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I can't believe it's not a meritocracy

Mon Mar 12, 2007 at 09:29:08 AM EST

I while ago I suggested, half-jokingly, that I was thinking of giving up the Great Orange Megablog for Lent. That turns out to be easier said than done. And it really wouldn't serve any purpose, that I can think of. At this stage, staying away from that blog completely is only a huge inconvenience to myself -- I can't imagine how long it would take to cobble together a collection of sites that would give me the same breadth of information.

So instead I just don't link there. If I find a story that I just have to post about, I will find another source to which I can link. If the contributor has crossposted the diary on their own blog, I'll link there. Or I'll do a search and find another article on that same topic.

commentary :: :: :: buzz-it!

He's the guy who got the ball rolling by declaring "Blogroll Amnesty Day" early in February. Other big sites followed suit. I doubt that anyone needed an excuse. But when one of the Big Boys of Blogging declared that February 3 was the day that one was free to dump links off their blogrolls without feeling even a twinge of guilt...well, why the hell not? Especially if you're already kind of a jerk. So that was one of the rare times Atrios occupied any significant portion of my brainspace.

Until just a couple days ago, when I saw comments about his recent entry, "Why your blog sucks". Damn, he's got a lot of nerve. He cuts all these links from his blogroll, damaging the traffic levels and rankings of those "lesser blogs", and now he's got the nerve to start opining about how these other bloggers can "pull themselves up by their bootstraps". I refuse to link to Mr. Blogging Elite, but if you want to read what he had to say, you can select and copy the following, and paste it after the http:// in your address bar.

atrios.blogspot.com/2007_03_04_atrios_archive.html#117346952129210579

The thing is, just like in the "real world", it is easier to make money when you already have money, Atrios and other big blogs get people linking to them automatically, simply because everyone else links to them. Recently I was looking at the DNC blog, and some of the candidate blogs (the ones that actually have blogrolls), and his site was linked on all of them. Does he have to suck up and ingratiate himself for that honor? Somehow I doubt it. People who work for these campaigns most likely link to Atrios and Kos and a few others because "everybody reads them".

So forgive me if I think it's a bit disengenuous for someone who makes his living at blogging, and is in a position where people link to him, without him asking, and without expecting a link in return. Certainly he deserves credit for his success. But it's absurd to suggest that other bloggers could make it, if only they tried hard enough. That attitude among the "haves" towards those who are struggling is not something I find charming in the economic world. I certainly don't find it any more appealing when I see bloggers copping that attitude.
This post ended up being seen by more sets of eyes than I expected. Given that fact, I've decided that I need to add some links for background.

Blogrolls
It's what you do with what you've got
The Power of the Link
The Power of the Link Part 2

I can't believe it's not a meritocracy | 3 comments (3 topical, 0 hidden)

Mutual linking (5.00 / 2) (#1)

I really don't want to focus on the negative here. I suppose that post by Atrios after he was the one who initiated the blogroll dump movement ticked me off as much as it did because I've had plenty of real life experiences where that same theme is present. It's as if once you reach a certain level of success, the rules of decency no longer apply. I'm certainly not going to mention specifics, but let's just say I've had many opportunities to declare, "If I ever get in a position of power, that is not how I'm going to treat people!"

Okay, I've had this window open for well over an hour, and still can't figure out how to say what I want to stay. So I'm going back to something I posted at the Independent Bloggers' Aliance on February 28, because it sums it up better than anything else I can think to say.

At the risk of being way too adorable, I've decided to go ahead and post this Shel Silverstein poem from Where the Sidewalk Ends

I will not play at tug o'war.
I'd rather play at hug o'war,
Where everyone hugs
Instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles
And rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses,
And everyone grins,
And everyone cuddles,
And everyone wins

I think I got it in my head after reading Maryscott O'Connor's essay Wherein I Respond to the Response to the Post Article, and I was balking at the notion that, if one is afforded the opportunity to speak to and be heard by a larger audience, one is somehow obligated to speak and behave within certain acceptable parameters. Well, a big part of the reason many of us speak out, is because we do not approve of the way the media-political "game" is played. It's not making things better for ordinary people. It's not making people better able to connect with and learn about each other.

In short, powers that be, your game and its rules suck. I do not choose to spend my time and energy in a vain attempt to becoming a better player of that bullshit game. If I do find space in my life for involvement in the political process, my energies will be directed toward changing the game and how it's played.

And I think another thing that brought this poem to mind was the discussion of different approaches to linking. With mutual linking, everyone wins. Even from a purely pragmatic standpoint, it's good for all of us.

by Renee in Ohio on Mon Mar 12, 2007 at 10:47:38 AM EST

Hey, Renee! (5.00 / 1) (#2)

The Great God Himself hath linked to you here.

Bow down. KNEEL BEFORE ZOD.
-9.63, -7.03... Rage, rage against the Lying of the Right -- at My Left Wing
by Maryscott OConnor on Mon Mar 12, 2007 at 01:03:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

: Yikes (none / 0) (#3)

Really wasn't expecting that, gnat that I am. Guess I should update this post with some background links.

by Renee in Ohio on Mon Mar 12, 2007 at 05:59:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]