P-I prepares to launch frontal assault against us
The young, scrappy Monica Guzman over at the P-I, derided by some, adored by others, dropped this little bombshell on the world on the way out of town:
After today, Net Native is history.
I’m taking a three-week break to see my family on the East Coast. And when I come back, I’ll be running a new online project for the P-I, something we’ve come to call — respectfully and with an endearing smirk — the Big Blog.
Inspired by the city beats of Seattlest, Metroblogging Seattle, and, most famously, the Slog, the Big Blog will take a more conversational, informal and fun look at the news and culture that makes this city what it is.
Now, we like Monica. And by “we” I mean “me and the other authors who won’t speak up.” But this one is kind of head-scratching. Our competition is already pretty well ensconced. You have the Slog, written by the sorts that are still bitter about being high school outcasts and rejects. You have Seattlest, cowards who have still never picked up the thrown gauntlet because they are without honor and cower in fear at us destroying them in pub quiz. You have Crosscut, aka “Hey! The old Weekly writers got themselves computers with connections to the internets finally!” And then there’s Citizen Rain, KING’s entry into this market that I can’t say much about, other than it’s just like Seattlest and Slog (minus the bile and bite) and this fair blog. Oh, and I shouldn’t leave out seattle.livejournal.com, since that’s where we steal a lot of our content from.
So… where does the P-I’s “Big Blog” fit in this niche? Are they going to be more inside baseball than Slog? Far less cowardly than Seattlest? (That wouldn’t be hard.) Write original content like Crosscut? Or just post a bunch of 20-word blurbs and links like Citizen Rain?
I’m certainly not scared of them poaching our audience. We serve a completely different reader base. The P-I will pull in their readers and people with an interest in the Northwest, while we will continue to serve our core readership of our parents, crazy Ron Paul voting uncles, spiteful ex-lovers, Slog commenters spoiling for a fight, and people who stumble on us accidentally looking for that Enumclaw horse sex video.
But where would this new P-I blog fit in to the blog ecosystem? Do you think there’s room for them?
(Aside to Monica: Just because you don’t use Amazon doesn’t mean you should say it out loud in Seattle. It’s like saying how much nicer Airbus planes are while you’re taking the Boeing tour.)
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I use to have compassion for individuals who were “brainwashed” by the likes of “Rudi McRomney” and cousin “Freddie” Plus Dem Relatives “Obama” and “Hillary” (all of them CFR’s)?… However, now I can only feel sorry for them..
Leadership is Action Through *Example Not Position…
(It is not a position of power nor being in the right place at the right time, neither define leadership).
It is defined by setting the example through taking action on such Leadership Traits as Truthfulness! Honesty! Fidelity!
Ron Paul Has Acted Admirably On All These Leadership Traits:
“Truthfulness” first and foremost… Then: Principle, Integrity, Honesty,* Fidelity (to their oaths), Honor, Virtue, Compassion, Courage, Vision, Wisdom and Faith.
http://leadership2008.bravehost.com
Cynicism and defeatism are NOT options to be entertained.
“We are in the eleventh hour of losing this Nation…”
What Ron Paul needs most is “Money” I’m using this and it is working very well… consider it… Everyone can afford it!!!
“You have the Slog, written by the sorts that are still bitter about being high school outcasts and rejects.”
Possibly the best description of those scumbags that I’ve ever heard. Good job, Dylan. Fuck The Stranger and the SLOG.
Uncle Joel! Did you get the case of aluminum foil I sent you for Christmas? Hope you’ve made some great hats out of it!
I love Monica, she’s a really sweet girl. It’ll be hard to squeeze another megablog into an already crowded field, but if anyone has the determination and work ethic to make a go of it, it’d be her. Best of luck.
But they will have twenty times the reading audience of most Seattle-ish blogs so some sort of influence will be there, even if 70 percent will be out of town (ex-Seattlites, curious, cross-linked, odd Google.wa searches etc.)
Now if they only integrate their newspaper references to the blog, that will be great, though it will be like “we were at a party and you were not, but here is a comment overheard” much like this “Metroblogging Denny Way” blog you write
Crosscut.com is far more than former Weekly writers. I count five former Seattle Times writers, two from Wall Street Journal, three from KING-TV, three public radioheads, and on and on. That’s a great thing about digital news outlets, how much variety you can get, tapping tons of displaced journalists looking to be back in the local fray. Our thing is geographic and interpretative diversity, so go easy on the reductive labeling!