Friday, September 24, 2004

A Poseur Alert: Ok, so SullyWatch We Ain't

But since I seem to be taking real issue with the whole "bloggers are the future" bit, and for some stupid reason I visited Sullivan's site today, can I just ask one question? Come on Hampden, I think you know what I'm thinking.

He's talking about the latest Boondocks strip("Can a N****A Can A Job?"), and how the WaPo has pulled it.

To Sullyize, Money Quote:

"I laughed and learned something. Why couldn't the tired old p.c. souls at the Post? Anyway, here's the strip. It carries on all week. See, Big Media? You can't stop us any more, can you?"

He helpfully provides a link to some comics page or other. ARE YOU EFFIN' KIDDING ME?

Let's put aside the asinine idea that somehow there is this big media that is trying to stop Sully, of all people. Let's leave aside the fact that the real big media that would be trying to stop this kind of thing is a product of the de-regulation of which Sully is so fond. Let's leave aside the fact that it's not big media Sully objects to, it's big media that prints stories he doesn't like. Yes, let's do that and get right to the snark.

And to that end:

Yes, the revolution in freedom of information and the subversion of that nasty ol' big media paradigm starts right here at Yahoo News, that upstart tiny little media franchise that has TV advertisments, makes huge money in advertising, and has AN EFFIN' 35 FT TALL NEON BILLBOARD RIGHT OFF OF MARKET STREET. Watch me subvert the dominant big media paradigm.

Sullivan, remember what your iron lady said. "There is no society, only individuals." So quit claiming you're one of "us"(I don't include myself in "us"- I'm just a lowly software engineer, not a "web journalist").

I don't see a Creative Commons license anywhere on your page, and you use a Mac, so you're not using Open Source - unless you're using OSX, but I trust you don't know the purpose of the BSD License anyway.

See, long before there was your blog revolution, there was a large community of scientists, engineers, researchers, artists and (gasp!) lawyers in your much hated academia who decided that the best way to benefit society with technology was to make it easily available, to place it in the public square. The challenge offered by these people is a far greater challenge to big media and big everything else because it challenges the traditional business paradigm. Oh yeah, by the way, it was risky offering that challenge. You're not on the vanguard if you aren't taking chances, and shooting your mouth off on the computer isn't taking chances.

Get over yourself and stop all this revolution business, because it ain't a revolution. Just because nitwits like you keep calling it one doesn't make it so. Imagine what garbage we'd have to put up with if it wasn't just curious suburbanites and truckers using HAM radios and CB's.