Here is the real story in blogs for 2005 – not their importance but their sale to interests or operation for particular agenda. Consider this post today by Darren Broadfoot:
One of the companies I’m involved with is looking for a particular kind of blogger for a new contract. Jeremy puts it better than I can:
Okay, we’re in need of a new blogger for a confidential client project. It requires a very specific type of person. For lack of a better word, we need someone who’s able to post 3-4 posts a day of the wacky variety. I don’t mean daffy duck kind of wacky, but more like Fark or CollegeHumour kind of wacky.
It’s a 3-month gig to start with. If you’re responsible, familiar with the blogosphere and passionate about blogging.
Consider too that tourist industry of PEI has hired an internet consultant. 2005 will be the year, all under the guise of “the passion for blogging”, that we learn more and more that political blogs are paid for by political parties, that product friendly posts and comments are made by producers and their staff, that gurus are merrily making a good buck at “future forecasting” exactly in the direction of the thing they have already figured out, that pyjamastan is riper for corruption than other media due to its trendiness and de-centralization.
Upon review, I am sure that Darren’s client’s gig is a good one as long as you can be “wacky”, Bittmanesque. It just now needs another name…like “$logging”…perhaps “flogging”¹.
¹[Ed.: Please everyone note that I coined “flogging” because I know someone in France or California posted it last week and is starting to get famous for it.]