May 09, 2005
Ben on Huffington
Originally from Ben : Activity, reBlogged by ts
I find The Huffington Post to be really odd. On the one hand, the things the contributing authors (John Cusack, Ellen DeGeneres, David Mamet to name but three) are actually kind of interesting, and relate the kinds of experiences that us ordinary bloggers would never really get to have. But on the other hand, I feel affronted. Aren’t bloggers supposed to be ordinary people? Don’t those celebrities get enough exposure as it is? What’s going to happen if our blogging digirati become the same old celebrities we’ve always worshipped?So there have always been, to some extent, celebrity weblogs. Wil Wheaton’s immediately comes to mind, and Rosie O’Donnell’s bizarre site recently got some attention. Others include the Pulp Fiction co-writer Roger Avary, gothic author Neil Gaiman, the stand-up comedian Margaret Cho and the linguist / political essayist Noam Chomsky. But Mr Wheaton wasn’t a celebrity any more when he started his weblog, although he’s become an author since. All the others are authors already; each and every celebrity weblog - Moby’s is another one - belongs to a creator, an artist. Someone predisposed to speak their mind anyway. You don’t see the Paris Hiltons or Justin Timberlakes with weblogs, and I don’t think you ever will.
Perhaps it actually validates the weblogging world to have these people join it. They’re not the trailblazers; they’re the pretenders and the wannabes in this case, catching up to the Jason Kottkes and the Matt Haugheys. In fact, their presence exemplifies the strength of the medium: it’s flat. Anyone can start a blog. Anyone can have their voice heard, be they multimillionnaire movie stars or homeless guys using public library computers.
So, celebrities: welcome. Enjoy the blogosphere. Try not to make a mess. And maybe participate a little with the rest of us.
[and with this, shey.net reblog is once again fixed.]
