Creditability is something everyone strives for. We attend classes, gain certificates, become licensed and pretty much find any way possible to lend legitimize what we do. The traditional media have either press passes or freelance contracts to show the world they are legitimate. What about bloggers?
Sure I could carry my phone around with me and show the world that I have indeed made blog post. But what does that prove? And furthermore, does the act of writing a blog actually make me a blogger? I mean just because I give someone drugs doesn’t make me a pharmacist.
This comes up because I spent the morning arguing points on media with a friend of mine who cited a blogger. When I asked what was the blogger’s background my friend was unable to answer. Doing a ChaCha (242242 from my cell) I found out that the blogger was actually high school student from New York City.
I applauded the student for taking the time to study media, but she is simply a casual observer. She has no journalistic background, has not worked in a relating field and for all I know simply watches the daily news to form an opinion.
I know it goes against social media’s core to suggest this, but maybe we need some kind of validation system in the blogging world. Something that can show my creditability and the verity of what I write. Some sort of ranking system that can be applied by readers of a blog to show prominence.
I am not talking about something that tracks link backs or site visits, but something that readers of blogs can actually give a numerical value to a blog on its legitimacy. The blogger could then prominently display his/her rating and let the world know he/she is a certified blogger.
Have any of you seen a system like this? Do you think it is a good idea or should blogging be left the way it is? Now with all this hoopla about creating massive blogging networks I wonder if the blogosphere is ready to adopt something like this? If you need to see my blog pass I left it in my other pants.
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http://daringfireball.net/2008/03/kahney_jackass
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Is a blog on the WSJ guaranteed more traffic than that of an individual, for example?
Or is someone employed by the WSJ guaranteed to have more knowledge on a subject? More contacts? More links back from other blogs?
I wouldn't argue that every single blog is created equal, but I also wouldn't believe that every blog backed by a media company is guaranteed to be more worthy than every blog created by a private individual.
And where do you draw the line for professional media bloggers vs private? A professional magazine can have as little as 10,000 readers...
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As a journalist I can see where you're coming from. But at the same time, the best validation of any blogger is whether their content is any good or not. You could judge that by their readership, or their time spent blogging, or you could judge it by their about page, or 5 latest posts.
Someone without any professional grounding could still be very insightful, if they spend every hour studying the media. That's more than most journalists actually do!
Many traditional journalists may, or may not have academic journalist qualifications, or professional qualifications. A press card simply shows you belong to an organisation, or you're employed as a journalist. And there are plenty of people who have faked or added to freelance contracts etc.
The only time I ever used my press pass/business card was in a situation where I had to gain immediate access/prove my identity quickly.
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