The HuffPo Wars as Spectactor Sport

by Little Miss Attila on April 13, 2011

Stacy remarks, “I’m a victim, too! Where’s my money?” Then he looks for the popcorn, and makes . . . um, Stalingrad jokes.

Glenn links. Eugene implores, “Commenters — Please Don’t Sue Us for Shamelessly Exploiting You.”

But, you know: I suspect that they were all being just a bit sardonic.

I’m not: send me more money, boys–or I will stop shamelessly exploiting actresses in their 20s and 30s whom I haven’t even met, by displaying their pics on this site. And, you know–a picture is worth a thousand words.

That’s right, kids: no more cheesecake unless I see the rest of my Arianna green for the first half of April.

After that, I’m taking requests.

{ 5 trackbacks }

What Searches Are Bringing People Here? 4-13-11 | POWIP
April 13, 2011 at 5:24 am
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }

Robert Stacy McCain April 13, 2011 at 8:00 am

Having never seen (or heard of) that HuffPo blogging book before, I notice that its suggestions include “getting noticed” and “finding your voice.” This indicates the book’s target readership as people who (a) want to be “noticed,” but (b) aren’t sure what to say or how to say it.

A blogger is not more important than his subject matter. Everyone wants to be noticed, but the egocentric perspective — “People should read what I write, because I wrote it” — misguides the would-be blogger’s attention. If one is blogging about news and current events, then the selection of subjects presented is nearly as important as whatever it is one writes about those subjects.

What is demanded, in other words, is what journalists call “news judgment.” So it’s not just a matter of how snarky you are, or whether your opinions are “correct,” but rather how well your blog serves as a source of news. Finding the stories you’ll link, determining which sections of those stories to highlight in blockquotes — this business is arguably more important than “finding your voice,” whatever the hell that means.

Writing is not a skill so rare that your mere ability to compose grammatical sentences guarantees you a living as a professional writer. And opinions are proverbially common. Fine, then: You have have opinions and can compose English prose, but this does not necessarily qualify you for a career as a pundit. And if “getting noticed” is your goal, why would you chose an occupation that consists mainly of spending long hours alone in front of a computer?

(OK, now, Attila: That’s about 250 words and, even if you only pay 4 cents a word, you now owe me $10. )

Reply

Robert Stacy McCain April 13, 2011 at 8:06 am

I see that I accidentally repeated a word. Therefore, deduct one “have” from the total submitted. And the invoice amount now comes to $9.96.

Reply

Datechguy April 13, 2011 at 8:55 am

It is very interesting to note the media reaction on this story and it doesn’t favor “labor”

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