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There's a story over at NPR about bloggers working together to raise money for political ads.
Folks from all points of the political spectrum are upset about the recent passage of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Seems that both liberals and conservatives don't want Big Brother listening in on their phone calls. Anyway, upset about FISA, a non-partisan blog group started to raise money to run ads against politicians who voted for its passage.
Why don't things like this happen more? It would seem that on most blogs (especially political ones) you're dealing with like-minded people who already agree on issues. I'm wondering if it's the lack of anonymity that comes with making a donation.
The link in the NPR story for Jane Hamsher's blog didn't work for me, but by being interviewed she's given up any anonymity she might have. Rick Williams already blogs under his own name (with his photo next to his posts!) on his site.
What would it take for you to give up your pseudonym?
- Meghann Ackerman's blog
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Retirement...
No kiddin!!
I blog under the same name I use every day, so I guess I'll give up my pseudonym for nothing, but some people go to great lenghts to create their online aliases. Some of them will have a hard time giving up their anonimity since they use it as a shield to spew all their venum. They blog on this very blog with the rest of us. They blog among us.
Also, what blogs are you talking about where people agree? Have you read the Beaufort Gazette's blog lately?
Have a great weekend, ma'am.
I blog under the same name I use every day, so I guess I'll give up my pseudonym for nothing, but some people go to great lenghts to create their online aliases. Some of them will have a hard time giving up their anonimity since they use it as a shield to spew all their venum. They blog on this very blog with the rest of us. They blog among us.
Also, what blogs are you talking about where people agree? Have you read the Beaufort Gazette's blog lately?
Have a great weekend, ma'am.
Are you purposely trying to break a record for misspelled words in one post? You know that gets on my nerves and you are just trying to annoy me. Shame on you.
Please stick to the subjects please!!!!! Go somewhere else to bash each other.
I actually enjoy the whole school boy playground fighting that you two occasionally get into. Okay, sometimes I enjoy it! However, based on some of the comments in the last few weeks...not everyone enjoys it. Not that I figure either one of you care.
So, why don't you start a new bashing blog! And when someone wants to bash...we usually think of you two anyway...we can just go to your blog and bash away!! I think it could be fun! At least entertaining to those of us that find you guys amusing at times. And those that don't...they just won't go to that blog! And everyone can bash when and who they want!! I can see it now...TGS bashing KT, Shadows bashing UCB, Joe bashing Stoneype, nocommensence bashing (wait--where or where is nocommensence??) ...oh so many endless possiblities!!
And please neither one of you bash me for the suggestion! After all, it was just a suggestion!
Okay, how about some good title suggestions.
Meg did Bloggers United...why don't you two do...Bloggers Bash 2008? It has kind of a nice ring to it doesn't it??
Sounds good to me
Scorch--go for it! I would but I can't get any work done as it is trying to see what I might have missed! I liked your comment from earlier...you can always use that as your starting point! :)
I got a rise out of stoney!
I was making fun. I don't ever remember reading anything you've written, but I am sure you're not always on point or won't always make points that everyone else wants to hear/read, so I was just cracking on you. I guess you missed the sarcasm.
Be careful there!! Based on what truesouthener said earlier...KT might like it when you get a rise out of Stoney!! OOPS...I guess I will get berated now for non PG content. KT hates that... I think more than he/she hates misspelled words!!
C'mon maing. It's the weekend, time to chill, time to be care free. Why is everyone so hostile? Why must they encourage confrontation? Let's save that stuff for Monday.
It's been weeks since I quoted my favorite philosopher on here, but why can't we just get along?
as well as their multiple screen names. I knew it wouldn't be long before at least one of them chimed in. I'm glad it wasn't hard to draw one of them out. They're so predictibale. Thay have no point, so they go around finding a reason to say anithing because somhow they believe to be better than the rest of us simply becuase they can detekt a spelling error.
Sorry to have gotten off point. Let me try to get back before the self appointed blog police chimes in...oops...too late.
Fortunately we live in a country where we have a choice to keep our opinions, religious beliefs and political inclinations private or we are free to let them be known, or at least I’d like to think so. There's nothing wrong with anonymity, unless it's used to attack, insult and offend.
As far as who contributes to whom, that's a tricky subject. Given human nature, we're inclined to be nice to those who are nice to us, and unfortunately, politicians are the least immune to improprieties than the rest of us, so I guess that's why someone thought that contributions should be made public. There's a line somewhere but it lies within a very large grey area. It’s one of those debates in which two people can disagree and yet they can still both be right. I guess it's like the whole legal definition of pornography. You'll know it when you see it, but it's a subjective interpretation.
Blog police...hummmmm I like that! What was the original subject? Let scroll way back up to see what the subject was.
always get around to the sex/pornography thing.
You ask me to stop following you, but you always post something in response to every one of my comments, sometimes more than once. I better watch my back as one of the other bloggers suggested.
P.S. I see it only took you two posts to figure out the whole misspelling thing his time. Wow...I guess old dogs can learn new tricks after all.
Truth be told, I have no problem with blogger anonymity in general. I'm sure there are folks here who, because of their job or position, they need to make sure no one is confusing their opinions with a business or government official statement. Aside from work, I try to keep some things private on the blogs and whatnot for that reason (my opinions are mine, not necessarily the Gazette's) and just to practice good internet safety. At the same time, I don't use the fact that I am anonymous to be rude or attack people. It's when I see people acting like that that I wish we all did have to use our real names.
You are not anonymous...unless you also post under another name.
Sorry, I'll be more clear. When I post for work or on stories or blogs on our site, I only use my real name. But when I post elsewhere I don't use my real name in the interest of keeping my personal and work lives separate and being safe.
I'm curious here Meghann . . . you say that when you are 'working' you use your real name - which means here you use your real name - so - ergo - you are working.
Yet, you have espoused a variety of support for liberal causes here - and that makes me wonder that when you do that, are you working since you are posting under your real name? So which is it?
This is serious inquiry - don't you think that you should be posting under an anon nic here since there are times you make comments which have an obvious political position. That would imply that the Gazette is endorsing that position. Thats the problem many folks have with the media - you want to have people think that your 'personal' political point of view does not skew your coverage, and that that you can compartmentalize it all.
I only post on the Gazette's website when I am at work, it's true. When I go home, I'm home and I try to completely forget about work.
So, yes, I work for the Gazette. And, yes, I have certain opinions about certain issues. Some of those opinions could lump in with liberals or libertarians.
But that's all for the blogs. Look at my coverage of events though. If you see something that's out of line, let me know. In news coverage, I try very hard to be fair to everyone. Over the years I've covered a lot of folks that I don't agree with, yet I've never heard anything bad about that coverage.
A fact is still a fact regardless of who is reporting it.
I should have also added that, to me anyway, blogs are informal and personal and a place where reporters and readers can interact, ideas can be shared, even jokes can be made. So, I think it's ok for folks to express their opinions on blogs. Isn't that what they're for?
To me, that is one of the advantages of using anonymous usernames rather than real names. Your occupation as a reporter triggers a bias with some readers against your posts even if they might not ordinarily respond in a negative way. A lot of people assume that your posts and articles will be written with a liberal view, which is not the most popular view in this Republican territory.
However, the press is accused by liberals and conservatives about favoring one side or the other. I read Huffington Post just to see what the liberals are saying and I laugh when they claim the mainstream is biased while at the same time conservative sites make the same claim.
Must make one feel like a LE officer responding to a domestic dispute. LOL
I could use an another name but I don't want to and if I did and someone figured it out it would be a whole big thing...
The only time I remember anyone accusing me of bias was on some sort of zoning story. I got a call from the developer telling me that I had clearly favored the angry neighbors. I apologized and said I had done my best to include his points as well as those of concerned neighbors. Then I got a call from an angry neighbor saying I had favored the developer. I told her the same thing.
Regardless of what I do, say or write people are going to take what they want away from it. I do, however, try to reserve public comment on things I'm covering until after the video or story has come out. And even then, I often don't say much. Well, except on the "issue" of school uniforms, which I really don't think is an actual issue given all the other problems in the world.
I am not 'lumping you in with anyone,' your stated positions in the blogs give you my conclusion. As for the story writing, every reporter has a story like that. No one wants their dispute published from a neutral perspective since everyone sees that as taking the other persons side . . ..
I WAS pointed out the hypocrisy of saying what you said coupled with the reality of what you said - thats all . . . you can't have it both ways.
If I'm anonymous or not. Although, there's a few bloggers here that I wouldn't necessarily want to meet in person without knowing who they are as well. But, I tend to speak my mind exactly as I would in person, so I really have no qualms about revealing my identity.
I do not care either. I speak exactly as I would in person also!
Those that know me have figured out who I am anyway!
However...when KT reveals...then I reveal! Wait, I forget...no one really cares who I am!
With the exception of me...I guess the same goes for KT though!
I have to remain anonymous at least until I figure out who I really am.