl of ‘Irish blogging’ that you’re basing your thesis on. It doesn’t hold water outside the confines of the early social (as in what social used to mean) blogging scene. When I walk into Hodges & Figgis I never buy books from the vast majority of subject categories. I buy what appeals, what trusted people recommend and occasionally too I fall for the hype. But I’m not about to proclaim bookshop dead either. Even if Hunter S Thompson never blogs another manuscript. Meanwhile I delight, as Lexia does, in finding those new gems, or I draw deeply from those that I follow because they are way more important to me, in the arc of my life, than Avatar reviews. I keep two blogs: one about Down syndrome and one about advertising. Each is incredibly important. One for personal reasons and one for career. They take up time it is true, but they each reward as well. And my specialties are by no means unique. Name any special needs group and you’ll find there’s a quiet little blogging scene, not defined by Irish borders, going about its business. Blogs are intranets for extremely professional careerists In every field you care to imagine. I feel a yawn coming on right now as I contemplate typing the word, but even journalists can be bloggers, even if their journo mates disapprove of this time away from churning duties. I chuckled to myself only last night as I read @bengoldacre say in his Bad Science book that he doesn’t read ANY meaningful science articles in newspapers, but seeks them first in blogs where he knows the research will be dissected and understood properly. He didn’t say ‘UK blogs’ either. Just blogs. Your premise falls down because it isn’t that blogging is dead, just that the sugar sherbert end of the pool a lot of fun types once enjoyed has lost its fizzle. That’s got relatively nothing at all to do with Irish blogging, which of itself is a ridiculously inbred concept. And as for the notion of most blogs being poorly written, the very same can be said for most books. I’ll still go into Hodges and Figgis from time to time.
January 6th, 2010 @ 1:35 am
Dear @twenty, you might be so good as to edit my doubled up post. The perils of horizontal iPhone commenting.
January 6th, 2010 @ 1:40 am
Wow, posting a blog that shows how little you know about blogging to start a pointless debate over the internet from behind your computer screen. Oh wow, I just broke a nail.
January 6th, 2010 @ 1:46 am
In case an unwashed reader stumbles down this far, a short answer to “What is a Blog?”
January 6th, 2010 @ 1:46 am
Holy shit! I gazed into my navel and found 138 comments…….
January 6th, 2010 @ 1:49 am
@Grandad, you should have seen an image of the pint you owe me in the navel fluff.
January 6th, 2010 @ 1:53 am
in america ppl use blogs like boards while here alot still use boards. we have a monster board which may have always eaten into the blogosphere
January 6th, 2010 @ 1:57 am
@Bernie, Is that the price of joining this famous clique? Will I become famous? Or does it mean I will have to quit?
January 6th, 2010 @ 2:20 am
Just read every word of the above on a Nokia E63……eyes hurt. My opinion on one point…..if blogging is dead, the cliques continue on Twitter…….*falls asleep*
January 6th, 2010 @ 2:55 am
Very long post and comments thread and I hope i haven’t missed the point (or lack of one). Here goes – If Twitter is killing off certain Blogs, maybe they weren’t worth keeping alive to start with. Doesn’t mean all blogs are crap or that the blogosphere is dead.
I love the idea of a Blogger announcing that the *insert subset here* blogosphere is dead because their own blog is dying. Somewhat narcissistic, I would say.
It would be a bit like Twenty announcing that the printed word is dead because nobody bought his book. Hubris, anyone?
January 6th, 2010 @ 3:38 am
“Me and RoRo and Mitzi went to The Dragon last night and drank mojitos. Then Jimmy Tandoori came along and we went backstage to meet DJ Funkytunes and sat up drinking mojitos with him all night until Sally Saucepan crashed into the wall after going on SingStar and the neighbours complained. Rock on!”
Very, very funny… because it’s true!
I’m sure Una is a nice person but Simon has it more or less right I think, minus the personal stuff.
January 6th, 2010 @ 7:23 am
Una sounds like some cunt on the rags. I pity her fucking boyfriend.
January 6th, 2010 @ 8:18 am
I like what Fustar said.
Bernie – haven’t you been writing about the demise of blogs and blogging for a while now?
January 6th, 2010 @ 9:00 am
Checking out of this now because the debate is just getting childish, I’m glad there is a debate though even if so many of the commenters take things WAY to seriously and then make idiots of themselves by trying to win an argument by scoring personal points.
Later.
January 6th, 2010 @ 9:15 am
Una,
Its truly a pity you didn’t actually engage in the debate (at least the points that you considered valued).
As previously mentioned, I feel you have reinforced many people’s perceptions.
Cheers
c
January 6th, 2010 @ 9:22 am
Is it OK not to have an opinion on any of this?
January 6th, 2010 @ 9:23 am
@cubikmusic I think I engaged in it more than those who spent the bulk of their time commenting slagging me off or calling me a cunt. Might come back to it later, but v busy this morn. I think my overall point was about quality of content which is obviously something that an audience of bloggers doesn’t want to hear.
January 6th, 2010 @ 9:27 am
Wow 150+ comments, wont be long before there’s a similar debate over at ‘on the record’!
January 6th, 2010 @ 9:30 am
@Radge I killed that one too, sorry.
@OFTR I highly object to being called a celebrity.
@Simon I agree with you. I was genuinely surprised anyone noticed. What I always find strange about some people is the perceptions they have about who you are in real life based on the job you do. All “raydeeeeoh deejays” are fuckwits surrounded by entourages of yes men who hang out in Lillie’s. Interesting.
As for the Una-bashing simply because she writes a post like this and Twenty chooses to give it space, that’s all nonsense. Attack the point if you like, not what you think you know about the writer.
/heartfelt rant over
January 6th, 2010 @ 9:31 am
Copied from twitter …. ‘maybe its true that most blogs – Irish or otherwise – are not read by people who have opinions worth listening to?’
Does this mean blogging is any less important? Or in a mess? Or dead?
January 6th, 2010 @ 9:38 am
Twenty saw the writing on the screen long ago…Thats why he opened a forum.
Forums are the way to go …. He’ll have his own cartoon yet ..just yee wait
January 6th, 2010 @ 9:41 am
Una said, “I still don’t see anyone challenging my opinion that most blogs – Irish or otherwise – are badly written by people who don’t have opinions worth listening to.”
Its hard to challenge an opinion because, well, its only an opinion. If it was backed up by some facts or examples then maybe your opinion could be challenged. And who is to say that your opinion is worth listening to?
Judging by the number of comments on this blog its hard to make a case that Irish blogging is dead. What certainly isn’t dead is the great Irish tradition of throwing personal abuse at those who hold a different point of view…
January 6th, 2010 @ 9:47 am
Twenty,
I have looked over many Irish blogs. Since moving to Australia, reading your blog has kept me close to Ireland. It’s all about the craic mate & yeah, lots of fun reading your stuff.
Keep in coming & don’t quit anytime soon bud.
K
January 6th, 2010 @ 10:26 am
“I think it’s kind of weird that people are taking the opportunity to attack me personally when all I’ve done is just put an opinion out there on a ’state of things’ buzz to provoke debate…”
Una, I don’t think people are taking the opportunity to attack you personally so much as taking the opportunity to attack this article and what was your blog.
I can see how Twitter is perfect for you; you used your blog to put up links and let everyone know where you’d been partying. But there are plenty of other bloggers out there who write shit on the internet because they’re natural storytellers and they still actually want to construct entire paragraphs.
I find it extremely irritating that you claim Irish blogs to be “boring, annoying and pointless” before admitting that you only really ever read your friend’s mediocre ones anyway.
January 6th, 2010 @ 10:30 am
The one thing I would love to see an end to is name dropping and place dropping ‘columnists’ honking on about South County Dublin nonsense in the weekend sections of the papers. Mainly Roisin Ingle to be honest.
January 6th, 2010 @ 10:33 am
“Checking out of this now because the debate is just getting childish, I’m glad there is a debate though even if so many of the commenters take things WAY to seriously and then make idiots of themselves by trying to win an argument by scoring personal points.
Later.”
Translation = “Checking out of this now because people are saying things I don’t want to hear.”
“While it’s all very lovely to have a nice community where everyone can chat and compare notes, lack of competition fosters laziness, and laziness fosters below par output.”
You said it.
January 6th, 2010 @ 10:45 am
Heh, I’m enjoying this new outspoken version of Annie.
Thing is, the world and its dog knows that the “I’m just trying to start a debate” cliché is something trotted out by those who say something provocative without the stories, the stones, or the statistics to back it up.
There is no “Irish blogosphere”, and if there was I’m pretty sure that it wouldn’t collapse because some diluted version of Chris Moyles has given up posting pictures of his shoes.
January 6th, 2010 @ 10:48 am
Is it OK not to have an opinion on any of this?
I don’t have much of an opinion on this either. However I do agree with the part where Una said Fill3rup is a cocksucking cunt. Did you not see that? Go back and read it all again, including the comments
January 6th, 2010 @ 10:48 am
If I meet someone I say “Do you blog?” and if they say yes then I say “Leave my presence immediately”.
However, if they say “I used to blog but I don’t anymore because blogging is over and it’s time we went back to getting our opinions from the likes of you and Sir Kevin” then I say “You are indeed a good friend of mine. Would you like me to comb your hair or groom you in some other fashion?”.
FUCKING TOLD YOU SO, BLOGGERS
January 6th, 2010 @ 10:49 am
@Una.
“I think I engaged in it more than those who spent the bulk of their time commenting slagging me off or calling me a cunt.”
I, and indeed the majority of those commenting from what I can make out have neither slagged you off or called you a cunt yet you failed to engage with me, and others that commented/ responded with valid points and indeed questions to get clarification from you.
“I think my overall point was about quality of content which is obviously something that an audience of bloggers doesn’t want to hear.”
I tried to understand this point a little by asking….”Can you define a ‘good’ music blog?”
Still curious about your response to that?
Cheers
C
January 6th, 2010 @ 10:50 am
There is no “Irish blogosphere”, and if there was I’m pretty sure that it wouldn’t collapse because some diluted version of Chris Moyles has given up posting pictures of his shoes.
Meow!
January 6th, 2010 @ 10:51 am
“I still don’t see anyone challenging my opinion that most blogs – Irish or otherwise – are badly written by people who don’t have opinions worth listening to. But as I said to Twenty earlier, 98% of everything is shit…”
As you say yourself, this is the case with everything.
Pick anything, any kind of media, and most people will find the majority of it not to their taste, or not good. So you filter out what you like and enjoy it. No one likes everything. Its all subjective, but you can’t throw an entire scene out because you don’t like the majority of it, or that any body does. We need it all, so that everyone can find what they like.
But this has always been the case, hasn’t it? So surely “Irish blogging” was stillborn? No, it just is broad and had varied quality. There are some bloggers loads of people love and i can’t stand to read what they say. But that’s whats great about any scene or movement or whatever.
The more i think about this, the whole thing breaks down into an argument about semantics. What is a blog? Is the Huffington Post a blog? Where does an article published online with comments end and a blog begin? Why am I typing so much? Why isn’t it snowing more?
I’m going to stop now.
January 6th, 2010 @ 10:52 am
“I think my overall point was about quality of content which is obviously something that an audience of bloggers doesn’t want to hear.”
An, now. Come on! I realise you’re probably feeling quite defensive (and personal abuse is obviously indefensible) BUT I think this is extremely disingenous.
A lot of the points made above (by bloggers) countering your argument are (for me) persuasive & valid. It’s a cheap-shot to dismiss it all as the defensive ranting of people who just don’t want to hear “the truth”.
January 6th, 2010 @ 10:52 am
Sorry, you’re right.
Diluted Chris Evans.
January 6th, 2010 @ 10:54 am
Good post by Una (I would), I agree with most of what she says, this is the only Irish blog I bother to read (except to abuse another blogger) because as she said most are poorly researched and badly written.
Good points by Peadar too.
January 6th, 2010 @ 10:59 am
Is there a Blog of Allen?
January 6th, 2010 @ 11:00 am
Yes but it’s private
January 6th, 2010 @ 11:01 am
@cubikmusic – defining a good music blog:
one that informs me about acts I don’t already know about, while providing mp3 + video content to allow me to get to know them.
One that entertains: good writing.
One the provides information with regards to upcoming gigs, bands etc ‘in my area’.
One that covers a wide spectrum of genres.
One in which the author/authors are clearly knowledgeable about music new and old.
One that unearths the occasional hidden gem.
Surely ‘what defines a good music blog’ is a blog that an individual reader finds ‘good’ in their own opinion.
@Annie, I’m not saying I only read my friend’s blogs. I’ve read heaps and heaps of Irish blogs over the years, but the ones I’ve mentioned (apart from glances at others I check rarely or am diverted to if there’s an interesting post about) are the ones I’ve distilled my daily reading down to.
January 6th, 2010 @ 11:02 am
Finding this “poorly researched” complaint pretty amusing.
January 6th, 2010 @ 11:04 am
that dublin streets blog is unitentionally hillarious. almost makes me glad i can only afford to buy my jeans in pennys these days.
as for blogging, i think its relative importance is purely in the eye of the blogger.
chillax kids…
January 6th, 2010 @ 11:06 am
And fair play to Una, she did more to kill it than most!
Yaysies…
January 6th, 2010 @ 11:09 am
And why on earth is she quoting Scorpions… I know it was the 20th anniversary recently but holy shit!
January 6th, 2010 @ 11:12 am
“There is no “Irish blogosphere”, and if there was I’m pretty sure that it wouldn’t collapse because some diluted version of Chris Moyles has given up posting pictures of his shoes.”
* guffaws*
January 6th, 2010 @ 11:22 am
I, and indeed the majority of those commenting from what I can make out have neither slagged you off or called you a cunt yet you failed to engage with me, and others that commented/ responded with valid points and indeed questions to get clarification from you.
Indeed cubik.
January 6th, 2010 @ 11:29 am
So?
January 6th, 2010 @ 11:31 am
@UnaRocks.
Before the silly personal slagging get you down in any way.
As I am sure you have noticed there tends to be more critical comments on blogs as people who disagree comment …while does that agree tend not to as it has a good point has already been made.
for the record… I agree with most of what you say here.
I don’t blog as i don;t believe I have the time to do the research etc.
I twitter like a pensioner at bingo night.
January 6th, 2010 @ 11:40 am
Can I just ask that any further comments stay on the topic itself. If you want to slag someone off send them a fucking email.
January 6th, 2010 @ 11:48 am
Except if you are slaggin that Peadar cunt or his Ma/Da..
January 6th, 2010 @ 11:50 am
@UnaRocks – great post and plenty of food for thought. To Blog or to Tweet (no mention of Facebook notes etc.) doesn’t have to be a choice in my view – they are both complementary which (depending on your interests) will help rais awareness, get a dialogue going, advocate on special interests and so on. If one takes a fairly ‘narrow’ view about ‘Irish’ blogs (not sure if these are blogs on Irish issues, written by Irish people or both) then of course you are going to find insularity, mountebanks, puffery and piss mires. But there is a lot of great stuff out there additional to what you mentioned. Don’t blame it on the boogie…
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:01 pm
Twenty wants us to stay on topic? RIP blogging
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:04 pm
heh
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:05 pm
Giving out about the quality of the content on Irish blogs is such an unbelievably vapid opinion, it’s vague to the point of redundancy. Like an old grump shaking their walking stick at the youngsters and saying ‘oh things were better in my day, when me and my generation were doing it right’. It is an obviously blinkered opinion that seems to seek points by defining the writer as a social media/blog/internets prophet who can foresee the imminent demise of a medium before everyone else whilst also drawing allusions to some sort of ‘golden era’ of blogging ie when here and her mates were all doing it. There is no substance here, only empty pointless flailing.
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:14 pm
[...] types I’ve been keeping an eye on the discussion over at Twenty Major’s blog where a guest post by Una Mullally (formerly UnaRocks) has triggered a massive, and predictably sometimes overtly personal, discussion [...]
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:24 pm
To elaborate, I find myself agreeing in a non-slagging way with Annie, Alexia and Andrew.
Journalistic ‘trend’ watching is a functional way to fill space over the holiday period, or to mark the beginning of a new decade or the end of another. I think Una may have fallen into that trap.
Ironically, the old media never had as much space to fill as they do today, but they fill that space with shorter and shorter bites of ‘infotainment’. Twitter seems to take that reductio even further.
The argument is that it’s all down to lower attention spans, people too busy etc etc. This neatly sidesteps the commercial pressures that all the old media are under, pressures that have increasingly pushed them into questionable partnerships that influence editorial decisions. The process of content mediation is increasingly weighted by advertisers’ interests.
The core of the issue is communication, the complexity of that communication, and the question of whether the context in which that communication takes place can be trusted. It is a fact that the fragmented ‘old media’ are not as trustworthy as we once believed them to be. Blogs are as trustworthy as any unreliable narrator, but we know that and they either earn our trust over time or they don’t. Most blogs don’t pretend their editorialising is objective, unlike, say, the newspapers.
I have always felt that personal blogging (as opposed to vocational blogging), even if it’s pseudonymous, can be, at its best, a contemporary form of 18th century pamphleteering.
Swift’s A Modest Proposal would not be published in the mainstream media these days, but it could be blogged. Remember the outrage when Peter O’Toole read it during the televised reopening of the Gaiety?
Circulation, to use a hard copy term, is less important than the nature of the content itself. Unless you’re an advertiser.
There are many challenges for the creators of content in the blogging world – consistency, quality, buying time to devote to it, finding an audience and so on. And not every blogger has, or is obliged to have those aspirations.
It follows that the blogging world is awash with differing standards, that bloggers come and go, and that things change. That’s the nature of all human endeavour, if you take a look outside the microcosm.
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:32 pm
Blogs are conversations. Walk into pub, there will be conversations going on. You can listen, you might enjoy some, you might join in. But would you stand up on a table and berate the people in the pub because you consider their conversations poor quality?
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:32 pm
On Topic:
I ‘blog’ for fun and not as any desire to be wanted, validated, appreciated. For me it’s an exercise in exorcising.
Like any interest or hobby, some people take blogging lightly, others take it seriously or take it to a more commercial level.
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:40 pm
take it to a more commercial level.
That is an important point HM. Una’s complaints would be valid if she was paying to read the blogs, in the same way as critics assess the standard of what TV and Radio and film companies offer the public in return for their money.
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:44 pm
I didn’t even know there was an Irish blogosphere. I guess this is like when the Sindo declared Dublin’s club scene dead when Colin Farrell ordered a water.
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:45 pm
Why have people made this about Una Mullally personally? I find it really strange and venomous.
I didn’t agree with much of what was said, few really good points too though.
Is this Irish begrudgery or is she a serial killer?
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:46 pm
So many things I wanted to say when reading this, thankfully it looks like plenty of other commenters beat me to it. I wanted to rail at you, Mullally. I wanted to seethe and ask how dare you be so arrogant, where do you get off dismissing a perfectly viable communications platform as redundant simply because it’s not something you have time for any more? I wanted to point out the gruesome inconsistensies, wanted to point out that you are the biggest backslapper of them all. It made me angry, I wanted to verbally assassinate your attitude after you shot yourself in the foot with the “who wants to read that?” quote. I’m afraid you’ve done that yourself though. Put the gun down, Una, you don’t need to do this. You’ve ruined your runners but it needn’t get any worse.
Instead I’ll say this: thanks be that there is no place in the digital community for the vacuous dribble along the lines of Gawker or Perez: we’re better than that. We may not have Huffington but there are some extremely sharp writers polishing their skills on sites like thestory.ie. There are marvellous, meandering articles from stellar talents with names like Darragh, Karl, Padraig and more. There is room on the Internet for everyone and this kind of flighty, disposable attitude just marks out how grieviously, digitally wrinkled your online persona will become without some stability. Blogs are so much more than an individual sounding board: they are the hod on which the cement of public opinion is carried from place to place. Good blogs don’t need cliques: with quality content, they far exceed the little knot of people who comment so you’ll comment so I’ll comment so you’ll comment.
You cannot review an album on Twitter. It’s impossible to present an essay complete with links to video, photos, mp3s and related content in 140 characters. Sure you can chitchat with followers but where’s the record of that great conversation? What use is a tweet to a band who need quotes or a person looking to find out more about a new discovery? My outlook here is predominantly musical because it’s what I love to blog about. I found that blogs are one of the best resources Irish music has uncovered in recent years. Music feeds blogs which in turn feeds music. But you’re not a very musical person, are you Una? Can’t remember ever reading some freethinking prose that you couldn’t help but spill as a result of feeling empowered and inspired. You’re definitely a sort of yakkety, blabbery talking head who only exceeds a few dozen words when there’s a paycheck in it. I suppose if you wanna stick to witticisms or boasts, the character limit is a good thing but what about those who want to actually write, present and discuss their opinions? Are long, lazy phone calls dead since SMS was introduced? Is there no longer any need for IM since Skype came into play? Of course not. Although it’s fast and fun to pick through tweets, it’s quickly exhausted. I refuse to believe our culture can be summarised so briefly. It deserves more than that, it’s worth our full attention, time and patience. I’ve been a blogger since 1999 and to this second, find that hitting ‘send’ on copy to my editor is the only sensation to equal hitting ‘publish’ on a good blog post.
Sheesh, I’ve actually gotta thank you for this. I just launched my new independent music blog this week after a nine-month hiatus and I’m loving it. It’s great to be back, great to see that old buzz of posting hasn’t waned, great to see 500 hits in 24 hours based simply on a facebook link and one tweet. Just wait til everyone sees what I’ve got in store this time around. It’s going to be so much fun proving you wrong.
Can’t wait to see your Irish music show! I’ll review it on my blog :)
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:49 pm
On a serious note – Darragh is an amazing writer.
January 6th, 2010 @ 12:50 pm
There isn’t an Irish blogosphere but that doesn’t stop some folks thinking they’re members of one though.
What is interesting is the commentary from some about this post that is appearing on twitter (where their mates would be first aware of it) instead of openly challenging the points raised directly. The trend appears to be that Twitter has replaced blogs posts & comments for those who want a conversation with those they know. It simply seems to works better for a more immediate but transitory back and forth.
January 6th, 2010 @ 1:00 pm
Meadow stopped because she’s in love but that’s no excuse. She’s a sublime writer.
http://meadowchance.blogspot.com/
January 6th, 2010 @ 1:44 pm
[...] up today but it’s all gone on the backburner since I read Una Mullally’s guest post on Twenty Major’s blog this morning. The sheer weight of comments completely contradicts the point she tried to make: [...]
January 6th, 2010 @ 2:16 pm
@Annie, I’m not saying I only read my friend’s blogs. I’ve read heaps and heaps of Irish blogs over the years, but the ones I’ve mentioned (apart from glances at others I check rarely or am diverted to if there’s an interesting post about) are the ones I’ve distilled my daily reading down to.
In which case, I think you’re missing out on some pretty good writing.
The thing is Una, I don’t necessarily disagree with some of what you’re saying. A lot of people have stopped blogging as they find other web platforms to suit them. Rick’s blog would be better suited to Tumblr, your blog is more engaging as a series of tweets. You liked reading some of our blogs but found most of them to be tiresome pointless shit. Whatever.
It’s irritating that you complain that it’s “getting personal” when it was YOU who got all “who shagged who at the blog awards” while completely ignoring the valid defenses and remarks that were put forward as part of this “interesting debate” that you allegedly wanted to start in the first place.
I have read back through these comments again and it seems like the majority of them are perfectly rational and articulate. Yes, there’s a certain degree of snark, but it was you who chose to publish this on Twenty Major’s blog. Were you really expecting not to be called a cunt?
January 6th, 2010 @ 2:22 pm
“one that informs me about acts I don’t already know about, while providing mp3 + video content to allow me to get to know them.” – Pascal’s Country Sounds
“One that entertains: good writing.” – Asleep On The Compost Heap
“One the provides information with regards to upcoming gigs, bands etc ‘in my area’.” – Off Her Rocker/Harmless Noise
“One that covers a wide spectrum of genres.” – Nialler9.
“One in which the author/authors are clearly knowledgeable about music new and old.” – Stuck Records
“One that unearths the occasional hidden gem.” – Thrill Pier [via Burywood a few weeks ago]
And those criteria exclude Nick Thinks, Hardcore For Nerds, etc, which are some of the best, just because they don’t conform to generic categories.
January 6th, 2010 @ 2:31 pm
Speaking of which. I miss http://annierhiannon.blogspot.com/ . T’was Tumblr that killed Irish blogging!
Who is this Una Mulley guy anyway?
Scene but not Herd, innit.
January 6th, 2010 @ 2:59 pm
Without any interest in getting personal at all here, I think it was a bad idea for Una to do this post because it really just highlights how much blogging has changed over the past 1-2 years – shown in the way that commenters are unafraid to bash the woman’s blog, and her blog reading habits, for being self-important/dull/subpar etc. The ‘blogosphere’ isn’t quite so backslapping and selfcongratulatory as it used to be, really, and I think that’s shown in the way that nowadays, more people only read blogs if they’re interesting, not out of a bizarre and morbid curiosity like we used to.
Irish blogging isn’t dead. I say this as a consummate Irish blogger who is most definitely not involved in any kind of blogging community in the country. I don’t have friends whose blogs I read and comment on saying ‘omg Razzo, another brilliant post again from you’ and I don’t think people do that to me either. But the point I think you’re missing the most, Una, is that blogging (right now, although i am not sure about when you were the staples of the Irish Blogging Scene. it’s before my time really) is not about creating one or two or five definitive authoritative accounts or resources which all of us new media people sit down and read each day. It’s about a breakdown of that – about (hopefully articulate) people expressing their thoughts, opinions, beliefs etc on any range of topics in a medium where other people and interested parties can read and respond to this, creating a form of discourse which the print media is unable to give us sometimes. Blogs like yours (again I don’t mean to be getting personal here, just using it as an example of, shall we say, Blogging 1.0) didn’t manage to achieve this because it was more concerned with personal interest, Songs of the Day, interesting articles etc etc. And that’s okay. But I’d be of the opinion that that is what Twitter is for: ‘just had lunch at Fallon & Byrne with Funky Spice’, ‘wow, a video of cute pandas’, ‘read a cool article on jezebel about rape there’ – so really you guys moving from wordpress to twitter, well, that is just fine by me. it’s making way for actual genuine blogging to come through and to create a discourse that can stretch internationally, and isn’t confined to Irish interest only. it certainly doesn’t mean Irish blogging is dead, though, and to claim it does because the couple of blogs you read moved to twitter is kind of myopic and naive, really.
For further reading on the topic of ‘blogging 2.0′ I would refer you to a post I did recently here: http://ripped-knees.blogspot.com/2009/12/postmodern-guide-to-fashion-criticism.html it’s mostly related to fashion blogs but applies generally really. I am not including that for the sake of ‘getting serious blog hits’ because I don’t really care about that at all, just thought it might be relevant.
January 6th, 2010 @ 3:14 pm
@Ana K – “I think it was a bad idea for Una to do this post”. When is something that starts a debate and decent arguments going back and forth and people thinking about points and articulating them ever a bad idea?*
A piece of opinion is just that. I believe everything that I wrote, and stick by it, and encourage debate, although I do think that some people are taking themselves (and indeed, myself) a bit to seriously.
If anything, this post has entertained/occupied a few people for a few minutes.
*apart from the pointless slagging.
January 6th, 2010 @ 3:20 pm
But what’s the point in starting a debate and claiming you stick by your original beliefs if you’re not going to continue to engage in actual debate with people who might disagree with you? Or are you okay with just skirting the whole ‘debate’ end of it by just claiming everyone is taking it too seriously?
January 6th, 2010 @ 3:43 pm
I’ve engaged with it as much as I want to. I’m not going to glue myself to the post all day!
People are entitled to their own opinions, why should I counter each one?
January 6th, 2010 @ 3:49 pm
I suppose that’s fair enough. it’s hardly ‘encouraging debate’ though.
to this end, if anybody does want to debate the topic with me instead of una, feel free. I have no plans for the rest of the afternoon
January 6th, 2010 @ 4:05 pm
Ok then:
it’s making way for actual genuine blogging to come through and to create a discourse that can stretch internationally, and isn’t confined to Irish interest only.
So what went before wasn’t actual genuine blogging? What was it?
January 6th, 2010 @ 4:14 pm
I don’t want to put a defined limit on what ‘blogging’ is because that is silly (and perhaps i was silly to throw around terms like ‘actual blogging’ in the first place) but I don’t think posting about what you did last night and oh look here is a viral video sensation, a panda sneezing, a song i played last night – the kind of stuff people use twitter for now – is comparable to the kind of stuff we are seeing from people like eoinbutler.com, onavery.blogspot.com. People use blogging as a platform and a medium to communicate something more than ‘stuff to pass the hours in the office’ now I think – I know I certainly do, whether people who read my blog read it in that way I don’t know. – and that’s what is so brilliant about blogging right now I think: that it can foster something a bit deeper and encourage, as Una stated, some actual debate and discourse that’s more than silly shouting matches and slaggings. I know I use my blog to investigate issues and debates I’m fascinated by, and to get feedback from readers about these issues.
That said, to an extent I don’t know what I am talking about. Yeah, I did read Una’s blog for a fair whack of time but this is maybe my third time ever on twentymajor and I’ve never ever read Rick’s blog at all, ever. And I’m confident that you all have more readers than I could ever have, so maybe I’m doing it wrong and Una is right after all.
January 6th, 2010 @ 4:17 pm
oh and i mentioned the two blogs i mentioned there because they were the first Irish blogs that sprung to mind that I read regularly and am interested in from this perspective
January 6th, 2010 @ 4:22 pm
Again this comes down to trying to define blogging as one thing though, doesn’t it? Sneezing pandas have just as much relevance to the people who like sneezing pandas as well written essays do to those who like them.
Blogging has always encouraged acutal debate and discourse, for as long as I’ve been doing it anyway. It’s not a new thing. Maybe the scene is a bit more mature, which is natural, but there’s always been more to it than slanging matches.
As others have pointed out though it’s a medium through which people communicate and as with any other like-minded people will find themselves in the same places, agreeing with the same things etc. So those who love sneezing pandas will like blogs that post sneezing pandas.
And readership figures don’t make anybody’s point of view any more or less relevant, so fire away.
January 6th, 2010 @ 4:23 pm
maggot wrote ‘Why should blogging be any different to the rest of human experience – most people DON’T have opinions worth listening to in real life.’
This may well be the most profound statement on both internet and blogosphere I’ll ever see.
January 6th, 2010 @ 4:33 pm
The blogosphere must be dead or at least the popculture aspect must be, least we forget the irish blog award popculture ‘winning’ site hasn’t existed for the past ages.
Where shall we get our fix for photos of cakes that look like other stuff?
How certain people can throw up a post about quitting blogging, post the link all over twitter and then ‘seriously didn’t think anyone would notice, let alone write an article spurred by it.’. It’s cringe inducing.
If I, or anyone else for that matter, wants black and white obscure photos of someone else’s holidays go to flickr or suck a tail pipe.
Pop culture has gone to shit. And not because of the loss of these mongrel blogs. But it is that time of year, the run up to the IBA where someone has to say something ‘to spark debate’ . . .
January 6th, 2010 @ 5:01 pm
People, people, people. Una is not ‘engaging in the debate’ because she hasn’t got the opinion to back it up. Why? Because it is someone else’s opinion. So when she says that she’s too busy to continue the debate (which she may well be), it means that she has run out of things to say and has been backed into a corner by other peoples’ points. What’s the point of putting an opinion out there if you’re not going to stay and fight your corner? Or is it just a case of wanting a bit of attention for writing a ‘controversial’ post. Ahhh, it’s the ‘being famous’ thing again, isn’t it?
So this is what happened: you said ‘I wish I had a blog to blog the reasons I think Irish bloggers are quitting blogging’ and Twenty offered you the platform to do so. The problem is that if it had been your own ‘blog’, you would have had 100 sycophantic comments saying ‘Gosh, Una, you are SO right, and by the way, where did you get those Nike trainers?’ and you counted on the same happening here. Instead, people called you out on your ill informed and small minded rant, and you can’t take it. Isn’t that right?
January 6th, 2010 @ 6:04 pm
Ah, Simon, Simon, Simon, whatever points you have (however valid they may have been), you have entirely negated them by being really petty, at the end of the day.
For what it’s worth, my take on this is a little nyeh. People blog because they like blogging; as far as I’m concerned there is no “Irish blogosphere”. There are blogs, some of which are Irish, and some of which are good – not always the same “some”. I read a lot of US blogs, but that’s more because of my field of interest (fashion, which, for the record, isn’t catered for very well in Ireland, but that could be said for the industry as a whole) than because I think the quality of Irish blogs is any worse.
I do think this is all a little weak though; Irish blogs are shit, except these five – oh and I read my mates’ blogs because they’re my mates. They’re all valid points but nothing more than a personal opinion, which I know has been admitted but it hasn’t really been acknowledged that if you’re going to do a big “Irish blogging is over” post, you need to have a bit more to back it up than “this is my opinion”.
Also, this checking out malarkey is also a bit crap – as is the whole “I’m just trying to start a debate; people are taking this too seriously”. I think this only got interesting because people took it seriously, and if you want people not to take it seriously then presumably the time, place, forum etc means you expected the C-word to be fired at you a lot?
Oh and Annie, you’re spot on, and come back to storytelling. We’ve all missed you. (Is this backslapping or is it opinion; am I creating a new blogosphere?!!)
January 6th, 2010 @ 6:31 pm
I really don’t understand why Una would, as a guest, use the platform of one of Irelands most internationally reknowned blogs to blog on the death of the blog. Then scarper when the backlash reveals itself to be of tsunamic proportions.
This is entirely ridiculous, and any worthy point made in the original article has lost weight because of it.
January 6th, 2010 @ 8:14 pm
“When is something that starts a debate and decent arguments going back and forth and people thinking about points and articulating them ever a bad idea?”
Yet, the most prominent response we’ve gotten from you is that all the comments are a pointless attempt at slagging you. Engaging? Non.
January 6th, 2010 @ 8:35 pm
The clique aspect of blogging is and always will be there. The fact that Una casts such a wide statement as the medium being ‘dead’ when all she ever claimed to read was a select number of blogs she deemed cool just because the authors were claim to some sort of ‘online celebrity’.
Maybe Rick just didn’t have the time to blog, what with all the self promotion and voting several thousand times for himself in the Annual Awards for ‘Sexiest DJ’s Voice’. That’s of course when his minions weren’t doing it for him. You just made me cry, dude. Really.
Now if you will excuse me I’m off to delete my facebook account because I don’t have enough real friends on there.
January 6th, 2010 @ 9:34 pm
Annie’s comments are the funniest things I’ve read (on a blog or elsewhere) in while.
January 6th, 2010 @ 9:36 pm
“in A while”. Jesus. Stupid fucking wine.
January 6th, 2010 @ 10:17 pm
[...] We are all individuals Bit of a kirfuffle over at Twenty. [...]
January 7th, 2010 @ 10:42 am
I’m just wondering if Irish Blogging died when My Little Piebald slagged off Una and then, displaying no sense of humour, she freaked out and started a daily mail style name and shame campaign,soon after which she packed in her blog… was that when it died?
January 7th, 2010 @ 11:05 am
Irish blogging isn’t dying. It’s just too Dub-centric, and the opinions which go with that label don’t seem to be holding people’s attention.
January 7th, 2010 @ 11:42 am
F-Man, I doubt it, seeing as nobody read My Little Piebald anyway.
January 7th, 2010 @ 12:22 pm
I really hope someone nominates this post for a blog award.
Maybe there is no blogosphere, maybe I am guilty of ‘trending’ something – although if you can’t make a timely comment about something, then…
and maybe I haven’t ‘engaged’ enough with the debate because frankly I don’t have time/can’t be arsed dissecting every single point in every single sentence.
BUT
My point still comes back to quality of content. Everyone is entitled to blog, as much as everyone is entitled to express an opinion about blogging, but I guess I’m just generally disappointed with the quality of content of Irish blogs. I think all the points I made in the original post are valid. It’s just my opinion, don’t freak out about it!
Ok, right, work.
January 7th, 2010 @ 12:28 pm
Context.
https://twitter.com/rickoshea/status/7474068773
Shock. Horror.
When you dedicate December to clicking a vote button for yourself I should hope you would hang your head in shame.
January 7th, 2010 @ 1:06 pm
Um, someone who rates Perez Hilton ain’t got a leg to stand on when it comes to “quality”.
Also, did you actually stop typing to make ‘lame American quote marks’ in the air when you typed that?
January 7th, 2010 @ 2:25 pm
It depends what you’re blogging for. I’ve been blogging for nigh on a decade (check archive.org) while studiously avoiding search engines and blogrolls, mainly as an easy way to let friends/family know what I’ve been up too as I rambled about the known world or just to share links. It was easier than sending emails to people who didn’t want to read them. In this respect my blog lost its point as twitter and facebook allowed me stay ‘ambiently intimate’ with my nearest and dearest. It was frankly a bit arrogant to expect them to visit a special magic website to see what I was up to when there is a much better website to do the job where everyone else was too. Personal blogging is dead, its now just called updating your status loads on facebook.
From a professional point of view I think it still has a role in the same way artists have portfolios, directors have showreels and would be talking heads need their talking head places.
One caveat:social networks come and go (makeoutclub,friendster,myspace,livejournal and even BBSs) a blog or personal website can be a useful single point of contact in a dispersed world.
January 7th, 2010 @ 5:00 pm
Point well made Nay :)
I’m looking forward to reading your blog as well
Cheers
“There are 10 types of people who can read binary”
January 7th, 2010 @ 5:27 pm
Mulley responding to a tickle with a punch <<< Hah. Worth reading just for that. And his bitchy response on his own blog goes to show just how true it is.
January 8th, 2010 @ 1:00 am
I’ve never liked the term “blogger” and would much prefer “people-who-write-stuff-on-the-internet”, except it isn’t as catchy.
So nearly a great post Una, until a hint of meanness, seemed to creep in at the end of the post and then again later in one of your comments.
You were well off the mark when you suggested that people blog to further some other ambition. The bloggers I read, and have met, are genuinely interested in getting their post out there for the sake of it’s intrinsic content and are not thinking “geez, if I write this then maybe it’ll lead to a career in X”.
Your comment; “most blogs – Irish or otherwise – are badly written by people who don’t have opinions worth listening to”, – that’s an enormous unsupported global generalised attack with the get-out clause of the qualifier “most” – a format found in the Myers manual in shit-stirring. Don’t be too surprised if you ruffle some feathers as some may mistake such forthright opinion for arrogant superiority.
January 8th, 2010 @ 9:11 am
Just because some of the elders of the blogosphere have moves on doesn’t mean that blogging in Ireland is in disarray. That is pure over-simplification.
As a relatively new blogger I am delighted that the old order is crumbling. The cliques that intimidated many of us getting started are breaking down and it is a much more open and inviting community of people. Sure there are egos, but there were always people pitching themselves in exaggerated terms.
As for quality; Una you need to get out more. There are a he’ll of a lot more bloggers out there than when you were blogging and many of them are of excellent quality – written by people with genuine expertise in what they are writing about.
January 8th, 2010 @ 9:24 am
[...] blogging is dead as some people are claiming and Twitter is microblogging which is short little bursts of mostly [...]
January 8th, 2010 @ 1:03 pm
I tweet about blogs and tweeting, I blog about twitter and tweeting and blogging, I sometimes tweet and blog about the same blog or blog and tweet about the same tweet, or follow a twitterer after reading their blog or tweet a blogger after following their tweet – but somehow it all makes sense.
January 9th, 2010 @ 1:51 am
[...] season (in last place, despite high expectations) has spiralled into farce thanks to an armed stand-off which was sparked by game of cards and an unpaid [...]
January 9th, 2010 @ 7:35 pm
(An Irish Gawker would be an electronic form of the Sindo Life magazine.)
That’s a slur on Gawker’s standards to compare it to the Sindo.
Anyways, I find myself just regularly reading the Cedar Lounge (for the debates) and IrishEconomy (for the comedy) these days from the Irish blogs, with some Twenty now and then. No real interest in any of the rest of them.
But I’m still reading the same US blogs that I have been for the past decade; Eschaton, TPM, Pharyngula, Crooked Timber, Deltoid (as well as the multitude of boring tech ones).
I think that those who say that the quality issue is at the root of the Irish problem are correct.
January 10th, 2010 @ 12:45 pm
Because I’m just too lazy to type something new on this topic I’ll just copied something I previously said on this topic:
said…
I don’t think that there is a demise in blogging but that it’s going through a shape-shift. Off the cuff remarks and shout-outs have moved to Twitter, Facebook etc which is exactly where they should be. Blog-post might be less frequent but quality overall is improving. I follow about 150 blogs through Bloglines and that number increases every week. One area that’s going through a great growth are the milblogs coming out of areas such as Iraq & Afghanistan. Also apps like Qik give one a great tool to increase the attractiveness of a blog.
Twitter etc. can also be used a method to bring traffic to a blog by tweeting teaser or taglines with a link back to the blog.
I really think that the quality of blogging is only improving.
January 11th, 2010 @ 4:53 pm
@EWI – An Irish Gawker would have no choice but to become the Sindo Life magazine. Showbiz coverage in Ireland tends to revolve around non-Irish celebrities; an Irish Gawker would have to do likewise, and the only platform that similarly obsesses over Irish non-entity celebs is the Life mag. Imagine what Xposé would be like if it could only talk to Irish celebs and that’s what you’ve got.
January 12th, 2010 @ 1:06 am
[...] I might be too late – as some doom merchants are warning of an end of days scenario for Irish [...]
January 12th, 2010 @ 10:31 am
[...] remember that kerfuffle on the death of blogging over at Twenty’s gaff? Jim Carroll has a great post today on his thoughts about [...]
January 12th, 2010 @ 11:54 pm
@ Gav Reilly:
I’m certain that you’re right. Luckily, I’ve no idea what “Xposé” is (now if only I could hynotise myself into forgetting that that fat bastard Brendan O’Connor exists, I’d be happy)
January 14th, 2010 @ 2:18 pm
Well this was great! It fairly killed an hour for me so thanks to all involved.
All I’ll say is that there is an awful lot of shite on the Internet and there are some brilliant sites. The same can be said for blogs. If you don’t like a blog don’t read it. If you find that there is no blog catering for your interests, make one and do it yourself.
I didn’t realise that you had to have a gimick or something particularly important to offer the country when you blog anyway.
If there are Irish people blogging then blogging is not dead.
January 14th, 2010 @ 8:57 pm
[...] is, as we all know, dead. Deeeaaaddddddd! Face-down dead in a pool of digital sick. Chunks of spewed code coating the [...]
January 15th, 2010 @ 11:25 am
UnaRocks was shite and so is Una Mullally’s pointless column in the Tribune; so why, when she’s obviously just looking for attention, are we heeding her ‘this just came into my head.. a-la Carrie Bradshaw’ musings.
January 15th, 2010 @ 10:46 pm
[...] better time to get serious about my blog than the week after this appeared. The earth-shattering news that the Blog as we know it is over. Ah [...]
January 16th, 2010 @ 11:32 pm
[...] are people that suggest blogging is dead, but we don’t agree of course, and neither do the Irish Blog Awards who are looking for your [...]
January 17th, 2010 @ 1:19 pm
[...] of bloggers have complained that the rise and rise of Twitter has lead to backlinks drying up, with folks preferring to tweet rather than link now, and I agree – to a point. In my opinion the increased exposure can in some cases lead to [...]
January 18th, 2010 @ 1:02 pm
[...] a communication medium that is dead. Or so we’ve been told, most notably in a post on Twenty Major’s blog by Una Mullally, ex-blogger and Sunday Tribune columnist, stating that some of the few blogs that [...]
January 20th, 2010 @ 11:33 am
[...] For the past few days the Internet has been telling us that the medium of Blogging, and especially Irish Blogging is now dead. Well maybe not quite dead but certainly forced into a retirement home by the very kids that it had [...]
January 29th, 2010 @ 9:57 am
[...] was a piece in Forbes the other day about the death of blogging which links to the post Una did on here which sparked so much debate. They used the Sunday Times piece from a few weeks previously to back [...]
February 3rd, 2010 @ 6:03 pm
[...] John Burns wrote a piece lamenting the shortcomings of blogging in Ireland. Leading bloggers naturally begged to differ. A month later, the spat was picked up by Trevor Butterworth writing on [...]
February 20th, 2010 @ 12:22 pm
[...] Twenty Major: On Irish Blogging Being Over [...]
February 22nd, 2010 @ 8:42 pm
Agree with much of what Una has said, some the resulant invectives invoked seem a bit over the top, though ironically enough I never read her own blog so no idea what she was about “in her day”.
It is nice to have an audience but sometimes there is a pressure inside to write, to get things down on paper. I used to forever have scraps of paper and a pencil in my pockets and frantically jot down ideas before I “lost” them, blogging is great for that, it gives you a window to let it all out, sometimes just to get it off your chest so you can breathe again. Initially you write for yourself but definitely something changes when you get an audience. You begin to feel responsible. A duty to ensure posts are up to par. Like you can’t throw out any old rubbish because you have an obligation to your readers to produce quality. And that does take time, it does take effort and it can mean you do it less frequently. I agree twitter provides an immediate escape valve in between.
In terms of the criticims levelled, there can be insularity on the blogosphere sometimes and I think there is inevitably a clique of sorts in place. Probably not unlike the mainstream media in fact, although perhaps as Una says, a little less fratricidal, for the time being anyhow. There can be an irrational fear of criticism – a “with us or against us” mentality. A reservation expressed about one platform choice or a comment on the limitations of another can be read as a complete disavowal of the medium. Example at one point in 08 or early 09 I remember questioning the usefulness of FaceBook as a campaign tool – was shot down by a few who felt I somehow ‘didnt get it’ – FaceBook rolled out changes to their apps addressing exactly the issues I had been highlighting only a few months later. If someone starts pointing at the emperor it needn’t always mean he’s naked – maybe he is just wearing odd socks – and isn’t it normally better to know?
On a tangenital note, I had a long train journey last Saturday morning and I ran to pick up a copy of the Irish Times before boarding. My mate and travelling companion looked at me aghast – “Its on your iPhone, what are you doing?”. Sure there are Sunday mornings when a web roundup will give me all I need and negate the need for a paper run. But in the main – though I blog, I tweet, I FB (etc .. ) – shock horror – I like the print stuff too. It’s not always a contest.
March 10th, 2010 @ 3:43 pm
[...] The Frontline. Online, we had the shitstirring post. This year, Twenty held one when he hosted Una’s post. Agree with Una’s thesis or not, the comments were punches left and right sometimes more [...]
March 20th, 2010 @ 4:56 pm
[...] and are seen as influential in shaping opinion. While bloggers do like to take some time out to talk about themselves, they do also talk about things that really matter, including autism, religious patronage of [...]
April 1st, 2010 @ 11:07 am
[...] been a lot of talk in the past few months about the death of blogging, sparked primarily by a piece that Una Mullaly wrote for Twenty’s blog. I’d talked with Damien on it and agreed that a news report would a good way of opening the [...]