The Lib Dem Voice Weekend Meme

[miss_s_b]

Lib Dem Voice is sponsoring this year's Total Bollocks Blog Awards. Stephen Tall has to write the article which Daddy Richard and me will giggle drunkenly over at the Lib Dem Blog Awards like we did over Nich Starling's article last year, while we loudly heckle from the Serial Runners-Up table as Costigan Quist and Mark Reckons collect all the awards.

Except, rather than write it himself, he's asked other Lib Dem bloggers to write it for him.

Stephen, you're sponsoring the Total Bollocks Blog Awards. You've GIVEN MONEY TO IAIN DALE. And you're asking where the Lib Dem Blogosphere is going wrong? I despair, I really do.

The Lib Dem blogosphere is very insular, and needs to start connecting with people outside the politics geek blogosphere. The way to do this is not to cosy up to the Egregious Tory Tosser. The way to do this is to talk to people from OUTSIDE THE POLITICAL BLOGOSPHERE COMPLETELY.

FWIW, I think we punch way above our electoral weight in the politics blogosphere. We're known to bloggers from other parties, and some of us (i.e. Costigan and Mark) are even respected by members of other parties. But those comments could equally apply to the Libertarian Party, and look how far that gets them in elections. But the politics geek blogosphere is a tiny, miniscule, insignificant part of the blogosphere in toto. And it will remain so the more insular and navel-gazing it becomes. Talking to Iain Dale is just gazing at a bigger navel.

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Comments

[charlottegore.com]

The Total Bollocks awards are the only hope I've got for validation though. ;)

You're not wrong about Costigan and Mark cleaning up at the Party sponsored awards... that's why I NEEEEEDDD Iain's awards!! I'll join you at the runner's up table :D

[miss_s_b]

The Runners-Up table is totally the place to be. Perennial exciting rebels and outsiders, waving our cuddly toys and shouting at those who've sold out to gain approval. How much more liberal can you get?

I reckon you have a decent chance in the Total Bollocks awards, given how much attention you get from Tories ;)

[(Anonymous)]

Jennie - just to be clear, no money changed hands. LDV is lending its name and, ahem, credibility to it :) The financial value of that is incalculable, obvs.

I tend to agree about the insularity of Lib Dem blogs - it's one of the inadvertent consequences of the fab Aggregator - the upside is that it does create a sense of community.

cheers, stephen

[andrewhickey.info]

Couldn't agree more. See my comments to James when he did this, as well, about how blogs like yours which contain stuff that isn't *just* politics are far more likely to get people interested than pure-politics ones.

[burkesworks]

And I second those views. Some of the best blogging I've seen on the subject of politics, whether it be Lib Dem, Labour, Tory or otherwise, comes from bloggers whose main subject matter is more wide-ranging and far removed from the "Westminster bubble". How I'd like to see Mrs Dale's sewing circle try to refute, say, annajaneclare in full-on rant mode, for example.

[(Anonymous)]

Jennie, I can assure you no money changed hands in the sponsorship of the Total Politics blog poll. LabourList are also cosponsoring on the same basis as LibDem Voice.

[(Anonymous)]

Sorry, should have said, that previous comment was from Iain Dale. Please start screaming now.

[miss_s_b]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH ;)

LOL

[miss_s_b]

Perhaps the use of the word "sponsorship", with its echoes of Bernie Ecclestone, was a bad one, then?

[dry-valleys.livejournal.com]

By a narrow margin I have decided not to participate in Fale's scheme. Seeing the list of people who want no part in it was the last straw.

This is to be regretted in some ways because there are some quite obscure blogs which are overwhelmingly better than the top stuff & deserve a wider audience, which I could in my very humble way of helped to promote.

Fairly sure I'll be regretting it if I see the usual tossers such as Fale, Dizzy "Thinks" etc. prevailing. But life goes on.

[(Anonymous)]

Here's a thought then: how about coming up with a list of "the 10 most overlooked blogs by all that Iain Dale malarkey"? I'm sure we'd be happy to run that on Lib Dem Voice, and it could make an interesting counter-point.

Mark
(one of the Lib Dem Voice team and, ahem, also writing a piece for Mr Dale)

[miss_s_b]

But that's further publicity and validation for Iain Dale. Why would anyone wanting to change the current structure do it by reinforcing it?

[(Anonymous)]

OK, drop the reference to him :-) But if there are some blogs that you or someone else think are getting regularly and wrongly overlooked, I think it would be interesting for many people to see a list of some of them,

Mark

Actually, that would be a brill LDV column

[po8crg]

... and I know who should write it.

Jennie, dearest and most wonderful person.

How about an LDV column, maybe once a week, introducing Lib Dems to a blog / blogger who includes politics in their blogging but isn't a political blogger.

Re: Actually, that would be a brill LDV column

[miss_s_b]

You know, since they turned off comment notifications and you can't have a proper conversation, I barely even look at LDV any more. I'd feel a fraud writing for it.

[crustofthegrouch.blogspot.com]

I agree the political blogosphere is very insular at large and it gets ridiculously tribal. I don't understand why people won't cross political groups and engage and debate with others. As that's half the fun, testing and challenging your opinions or just having a conversation.

One of the problems I find though with having a political and non-political blog as one is, I loose readers when I post on a personal interests and vice versa. To merge the two effectively is quite difficult, for me at least.

Incidentally I discovered this wonderful word the other day - omphaloskepsis - it's what you refer to. Meaning link (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Omphaloskepsis+) *


*I sometimes find though the link code works in the preview it doesn't when I post, so if not - http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Omphaloskepsis+

[burkesworks]

Amazing how the navel lint is always blue in colour.