> What would bloggers know if they
> hadn't read it in a newspaper (or,
> no doubt, a paper's website)? What
> news do bloggers actually gather?
> Do they travel, interview people,
> read anything longer than another
> blog entry?
>
> I guess it's like American
> Protestantism - anyone can join who
> claims to be saved. Who needs to
> know anything?
I wouldn't dismiss them. People do bring to their blogging, commenting, etc. (e.g. listserv postings) a unique (Hayekian, if you will) local experience. The problems are (1) the high noise/signal ratio and (2) figuring out how representative a particular voice is. But the users of the information are learning to discern through it. The hype about the democratizing influence of the Internet is unmet, but *something* is going on.
I've been observing Mexico's presidential race very closely (via the web) and the Internet is playing a big role in the whole thing. It has made it everything more swiftly. The roles of mass and other media as well as traditional campaigning have changed. The entire political process is being reshaped under the influence of these communication technologies. And Mexico is a country where most people don't have Internet access at home!
Julio