blogging on blogging

In typical blog-boy fashion, I’m standing at the internet kiosk in the midst of The Madness, immediately following a Neil Tesser-hosted panel entitled “the blog!”

Tesser has no experience with blogs and, at least concerning the blogger with which I am most familiar, seems not to have dug too far back into the archives. The panelists summarized DJA as blogging for primarily self-promotional purposes but, as my feeble memory sees it, Darcy has been my primary view of left-of-main jazz in NYC for a whole calendar year now (a purpose mentioned by Darcy during the panel).

Anyway.

To the far left was Carl Wilson, who apparently writes for The Globe and Mail and blogs about the Toronto music scene and has recently released a book on Celine Dion!

Next to him was David Adler, the most lukewarm blogger on the panel. He has written for several major jazz rags and seemed to be the only one on stage ready to throw in the towel.

Darcy was first on the left and next to him was composer David Ryshpan, from whom I purchased my SecretSociety tshirt after the SSN set. His blog centers around his “you should check this out, too” playlists.

Tesser divided not only the stage, but the perspectives of the panelists as well. Very evident here was the typical blogdom paradox of “everyone has a soapbox, but not everyone should use it.” I’ve struggled with this myself, as I feel my existence and experience afford me the right to an opinion and the right to share that opinion.

I can understand how someone who gets paid to do something at a high level can take offense to amateurs doing the same thing for free and often getting as many or more accolades. Heaven knows there are too many self-proclaimed experts out there poisoning minds in teh interwebs, but this wonderful rats’ nest has also given voice to some fine musicians and thinkers who haven’t had the formal training to qualify them for traditional outlets.

I’m rather ambivalant to the whole thing, I guess. The journalists’ point of view is quite valid, but that won’t stop me from speaking my mind.

Just as I was typing this, Gregory Dudzienski approached me for a pleasant little conversation. His motives for blogging (to expose a deserving scene) may be a little more altruistic than mine or maybe have a higher purpose (no “hey, check out this restaurant” posts on his site), but I’ll keep on truckin’.