Reflecting On Blog Critiques

I read the Spanish Exposition blog regularly and this weekend past Rosie wrote a post on the state of Irish blogging. It’s an interesting, if long post. Well written, too, but I have problems with some of what she wrote. I could have commented, but I frankly hate using the Blogger UI. It’s clunky and cumbersome.  

Criticism is good, I’m the first one to put my hand up and say that, part of dishing criticism out is keeping an open mind on what you get in return. It’s a game of give and take. So, Rosie, here’s what I think. 

I agree with Bernie in your comments, the community has grown tremendously over the past couple of years. It’s natural for niches and groups to grow in a community. Sycophantic comments and the cult of personality are just artifacts of that. And looking across your blog, I see the same names commenting on your posts. So, you just like everyone you live in your little niche. Changing this element of human nature is akin to attempting to remake the world. If anything, it suggests a God complex and is something I’m not comfortable reading, especially when one is accusing others of being subject to it. 

With blogs, one man’s meat is another’s poison. This year’s judging mechanism was the most equitable ever. Judging was performed by a group of randomly selected judges.  If judging one by their peers be enough for the Irish body of law, then shouldn’t be enough for the Irish Blog Awards? I took part in the judging like many others and I call tell you, it took days. The judging criteria included community involvement, writing quality and frequency. By knocking the winners, you are insulting the intelligence and judgement of scores of judges that took part in the process.

What people forget, is that for a winner to win an award, there are many other deserving could-bes that don’t win. Again, a pesky part of real life. I also reject your use of the term of ‘bloggers of note’. This term stinks of hyper-elitism. 

The Blog Awards show, just like Bernie says, is about the community. Remember this year four hundred people attended, but less than a third of them were nominated. The night is all about the people emerging from behind their keyboards and coming together. Talking. Interacting. The real award of the night goes to the community. People who blog just to distinguish themselves and win awards miss the point. Remember less than ten percent of the attendees win, the rest have a great time at the show, regardless. 

Disclosure: I helped out with logistics on the night of the Blog Awards show. 

June 15th, 2008 at 3:19 pm • Filed in Blogging



Comments

16 Comments to “Reflecting On Blog Critiques”

  1. Bernie Goldbach Says:
    June 15th, 2008 at 5:59 pm

    I really hesitate to comment on this post since it will probably sound like I’m an echo but one thing needs to be underscored–the Blog Awards are more about the blogs and the bloggers and less about the awards and the prizes. The blog awards were set out to be something more than an industry fan festival filled with people who nominated themselves and then won on the basis of being able to fund prizes for others the next year. A lot of people who are new to the awards programme may be missing this essential dimension.

    I’m constantly adjusting the feeds I read first because I’m always finding new voices who pleasantly surprise me with diverse perspectives on various and sundry things about Ireland, films, current affairs, technology, food and health tips. Along the way, I’m distracted by beauty aids, bar talk, and impressive photos. I think this energetic Irish blogging community continues growing because of the incentive of the awards programme and those awards need to be taken as accessories to the process of meeting real people and engaging in meaningful online communities.

    Now I sound like I’m lecturing to college students who are about to write an essay on the Irish blogging ecosystem so I’ll stop.



  2. Rosie Says:
    June 15th, 2008 at 10:51 pm

    thanks for the response, Alexia, you make some very reasonable points. i’m keeping a very open mind about what i get in return - i wrote the post to try to spark debate.

    i am aware that i am writing (if not quite living) in a niche of my own and constructive criticism and challenge would be wholly welcome there. i too was a judge for this year’s awards, and anxious to get involved and learn as much about the process as i could. i did not set out to insult the intelligence or judgement of the scores of others like me, only to challenge our approach to the awards and question whether we can use them to better serve the blogging community.

    as for ‘bloggers of note’ - i stand by what i said. my intention is not to be elitist but merely to recognise the fact that such bloggers exist - some have become household names in the blogosphere while others have not.

    the community element of blogging is fantastic and i don’t want to undermine it in the slightest. it is why i got involved, it is why i have stayed involved. not to distinguish myself, not to win awards. i apologise if my post has caused insult, i did try to keep it balanced but it is an emotive issue (blogs are such personal projects).



  3. Dan Sullivan Says:
    June 15th, 2008 at 11:17 pm

    Alexia, I would disagree in that I think that Rosie’s comments are quite reasonable and ask the straightforward question of what were the awards given for? Best Blog at doing what exactly? There was judging but outside the core no one knows how the judges were selected or what they were judging on. I also know of a few people who were never contacted about offering to judge despite there being an apparent shortage of judges and the fact that they’d been blogging since long before the awards started. Randomly selected? I’m not so sure.

    There were apparently two layers of judging but it is very unclear to the viewing public at home what the judging criteria were. And if you were someone who didn’t make thought you would tend to wonder what area of your game do you need to work or improve on to be considered whatever about winning.

    I agree with Bernie they should be primarily about fostering a sense of community but community shouldn’t be about moving towards conformity or one niche of the blogging community merely allowing the great unwashed inside the palace to see them in their glory.

    I also think (but there again I would I suppose) that the response to feedback was very strange. I posted at the time about the uneven temporal distribution of the best blog post category and repeated my suggestion from last year that some means should be available to prompt and allow people to nominate best posts throughout the year. I had identified a problem and even suggested a solution and the response? To accuse me of harassing nominees, when I had no contact with anyone. Now we have monthly blog awards so perhaps the post had some merit after all.



  4. Alexia Says:
    June 15th, 2008 at 11:40 pm

    @Rosie: Thanks for coming by to comment. Your post did provoke a lot of feeling across planet blogging. Food for thought. The essence of blogging.

    @Dan: You may see Rosie’s comments as reasonable. That is your opinion, and I’m free to have me own. Just like I blogged it.

    I said judges were randomly selected for judging blogs. That is all. So, the process by which blogs were given to judges was random. This is very different from selecting judges from people that put themselves forward for judging. Don’t you see the difference here?

    Judging criteria included those points that I called out above.

    I’m sorry. Who are these elite niche you speak of? The people who scores of judges from myriad backgrounds and niches chose to win awards. Is this ‘elite’ formed from the voice of the great ‘unwashed’ as you call them?

    And on the monthly blog post award, I believe this was publicly mooted some time before your post.



  5. Darragh Says:
    June 16th, 2008 at 12:25 am

    Alexia, thanks for posting this. More food for thought, more opportunity to improve :)



  6. Alexia Says:
    June 16th, 2008 at 12:51 am

    @Darragh: Where do see room for improvement? What did Damien do wrong?



  7. Dan Sullivan Says:
    June 16th, 2008 at 9:00 am

    Alexia, I’m not suggesting the idea was mine. Merely that I was attacked for posting about it. Nor did I suggest that you weren’t entitled to your opinion. Re: the judges I was simply pointing out that judges were selected from those who put themselves forward. We were informed repeatedly that there was a shortage of judges yet somehow there was a random selection? I think the allocation of judges was arbitrary rather than random.

    And I suspect Darragh was referring to himself when he says food for thought and opportunity to improve (though he’s perfectly able to speak for himself) but hey if people are going to view every comment as being about Damien and him only why should anyone make any comment at all.



  8. Alexia Says:
    June 16th, 2008 at 10:24 am

    @Dan: Again, you are wholly misunderstanding my words. Is this willful or are missing the point over and over again?

    What I said clearly and I will repeat, is that blogs were randomly given to picked judges, therefore eliminating niche bias for as much as possible. I don’t know how judges were selected. I don’t pretend to.

    You speculate on what Darragh is saying and then say we ought not to speculate? Let’s leave Darragh speak for himself. He’s an articulate guy. Very able to use his own voice.

    And Dan, I’m not interested my modest little patch being drawn into a turfwar. Both you and Damien are intelligent guys. Full of social conscious, moral conviction and reason. I suggest the two of you get together and resolve any outstanding differences.



  9. catching up | Irish Bloggers at David Maybury | Blog Says:
    June 16th, 2008 at 11:23 am

    [...] have takes on it too: Le Craic, Alexia, Darragh, Colm, Jazz Biscuit - and [...]



  10. Darragh Says:
    June 16th, 2008 at 1:24 pm

    Hey Alexia

    More food for thought, more opportunity to improve
    @Darragh: Where do see room for improvement? What did Damien do wrong?

    I may blog about this later but I’ll try and briefly explain my thoughts on this.

    As I said (predictably at length) on Rosie’s blog her article raises interesting points. That’s my (personal) food for thought. It’s an interesting comment and whatever the results from it or who agrees, she has a right to say it. As you say, criticism is good.

    Damien is a unique figure in the “community” and he ranges from being described as a blogging guru (which he is) to the “shining light of the irish blogosphere” which I think is a phrase open to interpretation. But there’s no denying the sheer amount of effort and work he puts in, the talent he has and so on. I have no problem proudly saying I admire the guy’s dedication and expertise and I both read his blog daily and recommend people do the same or contact him when the opportunity arises.

    Knee jerk reactions to things are always dangerous. Spammado was a good example and I said what I thought there. I just think people need to have a think about what they’ll say and the possible repercussions for same. Bandwagons are all well and good but they don’t achieve much.

    But let’s talk for a second about what “seems” to be most people’s bugbear on this - the quality of posts, people not being recognised and the awards.

    Firstly I think a lot of people just don’t “get” this topic. I could talk at length about this but the huge sprawl of comments and posts on this don’t seem to be doing justice to the original premise - people being properly recognised. People prefer to launch personal attacks without saying “okay, if this is something we can improve, how can we do so?” Calling it a war is funny, but it’s not going to achieve anything, especially for newcomers already hesitant about becoming involved and attracting criticism.

    And that’s very important. Your comment “What did Damien do wrong”? Absolutely nothing as far as I know. With limited resources, health issues, his own work and all of that he created something unique and brilliant. Damien has always been the one who “got out and pushed” and he deserves the praise he gets from doing so. I’ve only met the guy once and while he was stressed to bits from the Awards, he was still warm, friendly and welcoming. Any of the communication we’ve had online via comments or email has been professional and friendly. Admittedly I run a constant fear of pissing him off but that’s just me and I reckon he knows that :)

    But Mulley’s invited people to get involved, to help out, to suggest and whatever and that’s what people are doing. Whether or not it was inspired by him, the Kilkenny Creative Camp was a great example of how we can work together. Techludd is another one. Damien did this (I assume) because no one else was doing it and if you want something done properly… but I’m sure he’s open to help, as he was on the night of the awards with people helping out all over the place.

    On people being recognised - there needs to be more of this type of thing. How do we find out about good stuff? People tell us. Your red links, Damien’s Fluffy links, Ben’s Hairy Links and now the nominations for the best post of the month have all pointed me towards great bloggers and posts. Despite the length of my replies and posts, I don’t have enough time to spend online and find all these things. Over on Rosie’s blog she did a clever thing of a “flavour of the month”. I like that idea and I find it’s better than blogrolls because as people have said - not everyone will like someone’s blog all the time, but certain posts need recognition, recommendation and all those lovely ideas.

    The opportunity we have as bloggers who want to help this is to continue the conversation, who want to make this better and want to show that the wild accusations are without merit because all we are is people who are passionate about what we do and how we do it and want it to be as much fun and as enjoyable as possible.

    No matter who you are and what your job title or “status” is, you are, as a blogger, still someone sitting at a keyboard and typing your thoughts in the hope someone will enjoy them. You still started out tapping keys, making mistakes, trying things out. Mulley did, Grannymar did, Darren did, I still do. And that’s part of the joy of it. Trying things out, seeing if things will work.

    There’s a gulf of understanding out there (hence my “how to comment” post, which has (because I’ve been emailed) helped non commenters and bloggers get involved) and it’s why all of us helping each other with recommendations, with suggestions, with how-to and with support is what makes the “community”. The awards are appreciated and are fun, but it’s the people that make it.

    The Blog Awards were one of the best nights ever for me, not just in meeting the winners and being there, but talking to ALL the people I caught up with, I met and I stayed in touch with.

    I’ve made some very good friends and contacts in doing what I do. I enjoy it. It’s my passion and it’s probably the first time in my life I’m good at something. I want to help make it better.

    Food for thought for me as it adds to the conversation and an opportunity to improve for anyone that might feel they can help, contribute or make it better. We’re all out there.



  11. Alexia Says:
    June 16th, 2008 at 2:07 pm

    @Darragh Great comment. And quite possibly a post all in it’s own. Maybe even a series. Thanks for putting the effort into replying. I don’t know where to start now.. :)

    I believe that a lot of knee-jerking happened over the weekend. Perhaps for the good, perhaps for the ill. Whatever comes from it, at least people’s opinions are in the open and we all have a starting point to build on. Every marathon begins with a single step.

    I did not comment “What has Damien done wrong?”, I just asked a question as you commented over at Rosie’s blog and at mine that there was room for improvement. I just wanted to see what you meant by this? Who should improve and where. Do you believe that the IBA failed in recognising people who should have won? That’s why I put the question to you.

    Getting out and pushing is exactly what people should do. Our community may be a small, but could be a lot more vibrant by people getting off their behinds. I’m all for that.

    But, you see, despite this colonic the Irish Blogging collective is having over the weekend, the vast majority of Mé Féiners will sit on the sidelines. Such is life. The Jerry Maguire missal isn’t going to change the majority of people who gripe. Blame is easier to attribute than to institute change. It’s not that I’m a cynic, but entrenched opinions take time and inclusion to bring them together.

    We’re not children, Darragh, yet some of the opinions I read over the weekend were infantile.

    I would love to actually build on this and start some Blogger Coffee meets in Dublin. We all sit behind our little terminals tapping away, building out posts but we never really meet and only know each other in passing though ones and zeros. Spats like the one that kicked off over the weekend can grow like fungus in isolation, if not tended to. In the nothingness of the web. Knowing more about people opens your view of them. These spats, I believe, would be harder to start if we knew more about our colleagues.

    As a community, Darragh, this incident is rallying cry for change. I fervently hope that this does start real dialogue - firstly, about the community we aspire to having and secondly, how we can make that a reality. No one wants to live in a fractured family. Bloggers least of all.

    And yes, this topic has given me lots of food for thought also. I think a lot of people have been reflecting on this over the last while. Perhaps they would like to contribute to the community dialogue by posting ideas on how the community should grow and what they can do to make it so.



  12. Darragh Says:
    June 16th, 2008 at 2:26 pm

    (and that was a “brief” comment from me…) :-P

    We seem to be very much on the same page Alexia. I’m sorry my “room for improvement” comment was vague - I certainly didn’t mean it about the Blog Awards, because simply awards need nominations to win and if people don’t nominate a post, how are people supposed to know. One of the great things the Awards.ie blog did was list everyone short and long listed - introduced me to many great posts, regardless of the eventual winner.

    I don’t know how the IBA could have done anything better. Maybe someone can give a real response to this and we can even further improve it but my personal stance was that it rocked, big time.

    The “room for improvement” for me comes personally in my blogging and then just as you have described - by people coming together to talk about this, share experiences and expertise. That’s why Grannymar and I are talking at the Barcamp Belfast - because we may be able to help people with things they don’t know and to answer questions for them.

    One of my favourite ideas of the year so far has been the house training sessions one. I keep on meaning to set one up but silly things like work get in the way. But it’s one of those ones that has stuck with me. Again it’s all about sharing the expertise.

    e. I fervently hope that this does start real dialogue - firstly, about the community we aspire to having and secondly, how we can make that a reality.

    Said fair better and more eloquently than I could ever even aspire to. And you’re right - people have been thinking about this for a while. I’m also one of them.

    Thanks Alexia. Really like that you’re open to this conversation. :)



  13. Alexia Says:
    June 16th, 2008 at 2:54 pm

    I like the idea of house training sessions. I’d rather meet people for coffee first though.. :) Less of the axe-murderer types. I jest!

    Any reasonable person would be open to the conversation. But thanks.

    @everyone_else: Is there anyone with any constructive ideas who’d like to jump in here?



  14. Rosie Says:
    June 16th, 2008 at 3:03 pm

    unfortunately i think that people will think twice about sticking their heads above the parapet to put forward any constructive ideas after the way Damien has reacted to my effort.

    the emails i’ve received from people who didn’t want to post comments publicly on the blog bear testament to this. it’s a sorry state of affairs when people hesitate to express themselves honestly for fear of Mr. Mulley’s wrath.



  15. Alexia Says:
    June 16th, 2008 at 5:54 pm

    @Rosie That’s unfortunate. If I have a problem with someone I like going straight to the source. Preferably, in person. The web is sometimes just dead air. There’s nothing worse than picking up on something wrong, or misunderstanding someone. The web does that. Nuances are often over-interpreted. That’s why we have to be absolutely crystal in laying out our stalls.

    However, I think it only right and proper that people come out and start being straight when they hold issue with another. I’m not advocating fighting, arguing or setting this merry ship alight as we all stand on deck, but rather constructive discussion. Discussion that moves beyond secret emailing and further fragmentation of our little community. Nothing festers like unresolved anger. Nothing is so destructive as that. That’s not a community I want to be part of. I’m sure that’s not a community any one of us wants to be part of.

    We’re all just flesh and bone. I find that criticism is sometimes an offering of generosity. If we are to grow at all, we need to accept it and move one, marking it as a lesson learned. I hope that your emailing friends decide to contribute constructive ideas on how to move forward, as staying in the shadows does nothing to move debate on.

    We all ought to champion free speech and the pursuit of a good community spirit once it does not include the defamation of others, or the breaking of other legal precedents. Fear is our only limiting factor and in fact, our true enemy.



  16. Shitstorm « The Whole Curiosity Blog (prop. Rick O’Shea) Says:
    June 17th, 2008 at 10:21 am

    [...] http://golez.net/2008/06/15/reflecting-on-blog-critiques/ [...]



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