The ‘Traffic’ Of Sensationalism
August 23, 2008, Matthew Good You’re all aware of my paralyzing fear of the ‘right-wing’ blogophere. In fact, I’m bemused by the polarization of political ideologies in North America full stop. Right-wing this, leftist that – neither of them actual representations of what is traditionally considered leftist or truly right-wing. Vladimir Lenin was a leftist and Augusto Pinochet was quintessentially right-wing, and the ideologies of both come nowhere close to being found in what is commonly referred to as ‘leftist’ or ‘right-wing’ by North American standards. Sure, there are some extremists out there, but the for the most part the idioms that are currently employed are inaccurate. In truth, North Americans are predominantly centrists that just happen to slip ever so slightly to either side.
Mind you, sensationalism sells, and nowhere will you find bigger oceans of sensationalized tripe than the ‘right-wing’ blogopshere. Traffic stats, attacks initiated to up traffic - it’s more the promotion of self than ideas, which speaks to the inability of many that employ such tactics to form substantial arguments. In truth, much of the ‘right-wing’ blogosphere is replete with authors that simply post a hyperlink or two and don’t actually provide any substantial voice with regards to subject matter. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule, but for the most part ‘right-wing’ blogs tend to be link aggregators and little more. They lay in wait for someone out there to link them and then their faithful lapdogs go to work.
In the past I have made the mistake of linking to various ‘right-wing’ blogs and in each instance was attacked soon after. The convolution provided by ignorance is a powerful tool. When it shows up in force attempting to counter it is as pointless as trying to reverse the tides.
Unlike many websites, we don’t display a stat counter. To our detriment we’re a bit too web savvy, employing a very comprehensive back-end system that displays in-depth statistics regarding the site that is only viewable by administrators. Unlike ‘StatCounter’ you have to pay for it, and unlike StatCounter it produces significantly more reliable statistics – even more so than Technorati rankings, Alexa rankings, and so forth. In the end, we’re not in the ‘hits’ business, we’re in the ‘content’ business, and the authors of this website focus on producing just that – actual content.
I recently came across a very well written piece by North Vancouver’s Raphael Alexander which I found refreshing and very accurate. It is not only topically interesting, but also provides and example of what occurs when a ‘right-wing’ blog is called out for what it is – or a ‘liberal’ blog for that matter.
In the end, with all of them hiring lawyers, threatening to sue one another, and acting like children, one wonders what the point is? Perhaps it’s so that they can lure their readers into supporting their ‘defense funds’ and thereby gain a few nanoseconds on the local news.
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And again I ask you, when I navigate to this page are you able to see the porn site I had just been visiting?
ps i’m in it for the hits…i want to do blog drugs of the blog breasts of blog groupies in my blog penthouse.
What is this news you speak of? As it seems like news to most people tends to be something with no substance.
In fact when you mention “substance” they wil probably think you are reffering to drugs in some way, and react to it in some manner that will make no sense.
Plus have you seen those who flaunt their ratings all the time? I mean on TV you hear about ratings all of the time. Fox News being one that I notice will tend to do that the most. You know, because if you can get the most idiots to view your page, well you have money, and the more money you have, the better you are.
Although I don’t think content is something many eople really care about. You could but the most idiotic thing on a post or on TV, and if they agreed with some of the ideals behind it or the author, well you got yourself a winner.
[quote comment="62890"]And again I ask you, when I navigate to this page are you able to see the porn site I had just been visiting?
ps i’m in it for the hits…i want to do blog drugs of the blog breasts of blog groupies in my blog penthouse.[/quote]
Well as long as you don’t buy the BlogBoy Mansion
[quote comment="62890"]And again I ask you, when I navigate to this page are you able to see the porn site I had just been visiting?
ps i’m in it for the hits…i want to do blog drugs of the blog breasts of blog groupies in my blog penthouse.[/quote]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-TA57L0kuc <–for you. :)
If you haven’t noticed we have been on a downward spiral for years.
It seems to be just about making money and the end of every day. Truth backed by fact no longer exists for the most part. Those that actually employ those two simple tools don’t tend to “sell” anywhere. If it isn’t sensational it doesn’t make mainstream.
We live in a world of grey and I despise it. Values we used to rely upon are hard to come by. We could go on and on with examples we all experience daily.
Until people start to take responsibility for themselves and do what is just we will thrive on what is fed to us. I gave up on newspapers and television years ago. I never even bothered with the internet until recently when I began visiting this blog.
This blog isn’t perfect nothing is but it is a refreshing stop for me most mornings. Do I agree with everything posted here - no. Have I and others spoke out of turn on topics here - yes. That is human nature. Discussion here is civil for what I have read - and fun - kind of like hanging out in your favourite bar socializing with people you have met. I didn’t come here to pick someone up for the evening I came to talk and try to solve the worlds problems! Hehe.
Long story short I agree - you are doing a better job here than most and it is a pleasure to visit.
Peace :)
Lenin and Pinochet were “O.G.”. All the “right/left wingers” in the U.S. are wannabes.
Now if you’ll excuse me I have to get back to barely18.com
[quote comment="62890"]And again I ask you, when I navigate to this page are you able to see the porn site I had just been visiting?
[/quote]
Only, I think, if a link from the porn site is what you clicked to get here. So unless you’re visiting MGwang.com, you’re probably safe.
i’ll have to check…
I read all of Raphael’s article and then subsequently skimmed around his blog and pretty much discovered that while he says a lot of things, where’s the real value of it? I mean, really, he said nothing but bash a couple of names. He claims these people don’t stand for actual “conservative ideals”. What are conservative ideals and who actually gives a shit? (this goes for both sides, not just conservatism) I don’t really care for him at all, because in the end he’s just as bad as the rest of them, resorting to feuding and name-bashing.
Note: I’m not defending the people that he’s calling out, I’m just saying that he’s not much better in terms of insanity.
Acting like children… that’s exactly right. It’s high school-type drama, pure and simple. I read the blog you linked to and surfed around a few of the links it provided and now have an instant headache. The ugliness is shocking. The holocaust prank was particularly delightful. I have always hated those who use the shock factor to garner a greater audience, and those who tune in “just to see what they’ll say next” have completely fallen for the trap. I feel like I need a shower now.
Don’t you EVER feel you have to justify the existence of this site. OK, for sure I don’t always understand some of the posts – Matt is way, way too far above my head for that, but…I wouldn’t want this to change for the world…
Matt, you do Canada proud with this blog: you are respected both by fans of your music and readers from inside and out of Canada AND ; I’d love to think you did the whole world proud…trouble is, they ain’t ALL listening right now sweetheart…