So, which one of the following blogs?
Not all bloggers are created equal and nor does a blog a blogger make.
The blogosphere as amorphous mass has always been problematic. You have political bloggers who consider themselves citizen journalists, business bloggers who consider themselves online marketers, people who simply want to write about themselves or a subject they enjoy, and then you have the poor sods who get to churn out stuff for blog networks at $5 per post.
There’s a bit of talk doing the rounds at the moment about starting a blogging union. If we’re to look at the four non-definitive blogging types I’ve just plucked out of my derriere then you’d think the citizen journalist blogger may prefer acceptance via a journalist’s union and business blogging types should be covered within their own business type if in-house or some other marketing umbrella if at an agency. People who witter inanely about their cats don’t count.
There’s only those poor souls who type their fingers to the bone for a pittance who have a claim for unionized blogging if you happen to do a bit of research into the history of why unions came about in the first place. The following quotes probably sum it up rather nicely:
Let the workers organize. Let the toilers assemble. Let their crystallized voice proclaim their injustices and demand their privileges. Let all thoughtful citizens sustain them, for the future of Labor is the future of America. John L. Lewis
Only a fool would try to deprive working men and working women of their right to join the union of their choice. Dwight D. Eisenhower
All that serves labor serves the nation. All that harms is treason. If a man tells you he trusts America, yet fears labor, he is a fool. There is no America without labor, and to fleece the one is to rob the other. Abraham Lincoln
The labor movement means just this: It is the last noble protest of the American people against the power of incorporated wealth. Wendell Phillips
I’ve got to be careful here as I do believe bloggers of all stripes should be able to form guilds and whatnot – even cat bloggers. But there’s more chance of the so-called A-list elite confirming and upholding their current status (snobbery if you prefer) if you aren’t careful. (Y’know, just like I’ve displayed in relation to cat bloggers.)
The only credible call to unionize can be made from those who work as bloggers for those who make money out of them directly.
Right, that’s me. Union regulations stipulate I gotta take a break after 40 minutes of mindless waffle.
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