I was very shocked and saddened to read this news. Some of the things Britney said rang true for me. When I started blogging, I thought “how cool – a place to go t
o debate and discuss”. But, I really think that the nature of blogging has changed since 2005. Frankly, it is out of control. How vicious do you have to be to say the things that people said about Britney?
Maybe, the blogosphere is symbolic of what is going on in our society. Discourse and discussion have been replaced by a vicious, nasty cloud that has become pervasive in our society…. oh, and, of course, the pettiness.
When I first started blogging, I blogged daily. And, during the 2006 cycle, I was turned off so much that I lost interest altogether. Don’t get me wrong… I wanted Bob Corker to win that Senate seat. But, all of the pettiness in the blogosphere attacking Harold Ford, Jr. was, well, ridiculous…I mean …. “he plays with playmates and then he goes to church”… oh, come on. Go back and look at what really happened and tell me it was not petty.
It concerns me that the blogosphere is just giving a microphone to many vicious, nasty, and worthless individuals who never got anyone to listen to them before.
And, frankly, Britney, you were in a no-win situation. You can’t be lukewarm and drive traffic to your blog … which is what you were supposed to do. You were forced into a position where you had to “stir things up”, at times. But, in a way NIT has been good because it has united others in discourse. I, of course, don’t agree with you much of the time. But, I think that you have done a really good job. Best of luck to you in your future endeavors.