Blogging at the Demo Nat'l Convention

Maybe I'm reading the wrong blogs, but most of the convention blogs seem to be drivel. The second biggest story of the convention might we actually need journalists after all. I also found it difficult to even find the convention bloggers (OK, it took a few minutes googling but it should have taken a few seconds). And then they weren't connected to each other so it was a pain to go from one to the other. Only to read exciting comments such as "I'm going to my hotel room now to upload some photos". Please tell me I'm missing something here.

CyberTourists in Boston
July 30, 2004, 4:00 AM PT
By Charles Cooper

Professional politicians aren't famous for being early to embrace new technology. So when the Democrats extended credentials to bloggers to cover the party's national convention in Boston, I was left pleasantly stunned.

With all the pageantry and the circus-like atmospherics that make up an American political convention, you couldn't ask for a better backdrop to show off blogging's potential. In full view of the rest of the journalistic world, here would be the most welcome--albeit belated--recognition yet by the establishment that the media landscape is changing before our eyes.

All the more disappointing, then, to report back that blogging blew its big chance in Beantown.

With a few exceptions, most of the credentialed bloggers came off like cyberhayseeds in the big city.

for the rest of the article go here:
http://news.com.com/2010-1028-5289475.html?tag=nefd.acpro

John Dvorak on the blogger fiasco

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?dist=&param=archive&siteid=mktw&guid=%7B771BE781%2DB80B%2D48DD%2DB94D%2DA1917D357E4D%7D

Unfortunately you have to register to read, but here are a few tidbits.

Blogging at the convention
Commentary: Results of novel experiment prove mixed
By John C. Dvorak
Last Update: 2:55 PM ET July 28, 2004

Editor's note: John C. Dvorak is a regular contributor to CBS MarketWatch.
Dvorak is a longtime technology industry observer and columnist. His own daily musings can be read at www.dvorak.org/blog.

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- When the Democrats issued credentials to between 30 and 50 bloggers and treated them to a special "breakfast for bloggers" at this week's Boston convention, you sensed something is changing in the media.
.......
From what I've seen so far on the Technorati convention blog watch, I'm not impressed.
Many of these posts are vapid observations combined with simple Kerry boosterism or knee-jerk Limbaugh-Republicanist complaints. Some are simply an undecipherable mess. Hopefully a few professionals will come in and publish some thoughtful pieces before the exercise is over, but this looks laughable thus far.
........
Blog mavens see blogging as a new form of media that will destroy the old media and its old-fashioned methodologies. They are living in a dream world.

Blogging is important and will take its rightful place as a resource, but not as a substitute for news organizations. And like the legions of Star Trek fans who pour over every episode frame-by-frame to find flaws, bloggers will, in fact, become the watchdog of the media, combing news reports, and keeping everyone honest. What's more important than that?