A blog is more than a shallow online diary.
I just read in Slashdot that:
The New York City Police Department announced Tuesday that bloggers and others who publish on the Web will now be eligible for press credentials.
I usually just tweet articles like this, but after seeing how Norwegian bloggers (or maybe they prefer to be called diary writers) reacted to some friendly advice called Bloggplakat I got this urge to comment on this article.
This is why I feel it is very safe to say that blogging in Norway is still in its infantile phase; or in nicer words, blogging is still very young in Norway. I think blogging is so young there that it is still crawling around on its knees.
The contrast is laughable. In Norway you have bloggers who get all angry because someone writes some general guidelines for bloggers, so they can act and be taken more professional. Based on what some have expressed they do not want it and feel that advice is somehow threatens their freedom of speech.
In USA bloggers and others who publish on the web can get press credentials in New York City. In other words, blogging is taken much more serious in the USA not just by bloggers, but also by the people and the government.
I am not surprised though. As I have mentioned before, the Bloggers’ Rights were realised by the EFF about five years ago and was seen as a blessing. I guess Norwegian have a lot to learn from other bloggers, especially those who have been doing it almost for a decade and is part of the English-speaking blogosphere. From my experience it seem that the majority of English-speaking (or is it writing?) bloggers wants to be taken more serious. They want their blog to be seen as a source of information, not a simple shallow diary.
If we look beyond laws, you are the only one who can limit your own freedom to expression. You are the one who sets the limits and boundaries of what you feel is okay to publish in the public space. If you can be taken more serious by following some simple and friendly advice, do it! Because anyone can criticise.
It is not always about what you say, but how you say it.
