Understanding Blogging

Yesterday’s editorial by the Albany Herald contained a quote from Economic Development Commission Chairman Bobby McKinney where he makes reference to detractors “out-blogging” proponents of economic redevelopment. Yeah, it pissed me off. The full quote, from the October 25 article in the Herald:

EDC Chairman Bobby McKinney said that new age, online media has given anyone and everyone with an opinion access to share it with the world whether it’s based in fact or not.

“We are getting our eyes beat out online because we’re being out blogged,” McKinney said. “We need to be encouraging our business owners to get online and blog about things in their lives and particularly their successes so that when people do research online of the area they see that as well.”

Just for the record, McKinney needs to understand a few things about the nature of blogging.  First, it ain’t as easy as it looks.  Yes, anyone can start a blog.  But for it to show up on search engines, it will need a lot of traffic and links to it.  It ain’t gonna just pop up because someone searches “Albany, GA”.  These business owners he wants to blog probably just don’t have time for that kind of commitment. 

You see, for Jeff and I, SWGAPolitics.com <em>is</em> our business venture.  This takes as much of our time as many other home based businesses.  We actually <em>are</em> blogging business owners…because our business is blogging.  McKinney’s lack of understanding in how new media works would be easy to mock, but I’m not going to.  Instead, I’m going to lay it all out so he and others understand a few things.

First, McKinney is right that detractors – and by that he means us – are out blogging his allies.  But why is that?  Well, to start with, it’s because they have failed to try and convince anyone but themselves of the righteousness of their path.  No one argues that economic development is essential, at least no one I know.  Anyone who thinks otherwise is a moron, and I’ll be happy to tell them that to their face.  The devil is in the details, and that’s where folks like me need to be convinced.

To start with, the only parts of the “plan” that I’ve been able to discern is that people being poor is bad.  Well.  I’m so glad that our “leaders” took time out of their busy day to determine that being poor sucks.  Now, we can all tuck ourselves in at night and sleep well, knowing that Albany is in the safe hands of such mental giants.

Albany Tech’s representative mentioned his organization’s focus on adult literacy, an initiative born not of this meeting but an organization recognizing a need and moving to fill it.  Honestly?  That’s the best start to anything I’ve seen.  People who can’t read, can’t get good jobs.  And, as our leaders have already assertained, being poor sucks.  Getting a good job helps eliminate the suck.

Wow.  What a plan.

I’m not a detractor.  I love this town, despite my best efforts over the course of my life.  We have a rich history which, for better or worse, is ours.  We have much to be proud of and much to atone for, just like any town.  But saving this town won’t happen with rhetoric and cheerleading.  These “leaders” can blame bloggers all they want, but that ain’t the case.

People come here to read because they like what they see.  We offer potential solutions.  If we don’t, some of our readers will.  These are ideas that we feel are worth exploring at the very least.  They also come here because we have news.  We were writing about Don Buie’s exploits while the Herald was arguing that Kevin Hogencamp’s article about the Dollar Square deal wasn’t factual (history has shown that Kevin was right by the way).

Mr. McKinney?  You’re being out-blogged because we’re actually putting forth the effort to talk with the every day folks.  While you’re cheerleading, we’re working and talking with the very people who you actually need to affect change.  Get off the high horse and convince us that you guys can actually get something done and maybe you’ll find that the new media can be a good thing.