UPDATE: Here is the current version of the spreadsheet mentioned below…
Determined to inject some sense and organization to my sorta, kinda list of S.C. blogs in the rail at right, which I have long labeled "Fun with links" because it was nice and vague, I put together the attached spreadsheets.
Basically, I was trying to separate wheat from chaff, and provide a true list of S.C. blogs, along with some kind of hierarchy of timeliness. So I went through my list of links to see who had posted most recently (only seven out of 33 had posted today), then — to add some depth to that metric — how many times they had posted in the past week. (Among true S.C. blogs, The Palmetto Scoop and The Shot/The Chaser ran away from the pack.)
What I was seeking to do was to put my links in some sort of order, and it seemed that the most useful order for my readers would be one that honored timeliness. That would put TPS and The Chaser at the top, and "I Don’t Believe The State" at the very bottom (no posts since June 21; I had already purged all blogs less fresh than that).
But wait: Those stats don’t stack up to Andrew Sullivan‘s or Dave Barry‘s. But they lose points because they’re not S.C. blogs, which is the point. Then, there are links to things that aren’t blogs at all, but which I wanted to keep, such as to SC Hotline and Peggy Noonan‘s columns. (Earlier, I had created a new category called "Resources," and maybe SC Hotline belongs there. While I’m at it, I might create a list of links to recent work of top columnists, with a separate heading, as a home for Peggy.)
Finally, I decided I would afford extra points in my hierarchy to blogs that are written by a single person (as opposed to South Carolina ’08) and are not anonymous (which would downgrade "not very bright," despites its timeliness).
Anyway, do me a favor, if you’ve got the time — go over the spreadsheet, and give me feedback to improve it. The kind of feedback I’m looking for would include:
- Names of blogs that should make the list, but aren’t here (plus all the relevant info you can provide). I’m guessing some might wish to advocate for FITS News, and others I’m just not thinking of. Speaking of Will, perhaps I should add a "taste" scale to my spreadsheet.)
- Identities of authors where I’ve got them wrong, or have wrongly judged them to be anonymous or pseudonymous. For instance, there might be someone who doesn’t give his name, but wouldn’t mind if asked. I am NOT seeking to expose private citizens who wish to be unknown, despite what some think.
- Whether you think a given site qualifies as a South Carolina blog. On the sheet I put together, I just said Y or N on that, but it occurs to me that I should have a scale on that score. There are some blogs based in SC that have nothing to say that you can’t find on any other blog in the nation — that is to say, they just watch cable TV news and parrot their particular sides party line on the subject. Such blogs are worth next to nothing. In fact, I’m going to go in and assign a 1-10 scale as to S.C. relevance, and save a separate version of the spreadsheet, here. Tell me if you agree/disagree with the ratings.
- Finally, is it a blog at all? Some, such as John Wrisley‘s, I’m not at all sure fit the category.
- Any other points I’m forgetting.
Your help will be appreciated.
Related Posts
Whoops. I just realized that I hadn’t provided a comparison between these blogs I’m rating and my own. Well, what’s good for the goose and all that. Here’s a version of the spreadsheet with me included. Note that I’ve had 21 posts in the past week (not counting this one), which puts me at the top of actual S.C. blogs. But I gave myself a just-passing score of 7 on S.C. relevance. I was dismayed to see how many non-S.C. posts I’ve done recently. The meat is still in the S.C. ones, but I’ve wandered too much off the reservation lately. That’s an easy way to raise frequency of posting (which is why it surprises me that the blogs that just prattle on about the latest inside-the-Beltway talking points don’t post more often than I do; just lazy I guess), but it doesn’t add much in the way of value. Sorry about that, folks.
I guess I’m just repeating you, but it seems that FITSNews should be on the list.
What was the reason for consciously omitting it?
Brad,
This is Mike Green here. How can you SCHotline is anonymous? It is run my Jeffrey Sewell and myself. Thanks.
SCHotline is not a true blog but a news aggregator, but does have an exclusive blog associated with it:
The Bierbauer Report
Charles Bierbauer draws his interests in media, politics and education together as Dean of the College of Mass Communications and Information Studies at the University of South Carolina. The views here are his own, not those of the university. He is a former CNN political correspondent and currently is a consultant and senior contributing editor for SCHotline.com
Site Editors are Mike Green, Jeffrey Sewell, Interns from USC various.
Thanks, Mike. Sorry about that. That’s just the sort of error that I need readers to correct me on.
One of the things about blogging on top of a full-time job is that you throw such things as that spreadsheet together in a hurried, stream-of-consciousness way. But one of the advantages of blogging, period, is that you can do it in a collaborative, wiki sort of way, and your readers can help you to a more true, more complete report.
I knew better on that that one; I just forgot. In fact, I exchanged e-mail with Jeffrey just a week or so ago. I guess I’m getting old.
In any case, here’s the spreadsheet with that corrected. I’m guessing you did not take issue with my saying it’s not a true blog. More of a compendium, or … well, how would you categorize it? I’m still trying to decide where it would go in the roll. Maybe under "Resources."
And Daniel — I never went about compiling that list in any kind of comprehensive, systematic, authoritative way (until now, and you’re helping me with that). Over the last couple of years, I would run into a site that seemed to have some value, or that just tickled something in my brain’s pleasure center, and put up a link. How else would you explain my inclusion of lying in ponds, which initially got in because of the delightful name, and stayed because its purpose is intriguing? Will’s site never really struck me either way; but it was on my mind as I wrote this post because of his recent dubious claims and notoriety that, at least in the minds of the Campaigns & Elections folks, rivals my own.
… and Jeffrey — gig Charles to post a little more often!
Oops! He just did. Speak of the devil…
By the way, if you have input about blogs to share that you don’t want to broadcast to the world — say, a contact number or address for a blogger you think I should talk to — send it to me at bwarthen@thestate.com.
We have a new stand-up guy. "John" of "A Lie a Day" fame says he is really Jon Keith Shurett, without an "H".
I feel sort of like a fundamentalist preacher, receiving reformed anonymous bloggers as they come to the front of the church to profess their true selves. Here’s hoping they don’t backslide on us.
I don’t post nearly as often as I like (perhaps I should post instead of commenting here?) and I’m no longer a South Carolinian… so I guess that leaves me off the list? Maybe if I post more often about South Carolina?
Yes, you should post more often, and about South Carolina. And you should comment here, too. What do you think I’m going to say? I want it all.
(Folks, "Gary" is Gary Karr, former press secretary to then-Gov. David Beasley, and before that, a reporter for The Associated Press.)
I will add my last name on my comments here. I never intended to make it seem anonymous, and I’ve never wanted my blog to be anonymous.