Back in the day it was all about the power of the pen. It seems that the pen has become redundant but, with the advent of blogs, the written word is mightier than ever.
Iain Dale, well-read political blogger and one of the creators of 18DoughtyStreet, the new online political TV show, gave us a lecture today.
Dale had much to say about the power of blogs, describing them as influential tools which are both "constructive" and "destructive" and which can initiate change as well as debate.
He is, apparently, thrilled by the concept of the blog as a means of giving a voice to "the little guy" and a space where anyone can say anything:
"I can say what I want unedited, I am my own editor".
This "anyone can say anything" business is, of course, not entirely true. Our law tutor, Professor Duncan Bloy, made it quite clear in lectures this week that the laws of defamation apply to blogs as much as to anything else.
Thus, as a blogger, I find myself in a difficult position. Dale recommends that unless you "keep it real" on a blog there is really no point in writing it and it certainly won't spark debate. However, I must always write within the law. What a pickle.
I never realized the power I was taking on, or the danger in which I was placing myself, by becoming a blogger.
Of course, I'm yet to write a controversial post, defame or even attract a reader but still it puts a whole new slant on this blogging malarky.
2 comments:
This is exactly what I wanted to say in my blog post but I think I went off on a tangent, way over the word count, and didn't really end up saying what you've just said! I am confused as much by the laws of privacy, defamation, blah blah blah as you are! x
I suppose it is one of those damn learning curves - at the top there's us with a deep understanding of media law, a concise and controlled writing style and....a big pay packet!
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