One of the aspects of the world wide web which has made the medium the fastest growing is the opportunity to share information, thoughts and opinion without censorship, at least outside those countries (usually with title of the "Peoples Democratic Republic of ...") whose governments actively control speech.
No wonder the Internet has governments everywhere rather concerned - and media moguls such as Rupert Murdoch trying desperately to figure out how to make people pay for all this 'free' speech.
Particularly since the advent of WYSIWYG editors, publishing on the Internet, through blogs, is now available to anyone with a modicum of familiarity with word processing programs.
It also has an etiquette all of its own, in which fools who persist in foolish behaviour often find themselves either flamed or even more mercilessly lampooned.
Such is the case with former Sydney Morning Herald journalist Margo Kingston. Arguably one of the first MSM bloggers in Australia, her Fairfax sponsored Web Diary has been online since 2000.
Filled with all of the airy fairy, leftie nonsense that tends to inhabit the rarefied atmosphere of newsrooms and universities, Margo sadly believes the rules that apply to newspapers also applies equally to the Internet. One such rule is supplying a real name to letters to the editor, or in this case, comments to main posts.
Coming from a newspaper background Margo and her team of 16 technical and administrative staff (sorry, team. Staff infers a class-based hierarchy) fail to see the fundamental difference in this medium.
Blogging and commenting on blogs requires a level of bravery. Expect your preconceptions to be challenged - perhaps pleasantly, perhaps not so. In this land your commenters have equal rights - either directly through comments or through 'Watch' sites such as MooreWatch.
The pseudonyms on the web are used for the very same reason why 19th century authors Ellis, Currer and Acton Bell (better known as Elizabeth, Charlotte and Anne Bronte) and George Eliot (lesser known by her real name Mary Ann Evans) employed them - to prevent preconceptions (in their case based on gender) detracting from their message.
This is a part of the Internet that Margo still struggles with. This from her most recent post:
When the technical people sent their design for the Webdiary page, I was horrified that they'd included my email address. I'd got a silent home number after receiving hate snail mail and abusive phone calls while covering the Wik legislation and Pauline Hanson's 1998 federal election campaign, and the last thing I wanted was to invite an onslaught. Get used to it, Tom said. Interactivity is the future.
The first entry began: "Welcome to my Canberra diary. I'm allowed to say what I think whenever I like, and lucky you can interact if you like. The downside for this indulgence is that all the words stay forever so I can be judged for my sins." (Welcome to my diary...and now for the GST)
It's ironic, thinking back, that I was so loathe to encourage reader feedback. My experience covering Pauline Hanson had convinced me that was something very wrong with the relationship between journalists and the public they supposedly served. When would the media address our endemic disconnect with the people? And how could we do it?
Webdiary was my answer. Far from an onslaught of hate mail, interesting emails, on the topic I'd written about, other topics and the idea of interaction between journalist and reader, started rolling in. Most were so good I made the decision that would transform the page, to publish them as a matter of course.
A big plus for readers was that they could talk one on one with a journalist.
While this may have been news to journalists - that there were actually readers out there who are intelligent, thinking people - it certainly isn't to Netizens who have been engaging in lively debate on a variety of topics via message boards for the better part of a decade.
Another rule of the Internet is that you don't censor debate. By all means delete abusive posts, ban offenders or switch off the comments function altogether if you must, however the concept is not about getting the last word in. Free speech is enhanced when it is free flowing and uncensored.
9. I reserve the right to edit contributions.
Also, expect to be lampooned if you take yourself seriously. Bloggers have a great sense of humour. For instance, my favourite Margo Kingston resides here.
And certainly don't expect to make money out of blogging, in this world your opinion has the same monetary value as any other individual, whether or not you are a senior journalist.
For the majority of us here, the opportunity to share information, debate, a joke and camaraderie is payment enough - heck we'll even supply our own computer, Internet connection and formatting ability.
-- Nora
The reason why Nick and Nora's Cocktail of the Week is two days late is I've been beset by the flu and not been up to drinking more than H20. Alas!
But here is something appropriate for today's post...
Fondling Fool Recipe
Ingredients
1/2 oz. Triple Sec
1 1/2 oz. Brandy
1 oz. Madeira
Mixing Instruction
Pour the brandy, madeira wine and triple sec into a mixing glass half-filled with ice. Stir well. Strain into a cocktail glass, and serve.
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