I just finished listening to The Connection and its coverage of bloggy coverage of the Democratic Convention. I was a bit disconcerted to see that the live show and the live web cam [Ed.: as illustrated] were a bit at odds but that probably is an effect of simply too many media. Canadians will remember the host, Dick Gordon, as the great summer replacement for whatever CBC One radio show host was on vacation in the 1990s. He is truly the one that got away leaving us nothing but shows I no longer listen to before noon and little thereafter..until Brent of course.

I fear for the prospects of this moment when the "blogger as journalist" wing-nuttery is in ascendence. Will anyone review the success of blogs or are we still in that "my kids play t-ball" phase where any effort has to be applauded? I think sooner or later we have to have a process of evaluating the value of a blog or blogs by a measuring tool more useful than the number of people reading them if they are going to be taken for something beyond chat, something with authority. To be fair, the show discussed how many bad blogs there are and also how many offically vetted ones there are. My concern has also been how many "important" ones there are, which is as much as result of savvy marketing by the needy as the quality of content. This phenomena apparently is dieing down, however, as readers realize that politics differs from techie news and that, unlike an answer to a tech question, there are few authoritative "opinions" in a participatory democracy.

My hope is that the convention coverage will show the real gems are the primany blogs - messages from people doing things - and not the observers, the official 20 or more invitees. While there is no authoritative opinion, there is still the authority of access to simple fact, the giving of unique witness. Good for the general observer blogger, I say, as we need to each watch more and be aware but great for the do-er who explains.

Later: That all being said, the Rukster News Service (RNS) is looking very much like a junior high hi-jinks kind of endeavour. By the time he is done his unseen unnoticed investigative reporting on the protocols, he may be dropping water balloons on the Kerry team just to blog it. Also, notice the lack of security and picture Pete's theoretical evil cousin in his place.