Saturday, January 04, 2003

Are we a blog community? After seeing a disappointing movie tonight (Punch Drunk Love), I came home and found for relaxation I was puttering around the salon blogs.  Although I am far less interactive with other Salon bloggers than many, I feel there is a community here—I just wonder how to describe it.   I wish there was a demographic survey of the salon bloggers.  Would I like to know what percentage are writers? Under 30? Have kids at home?—or is this just an attempt to capture the whole without taking the time to read.   My favorite blog is not on Salon at all—it is talk left.  I was surprised to learn tonight that Jeralyn Merritt is something of a legal TV personality and commentator.  What I like about the blog is first, it is very informative about things I care deeply about,  and second, she writes with obvious passion and conviction.  She also writes copiously—so there is almost always something new.  I am sure LexisNexis is helpful for that.   I see the Salon bloggers as well connected and part of a larger community of writers, commentators, and just ordinary bloggers—virtually all the long-standing salon blogs actively relate and participate in the wider blogging arena.   So, the appeal of the Salon community is not its inward, self-reflective nature, but its outward looking character.   But there is a a process of self-selection in writers attracted to Salon.  I am here because I like the publication and many of its writers, and I feel it provides a supportive atmosphere to explore the political things I care about.  For example, I particularly liked Anne Lamott’s Life column today about her feelings doing something against the war.    But I realize there are a whole group of writers who seem to want nothing to do with “politics” in the nerdy sense- i.e. like Susannah Breslin (RCB)  and Kat Donohue (Actual Size) and many others.  Here the connection is a sense of tolerance and support for non-corporate, non-consumer lifestyles, a sense that people are interesting and worth something.  Those empowered to think and pursue all their own interests, whether sex, cooking, music, fiction or criticism—view America and its people as real—they don’t see a country of mall-ified fast food junkies glued on their couches in front of Fox TV.    In fact the real common denominator of salon blogs may be that we choose to write rather than watch TV—and who we write about it is much more interesting.  With all due respect to RCB, I don’t know who watches all those cable shows—but then I am not in LA.   I hope to get to know everyone better, and though I’m not in the Bay Area someone’s idea of a Bay Area party for salon bloggers sounds great.  I am sure it would get written up in a dozen different ways. 12:09:10 AM   comment []

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