The Notroots
Michael Reynolds has a must read post about Daily Kos and what it really means in the grand scheme of things.
I am a netroots skeptic. I don’t think politics has moved to the web. I think there is a disconnect between web-world and real-world. Remember “meet ups?” Go to MeetUp.com, scroll through the political stuff. Lots of zeroed-out groups. Remember “flash mobs?”Yes, the web is a good tool for raising money, but mostly just because it’s easier to find a web address than to get an 800 number which may or may not exist for the candidate or issue of your choice. The web is the new 800 number, not an end in itself.
I think blogs do a good job of annoying reporters, and a good job of communicating with other bloggers, and a good job of preaching to the converts, but I don’t see a sea change in politics. Most of America, the overwhelming majority of Americans, could not name a single blog. I think in here, inside this box, Kos is a big deal. But if he’s such a big deal, how come he can’t sell his book?
Reynolds is on hiatus now. He will be missed.
5 Responses to “The Notroots”
Kos isn’t a big deal – I rarely read it.
“Kos isn’t a big deal – I rarely read it”The DLC is not a big deal, I read the Bull Moose so I can point out how the Democratic Leadership Conference is not the Democratic Party.
On the other hand, how come Glenn Greenwald’s book is selling so well? It’s an entirely blog phenomenon.
Uhuh…
Okay. In honest truth, I probably should agree with this.
But the point of it is not that it’s a mass movement by itself.
The point is that it’s a movement from which change can come about.
Will the Netroots take off into the mainstream?
That remains to be seen.
But I wouldn’t shrug it off just yet. Give the idea time to work itself out, develop it’s strategies, and see how the country reacts as the netroots breaks into grassroot type movements.
Right now the netroots are cultivating growth for the future. How long did it take the K-street project to have a big impact. 10 years or so right? The real issue is all the folks that use the internet now, will be the voters of the future. How many of those do you think pick up and read a newspaper today?
personally, I’ve only read Kos when its linked. I did see “him” on the Colbert Report, funny, fairly straight forward, and his ideas didn’t seem altogether wacky to me. I haven’t read his book, but then again I haven’t read any conservative blogger books either.