Here’s a happy headline: Netroots Bloggers Mark 10th Birthday in Decline and Struggling for Survival. It’s kind of shocking to realize that I met Susie Madrak and Duncan Black and Chris Bowers and upyernoz and Brendan Skwire and Chris Baldwin and Mithras and Delaware Dem and so many other gifted writer/activists seven and half years ago. Philadelphia had a special culture in that 2005-2008 span. The 2008 primaries put some strain on some relationships, but it was really the battle over the Wall Street bailout and the public option that splintered the movement. That, and we lost our bar and had a bunch of kids.
The slow breakup of the Philly group mirrored the splintering of the national netroots movement. Audiences became polarized. Some people saw their job as speaking truth to power no matter who was in power, while others wanted to work with the team we had helped put in power to achieve as many of our goals as possible.
The sense of common purpose died. But then we also suffered numerous financial calamities, with Blogads petering out for all but the biggest blogs, Google paying us a pittance, and the Democratic Party keeping us at arm’s length. With the advent of Facebook and Twitter, many bloggers took a major hit in traffic, too.
I don’t think America really knows how much they owe to the Netroots. Those early warriors changed how you are experiencing this election. They changed how the media reports the news and made them more accountable. They made politicians more accountable for what they say, how they vote, and whom they take money from. They will also go down in history as the people who not only opposed the war in Iraq but figured out how to make sure the world knew about that opposition. Future generations will look favorably on that, just as we look favorably on the people who protested Vietnam or the brave Germans who resisted Hitler.
I really love all the people I came to know in those early days. You won’t find better people anywhere. But, as a group, we haven’t been rewarded and we haven’t prospered. Most of us (those still in the game, anyway) are still relying on the financial support of our readers.
But, then, we were all wired a little differently, weren’t we?
Rebecca Traister’s Twitter feed is cracking me up.
I “discovered” the political blog world in early 2003. I have to say, until that time I had no idea such a community could exist. It opened my eyes in ways that probably never would have happened otherwise. It is hard to imagine not having those resources available every day. So many people I know are still completely ignorant of the blogosphere. I find that absolutely incredible.
I just got back from teaching a rug hooking workshop in St Louis and I did pretty well, so I sent a little something your way. I know I take all of my favorite bloggers for granted, so I try to rotate donations when I can.
What you do is amazing, BooMan, and I come here daily for opinions and points of view to make me a better voter and a better person. There’s no price tag for that, but I’ll do what I can to thank you for your hard work. Know that we readers appreciate you and all you do.
Thank you very much, donna. I appreciate your support. I have a lot of people to thank this month, and I’m grateful for that.
Interesting that you say 2005-2008. I agree with Richard. For me, it goes back to 2003, the age of Dean Nation, the roots of Daily Kos, meet-ups, MoveOn, and yes, my awareness of blogging. I was also living in Philly then and encountered some of the names you mention, but I left in 2005. Going back to 2003 though, it seems there were already divisions, evidenced in the primaries that year. As a Dean supporter, I was also quite open to the online presence of the Clark, Kerry, and Edwards’ campaigns, but I remember detecting more than a hint of animosity toward so-called Deaniacs in the comments of the Clark, and especially, Kerry blogs. I don’t think things started to really coalesce until Kerry one the nomination, and then fell apart in 2007.
By the way, Rick Perlstein is complaining about this article on Facebook today because of the contempt for the Netroots coming from the Obama campaign.
It does go back to 2003. But I was a field organizer for ProjectVote/ACORN until the end of the year in 2004, so I didn’t hook up with the Philly Drinking Liberally scene until that was over. And Philly DL is where all the bloggers I mentioned congregated, so it was a bit of a salon in that sense.
Unfortunately, I never made it to one of those Philly DLs. Do you think Obama and the Democratic Party made a mistake by not courting (and utilizing the resources) more effectively? I guess this also pertains to Obama’s dismantling of the 50 state strategy implemented by the DNC under Dean. I ask this as a strong supporter, but it seems that there is some credibility to that critique.
I think Obama had such a different brand that he really couldn’t fit into our puzzle. We were the fire-breathers. I mean, I consider myself to always have been kind of the calming influence, but my rhetoric can be very heated, too. I remember when Obama did a diary at Daily Kos where he tried to defend some of his colleagues who had not joined him in filibustered John Roberts. And he was just savaged in the comments. There was no way he was going to come away from that with respect for what we had built and what we were trying to do, especially since he was selling post-partisanship.
I think Obama was correct to keep his distance from us, but I also think he could have recognized our value more and found ways to make sure that the party was buying enough ads to keep us afloat. I mean, right now, probably my biggest advertiser is Mitt Romney. I’ll gladly take the fool’s money, but it shouldn’t be this way.
I also have never seen any real critique of how the DNC was run under Kaine in comparison to Dean when it comes to the 50-state strategy. I hear it repeated all the time that Kaine abandoned the effort, but I’ve never seen it explained to me with numbers or statistics or people who would know in quotes.
That’s true. I guess I originally started hearing complaints about Tim Kaine at Open Left and FireDogLake (which I no longer read), but never really saw any evidence.
I’ve never been to Philly but back when the blogosphere was growing, I noticed that this Philly Drinking Liberally seemed to be where so much of it was hatching. Many times I was tempted to just get on a plane for the sole purpose of going to one of these gatherings just to meet these people. I regret never doing that.
there are people who did get on planes to come to Philly DL just to meet these names in person. And, more often, we’d get visitors who were in town anyway, but wanted to come while they were there.
Once in a while, one of us would get treated like an actual celebrity. And Duncan, at least, was a bit of a celebrity for a while. I remember the Philadelphia Weekly writing about him being seen jogging. He was the real magnet that kind of held things together. You’d never see more low-key humble leadership than he provided. He and Rosi are just outstanding people.
But, you know, they were in London for a long time. And I think that kind of was the final straw as far as the group staying together. But it was already losing out to atrophy.
We never should have left Tangier.
Agreed, 100%. And that was NOT my idea, at all. I had handed the reins to Mitral, and they moved to Triumph, and now Jose Pistolas. I love JP’s: they are liberals themselves, great people and good friends. But Tangiers was the place where the magic happened.
I mean, I understand why we left, but it retrospect we should have held onto that place like grim death.
And I don’t like JP’s. It is loud as fuck and we don’t have a good space and the food is so-so and the parking is expensive and it ain’t “neighborhood.”
The owners are great, but that’s it.
I never understood why we left, but it wasn’t my gig anymore. I got a really angry email from the owner too, blaming me for a decision that wasn’t mine.
well, I understood a couple of things.
Our amazing waitress left and was replaced by a hostile old bitch who hated us and brought issues of the National Review to work to let us know she hated us. She took an hour to bring us a beer and then yelled at us to keep the sidewalk clear.
So, that was step one.
Step two was that we were too big to fit inside on rainy or cold days.
And I would have said that there was an issue with the management except you say that they were pissed we left. If that is true, then my memory on that is faulty.
Funny enough, I was in Tangiers a few weeks ago, and I ran into our former amazing waitress. She no longer works there but she was drinking at the bar. The place was just as comfortable as I remembered it. We should go back there sometime just to drink, even if DL remains at JPs.
For various reasons, many having nothing to do with politics, Philly DL pretty much saved my life. Looking back, it’s obvious that it was an amazing, special time…the energy was palpable, the people were incredible.
Man, you were going through some major shit when I met you but I never thought your life was in danger. What I do know is that the DL after-parties brought Trivia glory. I forget what I did with that penis-pump.
yeah, the owner loved us. He was a dyed-in-the-woll liberal.
Don’t forget Jim who died, and his blog Rittenhouse Review.
Yeah. I know I forgot a bunch of folks. RR was cool.
Albert and psiFighter37 moved away. They were awesome.
I think “awesome” may be overstating it, but I appreciate the compliment!
But yes, I am in Manhattan now…but I did see ask at a Daily Kos meetup they had a few weeks back. If you’re ever up here in NYC, let me know and we’ll grab a drink or three.
Hi Psi,
Did you see sidnora’s diary afterwards?
Up on the Roof (Deck) – 10/1 NYC Meetup Photo Diary
(I got rid of the beard since then.)
sorry I missed this – had to choose one event that week and went to a debate watch; next time …
Remember when Joe Trippi stopped by one time? That was cool.
Yeah. I remember Joe Trippi. I also remember snubbing Michael Nutter because he supported the smoking ban and Patrick Murphy calling my cell phone to make sure I was coming (I wasn’t) to drink beers with him (I did). I remember a Republican candidate who showed up once and drank quite a bit. Chris Bowers and I have stories about Chaka Fattah that we will never tell.
Good times.
Randy – I actually did that! I had a few days off, wanted to jet off to some exotic place, decided to see Philly for the first time, and part of my decision to go was that it coincided with a Drinking Liberally meet-up.
I remember upyernoz being surprised that my screen name was my actual name.
Great town, great people.
Oh, and Rittenhouse Review.
::
Hey, vicki. Upyernoz. How could one describe him? Maybe as the most indispensable member of Philly DL. Duncan drew people in and held them. Noz made the place what it was. Did he ask you for a ride home?
Geeze – I think he did ask me for a ride home! That’s so weird. Either that or he was asking around, something’s ringing a bell there. LOL.
Always loved his posts, and upon meeting, just seemed like a normal college kid.
On another olden times Philly note, I became friendly with Jim Cappazola. He got me to start what we believed then to be the first Bar Blog for The Green Parrot, and then he wanted to move to Key West. He had no money, didn’t feel well, but thought he could make a go of it. I tried my best to dissuade him, either that worked or he became disinterested or just too ill. I still keep a picture of Mildred.
You’re right about the good ol’ days. You Philly guys (meant in the Grand sense) had it going on, and still do, actually.
Noz always wanted a ride home. Most nights, he found one.
Interesting back story on Mildred.
That is quite a story. Glad she got to stay with Jim.
wow, i’m really flattered. from my perspective what “made the place what it was” was the whole core group of regulars, plus the excitement of newbies showing up to give us something new to talk about.
well, that, and free chicken wings.
You’re probably kinda old now. Yes??
::
if you thought I was a college kid in the 2004-2008 period, you must have guessed my age wrong. I have been working as a lawyer since 1995. I do look younger than I am.
By the way, Rick Perlstein is complaining about this article on Facebook today because of the contempt for the Netroots coming from the Obama campaign.
The campaign does have contempt for them. Just look at who Obama hired. The Daleys, Emanuels and Geithners of the world. That aside, Freedlander is an idiot. Scott Walker is still there, but the state Senate changed hands. So it was a partial victory.
But BMT is still here and I continue to read (and recommend) it daily, as apparently many others do. Thank you, BooMan.
I actually quit blogging because A) it was stoking my anger in a bad way, and B) I realized I could reach many more people on Facebook.
I never made more than a few dollars as a blogger. But boy, i remember how awesome 2005-2008 was. Salad days.
My strongest memory in all that time is still your reaction to the confirmation of Samuel Alito. I wish we had that on tape.
I must have blocked that out of my memory. Remind me?
I walked into Tangier with CabinGirl. I think we were a little late and you’d been there for a while. As soon as you saw me, you made a beeline for me and got right up in my face and just started a tangent about the Democrats and Alito and the fact that we were all now officially doomed…and it went on for about fifteen minutes. I remember a distinct feeling of beer-thirst, but that had to wait. You were on a roll and in rare form.
It was classic.
I totally miss the Tangier days. We need to have a reunion night. 🙂
There has been talk about rapprochement. I’ll keep you posted. We could also do a family-friendly blogger party at someone’s house so you, Marty, Jeremy, and Becky could come out.
And the Baldwins.
Joint Chiefs of Staff
🙂
And, of course, I should have mentioned Richard and Wendy.
I didn’t find the world of lefty blogs until early 2005. After the 2004 election I felt like I was trapped in a bizarre and terrible reality where nobody around me was aware that there was something horribly wrong with our country, and that our democracy had become a fraud. Finding the blogs was like finding a lifeline to a small bubble of sanity where people knew what the fuck was going down, and what’s more, weren’t about to just LET it go down.
It would be impossible to gauge how much the lefty blogosphere has changed me. I’ve learned so much. I’ve learned HOW to learn so much. And I’ve met some pretty awesome people along the way who have challenged me intellectually in ways that I couldn’t have predicted.
I am a better person and a better citizen thanks to liberal online communities.
</soapbox>
If I remember correctly, I met you in a hotel room in Washington DC. Was that 2005, or later?
I refuse to believe that it’s been five years.
Wow. I used to be able to write:
You can still write – I think everyone’s lost a bit of their edge now that there is at least competence in the White House.
You’re joking, right? You are a great writer. You always have been.
adding extra ing’s to words. Messing up really good imaging. Yeah, some things never change.
It happens to everyone! On my last exam in grad school, I added an extra “becker” at the end of my (already) long last name. My advisor threatened to hold up my degree since I couldn’t spell my own name. 🙂
Wow, Man Ee, that post sent me wandering back through the archives. Wonder where a lot of those commenters have ended up. Some of them seem to have fallen off the face of the earth. Though there are still a lot of familiar names that have hung around here and are still kicking.
And where have you been? Do you just lurk now?
Well Randy, I pass through about every day, thanks to that great invention, the Smartphone. But my commenting has been “sporadic” for some time, to say the least. I do take the time to peruse posts and comments. My lack of commenting is certainly not indicative of any loss of interest in politics, though. I have been hip deep as a volunteer with OFA during this election cycle. Trying to balance that with some activities of our local Democratic Party. This is still a go-to place for my continuing education in grassroots politics. When I first came here years ago, I had no idea what grassroots even was. Finding this place was a watershed moment for me in my political evolution. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I probably owe my active involvement, in large part, to what I read here and the interactions I had in the beginning. For the first time, I heard perspectives from people who have walked the walk. Even though I have never me a single person from this blog, I have tremendous respect and admiration for many, many people who have passed through this place.
This place and it’s people are special.
Good to hear from you again. We both found BooTrib at the same time and you taught me alot about people, believe it or not. Good to hear that you got so involved. Check in after the election. You’re probably pretty busy…
Yeah, it looks like we registered at about the exact same time. Funny how that works out. When I look back and see I had about 1300 comments here from 2007-2010, before falling off the radar screen, it kind of makes my head spin. Guess I spent more time here than I thought.
Appreciate your comments. And yes, this old man is starting to wear a little at the edges from all this hands-on politicking. Why I waited until middle age to do this kind of stuff is puzzling. Better late than never, though. And it really is fun. Just wonder why it has go on sooooo damn looooong.
Just a devoted ‘lurker’. I’ve been here from the beginning and remember how we were all trying to name the frog. And I was wrong about the name.
I hardly ever post anymore, don’t know why but still spend hours here every day. This is still my number one favorite site on the whole damn internet.
Weren’t you and ejmw wearing matching shoes that day? 🙂
I still have a string of peace cranes from that march hanging in my kitchen window.
Heh. We were. I still have those threads bookmarked. In a way, they’re my version of peace cranes in the window 🙂
As ManEe said, it was 2007. I actually can’t believe it’s only been 5 years, it seems like so long ago to me.
I trust you have finally given up on the Brownback for President campaign?
After the 2004 election I felt like I was trapped in a bizarre and terrible reality where nobody around me was aware that there was something horribly wrong with our country,
I think a lot of us were feeling that way. I thought 2000 was a fluke. I knew the Repugs has stolen the election, but I figured it was our fault that the election was close enough that they could steal it. I figured one term and we would throw the bastards out on the street.
If 2000 was a surprise, 2004 was a bucket of cold water in the face. I couldn’t believe we re-elected that pack of war criminals. And what really got to me was how it seemed the whole nation was cheering them on. It really seemed like we had wandered into Orwell’s world and nobody else was noticing.
I kind of stumbled onto DKOS, and it was like a little island of semi-sanity in the madness. A bunch of very thoughtful people who seemed to have some idea of what was really going on. Granted, they had their share of crazies too, but at least they seemed to be aware of the madness.
And there was this character named Booman or something who kept writing these really perceptive diaries about how the politics really worked. I finally followed one of his links to the Frog Pond and found a place where I felt like I belonged.
I first discovered the blog world in the lead up to the Iraq war. I was living in Phoenix at the time and I was surrounded by so many zombies who were believing all of the bullshit being fed to us. None of it added up and people around me treated me like I was nuts for not cheering it on. I had moved there from San Francisco for work and it was like night and day. People in SF who I kept in touch with were just as appalled at the craziness as I was so I knew it wasn’t just me.
The mainstream press seemed to be under the total control of the Karl Rove propaganda machine and no one around me in Phoenix, even the so-called liberals, seemed to see it. So I found some like-minded people online to keep me sane.
It took a while to really venture out and discover the larger world of blogs. Maybe they were all forming and I found them as they popped up, not sure. But it was great because the Liberal Blogosphere (where commenting is allowed) is a place where people would actually collaborate – share their observations, educate each other and unravel the propaganda machine in order to push back against it.
By early 2005 (The Bankruptcy Bill stands out as a marker for me in the timeline,) the blogosphere really started to make the politicians worry. These people on the internet were organizing effectively and had to be reckoned with. Interestingly, that’s when I first learned of Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard Bankruptcy law professor who Josh Marshall set up with a special site at the much humbler TPM to educate and organize.
I think I miss Billmon the most. That guy is really smart and could really write. I gathered he worked at the State Department in some capacity, but who knows. He still writes occasionally at Kos. But you all know that. John Cole’s meltdown as a right-winger during the Terri Schiavo ordeal is also very memorable. I think I’ve been reading him since and his place has really grown. So much that I can’t keep up with it all. Of course Kos has always been there as a reference standard but it’s a bit too big a pond for me to keep up with the comment sections.
I’m not sure exactly when I found Booman’s place but it’s become my primary blog home for some time now though I do also read other things, changing up the mix from time to time.
Before my simple comment turns into a book, I’d just like to thank Booman, Steven and the gang here – and of course all of the smart commenters that make these blogs places that are worth spending time. I’ve always enjoyed arguing and agreeing with (most of) you.
I found the
NewsweekDaily Beast article condescending drivel from someone who imagines himself as an elite journalist and therefore significant to American politics. And he missed altogether explaining the changes in the ad services that paid for advertising on blog sites. And the fact that the slow loading of those ads and the click-analyzing software that loaded with it slowed down the loading of web pages; readers got ad-blockers just so the pages would load in an acceptable time. And then there is the emerging dominance of Google in this servicing market space.It is much harder for bloggers to earn money from ads as a result, and most wind up operating from donations and trying to leverage the quality of their blogging into paying gigs. Even as blog conglomerates have become profitable businesses and the old media has tried to make it on the web. There always is a shakeout of the big operations, but the corner grocery still remains struggling in a lot of places. And local farmers markets are enjoying a resurgence.
I found the Netroots in 2004 when Yahoo reported the starting of Air America, and Air America ran Sam Seder and Janeane Garafalo, who interviewed bloggers–like Atrios and Markos. I had been out of work in the IT recession since 2001 and was going a little nutzoid with the Bushies–and lo and behold–I was not alone. I was continually online until lightning struck and I got first a part-time job and then a full-time job in time to have to control my anger about the 2004 election results on the job.
During that time I witnessed the growing self-consciousness of the left blogosphere as a movement. And the creation of institutions like meetups and what became Netroots Nation. But it was not the 2008 primaries that caused the first propagation of additional blogs in the blogosphere. It was the notorious (and original) SYPH fight on dKos over an ad for Gilligan’s Island II–that spun off a lot of sites run by women. And somewhere in that period of time, BoomanTribune appeared. And I started living on multiple blogs. I remember that censorship and freedom of speech were the nominal issues that caused the setting up of new sites with different expectations for user behavior. One during this period set the only rule as no criminal acts, and promptly degenerated into a 4chan-style flame war–hardly a site of political discussion.
I think that the effects that the Wall Street Media ascribed to the presence of the blogosphere were hyped between 2006 and 2008 because the media was shocked that we weren’t headed for the permanent Republican majority. And that hype set up the left blogosphere for a big letdown when an establishment politician deftly used the social media as a campaign marketing tool instead of a means of authentic involvement. Example: in 2009 the White House used whitehouse.gov to crowd source proposals for healthcare reform. It was an empty exercise because Max Baucus’s shop wrote the bill without reference to that data. The blogosphere thought initially that we had an administration that would use social media as social media for actual political discussion, not as a prop to seem trendy. Not as a one-way marketing communications medium for messaging.
In addition, the White House never provided a role for those large number of OFA volunteers that they mobilized and who were making plans for the long haul. Were they to wait for instructions or were they there to “make him do it”? That ambiguity fueled many discussions on the blogosphere in 2009 and up through 2010. And the response when some folks did try to “make him do it” is at the root of a lot of the cynicism about who Barack Obama is as a human being and politician. Which came up against both honest defenders of the President and clear messaging plants articulating the White House line. These folks might have adopted the terms of conflict of “O-bot” vs. “PUMA” but the fight was not leftover bitterness from the 2008 primary. (Wellll, there was that idiot racist attack from Bill Clinton in South Carolina, but that was forgiven in the great superdelegate compromise.)
Of all the folks I’ve dealt with in the blogosphere, in 8 years I’ve met only three of them face-to-face. None of them disappointed.
For eight years, I’ve seen the assumption that the left blogosphere is mostly made up of younger folks, just starting families. But clearly there are a lot of old war horse geezers like me hanging out and trying still to talk sense about the world. And a lot of folks for whom the blogosphere is their primary social interaction, intellectual challenge, and means of having an effect on the world. It is that networking across generations, geography, and mobility that has provided the influence on real events that has occurred as a result of the blogosphere.
What has happened in the past 8 years is that it is possible to openly consider on an honest intellectual basis left ideas that have been suppressed for over 60 years and that even the New Left wave of the 1960s did not open. It is possible to imagine viable parties to the left of the Democratic Party that pull the Overton window in a more democratic and less corporate direction.
What has also happened is that folks who were on the blogs are right now in the streets. Some with labor struggles (like the one in Freeport IL), some with various Occupy events, and one huge GOTV army of Obama supporters. If the traffic seems a little light right now, it might be because of that.
I think the big pie fights happened already in June 2004. BT was in its infancy, having started in March the same year with a few hundred users by May.
Suddenly, there was a huge migration from DK and the UIDs went from 5-600 to over 2000 in a matter of a few weeks (and looking at your UID, it looks as if you arrived just then).
Gee, that’s another thing that’s changed. The disappearance of UID privilege and UID consciousness.
Speak for yourself, but that’s how I know I’m ancient on Daily Kos. A user ID in the low 5 digits used to mean you were a newbie. Now they’re upwards of 600k…
Call me old-schooled, but I definitely still check out user IDs, at least at GOS.
UID 648, but someone banned me for not being an Obamabot.
Thank you for the recs. One of the things that I love here is that Mr. Longman doesn’t ban dissenting views. We will never find Truth by silencing critics.
UID 648 on DKos, but someone banned me for not being an Obamabot.
I have to agree with Psi on this one. If seeing a funny/insightful comment by a handle I don’t recognize, I sometimes wonder how I missed their commentary previously. At times, it turns out they are relatively new.
So, number 134(!) How did you find this place originally? Such a low number…
Well, I stumbled upon blogging in the late summer of 2004. The election campaigns were heating up and I think I followed a link to Pandagon from some newspaper (cannot recall which), which led me to DK a few days later. Lurked for a couple of weeks and then felt compelled to comment on the war in Iraq, which required registration (I had been there a couple of times before the war and thought I had some insights).
As budr mentioned above, I also noticed this guy BooMan23 who had some really thought provoking diaries. When he announced the start of this new blog ‘Booman Tribune’ one day in the first half of March 2004, I jumped right in on the first day (and wrote my first diary to boot the following day, I think). As Tarheel notes above, there was some status back then to have a low number.
Also: Correction to dates I posted above; BT’s start – and the pie fights – were in 2005.
I don’t see how speaking truth to power no matter who is in power and working with them to achieve goals is mutually exclusive. It’s a shame that it had to be all or nothing from both sides.
I miss those days. 2006 happened because of the Netroots. Full stop. I remember when the GOP started to accuse Dems of “cut and run” on Iraq, the Netroots quickly countered with “stay and pay” or something to that effect and two days later the national Dems began to use it. And so too, the Netroots have been right every single time. About Iraq, about Afghanistan, about the financial bailout, about the health care bill. Note: That’s not synonymous with being politically effective.
But it’s undeniable that the mainstream media voices both Netroots derived and inspired are better today because of it. Maybe not much better.
It was never all or nothing with me.
But I have to admit that the day after Obama was elected, I was ready to get to work, not to start knee-capping his appointments and chief of staff.
I probably found Kos first around 2002-2003. Consuming mainstream media at that time definitely felt like living in the Matrix. Though I knew there was significant opposition to the the Iraq war/Bush after participating in the large scale protests in D.C. leading up to the war. Used to read Daily Kos, Billmon, Atrios regularly. Found my way over to Balloon Juice after Kos wrote about a conservative who was taking a strong stance against torture. What a concept. Kept going back b/c the comments section was good and watching Cole’s transformation was fascinating and encouraging. Got into a prolonged dispute with Cole early on after he accused Juan Cole of antisemitism, but wouldn’t/couldn’t point to one antisemitic comment he had ever made. To John Cole’s enormous credit, he publicly came back to that incident after his transformation was complete, and apologized profusely.
Read firedoglake for awhile before Jane Hamsher lost her shit. Probably around that time, during the “whitey tape” kerfuffle, I came over here. And I have to say that Booman’s political analysis and perspective is the highest quality I’ve found at any time and in any place.
Keep up the good work.
Thanks, feral.
It’s very interesting to hear these stories about how people came to the blogosphere or this site in particular.
It’s interesting because Markos just posted something on his website that suggests the exact opposite – that the blogosphere is more alive and never was bigger. Frankly, though, it’s because he won, in the sense that dKos (once it surpassed MyDD) was always the biggest blog around, and Markos had the foresight to develop it into a sustainable business model. Props to him, and it’s clear from his pageviews that he’s doing something right.
That said, a lot of the small blogs that were on my reading list have totally disappeared. I start out reading The Left Coaster when I first hit the blogosphere in early 2004 – and that sight is basically dead (sporadic posts, but no comments). Same goes for MyDD, where it appears some people post but no one ever comments. Heck, even FDL, which was lit up for being Firebagger Central, is basically dead except for TBogg’s page (judging by the number of comments). Pandagon – gone. Billmon – gone (although he posts very occasionally at dKos). Chris Bowers – I know he got married and has FP rights at dKos, but I have rarely heard or seen anything from him. Matt Stoller totally went off the cliff, as did Stirling Newberry (judging from what I read of theirs on Facebook). Steve Gilliard unfortunately passed away, and while the group News Blog carried on a little longer, it’s dead now as well.
Local blogs are also crushed. My Left Nutmeg (which played a huge role in getting Lamont kickstarted) is dead silent. The Albany Project has a few more comments, but has sporadic posts at best. Blue Mass Group is doing just a bit better, but probably because there’s a Senate race worth paying attention to.
That’s not to say all blogs are suffering. BMT is a fine example of a place that has a longstanding community that has remained loyal and continued to see pretty steady participation (a tribute to Martin, Steve D, and the rest of the people here who make it worth visiting). Balloon Juice (which is probably my main hangout spot nowadays) has a thriving community. Heck, even LGF (which was a dirty-ass word back in the early days) has a ton of comments on their threads, although Charles Johnson doesn’t post all that frequently. And Duncan still seems like he’s doing just fine over at Eschaton. But there’s no doubt, in my mind, that the blogosphere as a semi-organized entity is dead. A good portion of that was due to the 2008 primaries – it absolutely splintered the netroots, and when Edwards got smoked and dropped out or when Clinton finally conceded in early June, that permanently fractured the netroots. It no longer became about winning for the Democratic cause; it became a bunch of people who took their ball and went home because their guy didn’t win.
That loose confederation no longer exists. Maybe it will re-form again if a Republican gets elected president and does some really stupid shit (like start a war with Iran), but I don’t see it happening. You’ve basically got dKos as the hub of the liberal blogosphere, and a smattering of blogs that remain and still garner people’s attention.
But what I would counsel people is that the hard work of passing legislation and improving the state of our union and getting Democrats elected will always remain. Just because we occupy the White House now doesn’t mean we should stop – nor does it mean it will necessarily always be that way. The trick is figuring out how to keep people engaged.
Alright, that was a long-ass spiel, but that’s my $0.02 on the whole matter.
“Pandagon – gone.”
actually, the blog is still around. it just got folded into the raw story.
Delaware Liberal is stronger than ever, which has been my home for the last several years. Some local blogs are gone, others are flourishing. It is the nature of the blogging business, which is why it is essential that any blog be a group blog with many writers, so that when writer’s block and lack of inspiration hits one, the blog does not go silent.
I found blogs when I became truly politically aware, in 2007. You were my first introduction to the atmosphere, and I’ve been here ever since. Never regretted it for a second.
I’m also only 24, so cut me some slack, heh. Plus, I’ll never forget in 2004 when Bush won. I couldn’t believe it. I’ve always been a lefty, but I never identified as a Democrat until 2007.
I blame Jon Stewart. I’ve been watching since I was in middle school (8th grade).
I wonder how you landed here first.
I used to wonder how I found Daily Kos. But I could never remember. I think it might have been mentioned on CNN, but that’s only my best guess.
When I found out I could have my stuff published instantly and get immediate feedback, I was hooked.
I was an administrator for a short period on the largest Obama facebook group (the one started by Farouk Olu Aregbe):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/16/AR2007021602084.html
So it was probably through that.
I didn’t do much except moderate, but I did utilize the group to mass-organize conference calls with a few Field heads who worked for the campaign…and then had a few tutorials on “How to make calls.” Then you scheduled meetings, and thousands joined. Far more efficient 😉
Too bad that group isn’t active anymore…FB destroyed “groups”.
Hail to the pioneers! I came into the blogosphere after seeing a link by some intelligent gym teacher who used to post online at Salon Tabletalk, and seemed to know an awful lot about economics- for a gym teacher. This was around the time of Clinton’s impeachment.
The LW blogospehere helped keep me sane during the Bush years, then drove me insane after Obama got elected. Odd that.
I’ve gone from having bookmarks/tabs on over a dozen LW political blogs to having one at the moment- this one. And that’s because yer SANE. I’ve substituted the blog tabs with twitter tabs of other sane LW people.
Thanks for the compliment. I am honored I made the cut.
Stay sane or I close the tab, lol.
I wandered in around the summer of 2005 and personally, all I can say is, Booman Tribune – priceless.
Seven years together is a long time.
Booman, first time I’ve commented here in years, but I want to thank you for being relentless in your willingness to face our political reality when many of us, even with very strong opinions and beliefs, occasionally drop out of the discourse with the excuse that “life gets in the way.” You’re the very best out there.
Thanks. It nice to see you and some other names around again.
Booman,
We need a reunion. Where does the Philly DL meet nowadays anyway?
Jose Pistola’s.
Awesome!!! Dionysus!!!!
There is a movie in there somewhere.
Facebook got a movie and a pretty good one too with far less historical perspective and context.
Sites such as this are much of the content of the political age.
Well, we have a couple of marriages and long-term relationships and kids and a few nasty break-ups, and so on. But I picture a movie of a bunch of people sitting around drinking beer and eating chicken wings, and it seems pretty boring.
I feel old.
I definitely met some wonderful people through blogs and DL who I’d like to see more of from time to time. My life took an unexpected detour that makes doing that more difficult than I’d like.
Not so fond of the linked article, but I’ll leave it at that for now.
Yeah, well we should take Brendan up on his idea of having a family friendly DL at someone’s house. That way, our kids can beat each other up.
This will always be a special place. I don’t comment or write diaries because I can’t maintain that level of anger that I used to feel. It was making me sick, but I come here everyday to read and stay informed.