it seems that blogging is almost the written version of reality television. It's cheap for sure, it's fairly instant and largely consists of what very ordinary people feel like mouthing off about. That though is a huge generalisation because there are good ones, but because it is the ultimate in free speech there is no way of ensuring that the blogger actually engages their brain before typing. I know I don't when I'm typing my comments on a thread, and I start to ramble, but if it's something sensitive I do make quite an effort to think carefully about what I'm going to say, and I'm getting better at it mostly. I think the enthusiasm for reality television and for reading blogs might possibly stem from the same place though, and neither of them requires ... I suppose neither of them requires an artist, if you see what I mean. Reality television might require a great producer who is very skilled at what they do, but even a fabulous producer isn't creating something completely new out of their own head like a good writer of television plays or dramas.

There is still good television around, but I think it is surrounded by a lot more tripe than it used to be. Same goes for the written word. It's great that people can have a place to say something they feel is important, without having to spend years writing a book about it and then fighting to get a publisher. But without people switching on their internal controls it just descends into the nastiest catfight ever and nobody gets to argue about it because it's just a nobody being spiteful.

I prefer to read blogs like Shaun's, Rose's or Lynn's where the content is about real people and there's no attempt to get one over on someone else. I haven't read most of Lynn's political stuff though, so maybe I should reserve judgment on that! Where people feel very strongly about things and there are no external controls things can get very heated, even downright rude. Those are not the kind of blogs I would waste my time reading. Life's too full of snark without going online and looking for it too!

Kerri.