Blog on blog

No, York, I don't need you to e-mail me porno,

I'm not going to comment much on the Blog Summit. It was a nice event and it was great to meet a number of local bloggers. It turns out we are a convivial bunch.

I think one of the more interesting discussions of the afternoon was around the responsibility of bloggers. Are bloggers less accountable than the MSM? Are they committed to anything other than the propagation of an opinion? Do blogs suffer from the absence of another set of eyes?

I don't think the answer is as obvious as the questions were meant to suggest. In a sense, many blogs are less accountable than traditional forms of media because, for the most part, we can't be fired. We don't have the discipline that comes with having to please a supervisor or hang on to a livelihood.

But if you want to do this successfully, credibility is key. The blogospere contains many sets of eyes and, even if I don't wish to confront facts that are inconsistent with my opinions, there are other bloggers who won't allow me that luxury. If I say something about school choice or the Taxpayer Protection Amendment that is not entirely accurate, Jay Bullock or Seth Zlochota will probably smack me upside the head and I will be embarrassed. Readers won't believe me anymore. It will suck.

Indeed, I wonder if it isn't the additonal accountability that blogs impose on the traditionsl media that accounts for all this snarky dismissiveness?