The Blogging and the Damage Done

During a bit of a Twitter spat the other night I was caught off guard by a comment from someone who said he genuinely didn’t like bloggers – “not the people, the damage they do”.

I’d never thought of blogging in terms of damage before. I don’t read that many blogs regularly, so maybe it’s just that I am relatively unscathed. Perhaps the heaviest users suffer disproportionate injury. What would happen, I wondered, if I went on a blog binge. A kind of internet induced Lost Weekend but on a Tuesday night in Leeds, and with (a bit) less whisky.

As an experiment I resolved to read my way through the whole Blog North shortlist. If there’s anyone on the streets dealing more Class A blogging then I’m not aware of them. They have the inside dope. In blogging terms, Blog North’s the Mr Big.

I could handle it.

At first glance Blog North seems fairly innocuous. They say it’s all about  “celebrating the best online writing in the North”. There’s a nice section answering the inevitable, Why didn’t my blog make the shortlist?, some pretty impressive judges, and a list of previous winners (some of them even I have read and enjoyed!) What’s so terrible about all this, I wondered, it all seems admirable, charming, so positively life-affirming  … this is how they lure you in!

They start you off with their Best Young Blogger category … well, fair enough, I’m not naturally drawn to anything with the word “Young” in it, but it’s hard to see what damage it could do.

And there’s some quality stuff here. The Miley cyrus piece on Blood Heat To Zero was as good as anything I’ve read by a “proper” journalist. The film reviews on This is good, Isn’t it? are spot on, the guy obviously knows what he’s on about  and writes well (though note to Kieron if he’s reading this – always check the judge has actually got hair!) I was impressed by the variety and sheer volume of posts on Life Beyond Anorexia (but what’s so wrong with fennel, eh?) The Ginger Bread Lad surely has to win something for the smartest looking blog, and for the oddest recipe (does that really say Lager and Lime cake? I’m not convinced about that one in the slightest.) And you can’t help admiring Mean Miss Mustard’s rather imaginative interpretations of the recipe books (though I disagree profoundly about Marmite – the stuff does indeed kill!)

So far I was quite enjoying the experience, and as there were no ill effects I carried on to the next category, Best Writing on a Blog. That phrase “best writing” normally tempts me to contradict and refuse to indulge, but this was an experiment, I had to take the medicine. I pinched my nose and gulped it down.

Food Legend takes a while to get into (paragraphs are your friend!) but after a while the relentless detail of this ready meal raconteur do become strangely amusing. Completely different, Life Without Papers is a serious account of the lives of undocumented migrant families and young people – gripping, serious and genuinely fascinating with some of the best written dialogue I’ve come across anywhere (which made me envious). The Printed Land is one of those poetic reveries about landscape and memory, and it made me want to lace up my walking boots and tramp across the nearest moor, sighing and thinking beautiful thoughts about beautiful things (obviously I didn’t, but I imagine plenty of people would want to do that after reading this blog.) All I can say about Boff Whalley is just go and read his post on squatting – if I were a judge we could all go home after this. As for I Never Knew You Were Such A Monster, if I ever publish a novel she will not be asked to review it – she’s mean and cutting and totally hilarious.

So far I couldn’t detect any sign of suffering, no shakes, no shivers, no uncontrollable sweating. This blogging stuff, really what’s the problem?

Ah, next category – Best Personal Blog – isn’t this why blogging gets a bad name? This might be a tough one to swallow.

But Marc Provins starts off with a startling photograph and a sharp-edged political comment (anything but self-indulgent). It’s difficult to know how to even categorise Wife After Death, which is about exactly what the title says, but anyone who can write a sentence like this (on today’s post)

With the everyday distractions of a busy life – you know, working, childcare, laughing at Paul Hollywood on Bake Off – it is easy to forget that your husband is now just a pile of ashes in a box at the bottom of your wardrobe.

gets my vote. Cassandra Parkin made me laugh, twice, with the two posts at the top of her blog – I love a bit of grammatical pedantry, and the Toy joke is very good. Round The North We Go is by a guy who describes himself as a “train-station obsessed gay”, but don’t let the station thing put you off, the guy knows how to tell a story (read the Michael Portillo paragraph, it’s very good.) I’m still trying to work out what the heck Chocolate Sandwich is all about – is it personal? Is it even a blog? I would probably have put this in the Best Writing category, just for the Good Morning Durham post, which I’ve read four times and still don’t quite understand … brilliant.

For obvious reasons I’m probably not the best person to comment on the Best Arts and Culture Blog – but when has that ever stopped me commenting on anything? Isn’t that the bloggers code? Thom Writes About Love Songs, yes he does, and very well indeed, mainly about songs I’ve never come across – except Sheena Easton. I bloody love Sheena Easton. I enjoyed looking at Fontilan (the photos are superb) and the music is interesting – one of those blogs that makes you think, is this a blog anymore? Ten Penny Dreams is more recognizably what I understand a culture blog looks like, and it’s stunning that there’s only one person behind it – and she’s written a novel too (makes me feel like such a slouch!) As does Celluloid Wicker Man – how does he get time to do all that writing and make films too? (good piece on M R James, worth checking the site for that alone). The Fred Aldous Art and Craft Blog is a bit heavy on the craft for my tastes, but has some good pics and it’s easy to read (I hate blogs with tiny text).

So, I’m two thirds of my way through my blog blowout and still feeling undamaged. Happen the Best City and Neighborhood Blog is where the serious ruination occurs?

I’ve only ever been to Preston once, and got myself arrested (I was on a Right to Work March, I was a political prisoner!) so I was a bit unnerved to see Police incident tape all over the landing page of Blog Preston – but liked the mix of hard community news and feel-good-about-the-town stuff. Young Explorer seems to be a nice mix of getting out and about and making stuff (some good drawings too – I always like a site that doesn’t always rely on clinically sharp photography). Life in Geordieland sells itself as a guide to my favourite city in the UK (outside Leeds, of course), Newcastle, and there’s lots on there that makes me want to go back. If you like random trips to random Northern towns then you’ll like Life in Northern Towns – though leeds is neither random nor a town! (though agree with their estimation of our magnificent Corn Exchange as compared to Mancs). Forget what I said about photography earlier Milners Blog, is a bit of a treat (though a disclaimer – we often use his talents on our own website, so I may be a little biased.) The carnival pics are great though.

Phew, I’m down to the last category, and I’m still fighting fit … though Best Food and Drink Blog is the one I’m least savouring (it’s not a big secret that I generally don’t give a monkey’s and find the whole foodie thing a complete irrelevance … but I’m gonna suck it up this once.)

Newcastle Eats yes, they do – lots if this blog is anything to go by, and very nicely too (though mainly I remember the drinking when I was up there.) Like I said, i’m not much of a foodie but Them Apples almost tempts me to take up baking (actually, sod that, just bring some of that Rosemary bread down to the office, Richard, I’ll happily review your baking skills.) Haven’t we already done Food Legend? I don’t think I could so much as look at a ready meal ever again. Manchester Foodies make me think that Leeds has got a way to go before we can compete with the “Curry Mile” (though I’ve never seen the point in okra, just tastes like you’ve dropped a tube of Uhu in the salad bowl, grievous stuff.) Lastly, but not Leigh-stly, it’s The Good Stuff which is all about good beer and good food – and good writing (though another disclaimer, Leigh has contributed to our website too, so of course he can write!)

That’s it then. I’ve managed to mainline a gargantuan dose of blogging and the only consequence is eyestrain. I can’t pretend that I’ve enjoyed every single moment, or that everything is of supreme quality, or that I’ll revisit every blog I’ve sampled (though more than I imagined when I set out on this little experiment though.) Overall I’m left with a couple of impressions. Firstly, it’s obvious that there’s a hell of a lot of popular creativity out there that the mainstream media has never channeled. Maintaining a blog and crafting regular posts is time consuming and challenging. Most fail. It would be interesting to find out how the others survive. Secondly, the argument that blogging is just amateur journalism is ridiculous. Bloggers aren’t trying to reproduce, dilute, or damage journalism – it exists because there’s a need that journalism just doesn’t fulfill. Never has, never will.

So, who cares if they don’t like us? And if you want a taste of where the real cultural damage is occurring just take a look at the Mail Online homepage (produced by the best paid and most widely read journalists.) You don’t find too many exploitative, gratuitous horror stories and celebrity bikini failings on blogs.