Wisconsin Blogosphere Lacks Diversity

So this past Saturday there was a "Blog Summit" held at Marquette University's Law School.

By the way, it was also Greek Week at Marquette. There was an air band competition on Saturday at 2:00 pm at the Varsity Theater.

But I digress.

I can't give any personal observations because I didn't attend the summit.

In case you missed it, too:

About 90 people attended the roughly three-and-a-half hour summit, which consisted of a series of five panel discussions with top bloggers and political commentators from around the state. In addition to the panel on diversity, other topics included blogging's impact on the '06 and '08 campaigns, how blogging has affected journalism, the legalities of blogging and the future of blogging in Wisconsin.

Bloggers Jay Bullock and Owen Robinson commented on the future of blogging and led a lengthy discussion with audience members on a variety issues relating to blogging.

Bullock, who authors Folkbum's Rambles and Rants, said he is encouraged by increased cooperation he has seen among blogs in not only coordinating messages, but action as well. Robinson, who blogs at Boots and Sabers, stressed that the blogosphere developed organically and it is impossible to predict where it will go.

Ninety people -- I'd say the summit was well-attended.

In today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, columnist Eugene Kane writes his reflections on the summit.

On Saturday I attended a "Blog Summit" at Marquette University sponsored by WisPolitics.com, a political Web site. For a "mainstream media" journalist who has been writing a blog for more than a year, it wasn't exactly like going into the belly of the beast, but it was close.

"Belly of the beast"?

That's a bit extreme.

Hardcore bloggers are similar to the folks who sit around pretending to be general managers of professional sports teams on draft day; some bloggers think of themselves as citizen journalists and bring an intensity to their chosen diversion that can seem a tad out of proportion to their actual impact on things.

The half-day summit at Marquette University Law School was billed as the second such event, representing the growing impact of blogs written by both professionals and amateurs on current issues in the media, politics and society. Many at the summit - which was attended by approximately 90 people, according to WisPolitics.com - were the faceless and sometimes nameless writers who post blog items with stupefying regularity.

Kane mocks the "hardcore bloggers" and questions their grasp on reality.

That's rather mean-spirited. Maybe he genuinely feels threatened by them. In all likelihood, he wants to get bloggers to write about him.

...I was invited to participate in a panel discussion on the need for more diversity in the blogosphere. Some bloggers were reportedly eager to make my acquaintance, although few took the opportunity.

Many were the same conservative bloggers who regularly take pleasure bashing my column. They also read my blog on JSOnline, which makes me as much a blogger as anyone these days, although some would like to build a bubble of authenticity around the term to restrict its use only for those who pass some sort of "citizen journalist" criteria.

As best I can determine what they mean is, if you don't get paid to blog but do it anyway, you're in.

I spoke on a panel titled "Are All Voices Being Heard in the Internet?" along with writer Dasha Kelly and Milwaukee School Board member Jennifer Morales. Both women blog for OnMilwaukee.com. When moderator Mike Gousha opened our session, he remarked about the lack of diversity in the room. Most were white males.

"I'm glad you brought that up," I joked to Gousha.

It was clear the blogosphere in Milwaukee is similar to most institutions in town: predominantly white and filled with folks who only want to talk about race relations if they can blame all of the problems in the black community on Ald. Mike McGee.

If Kane really thinks that attendees of this blog event present an actual sampling of the diversity of Wisconsin's virtual community, and particularly the Milwaukee area, then I think he's making a mistake.

Anyone can write a blog. There are no color barriers that are imposed by society.

His statement that "the blogosphere in Milwaukee is similar to most institutions in town: predominantly white," is classic Kane.

Note to Kane: The participants in the blogger summit don't necessarily reflect the diversity of the metro blogosphere.

Moreover, I think it's inaccurate, although amusing, to consider something as undefined as the blogosphere to be an "institution."

I guess he just wanted to lash out at "whiteness" in his column. He's made a career of it.

...I noticed some of the bloggers in the room have an aggressive and even combative style on the Internet, but when you meet them they come across as perfectly civil people. The folks who found time to speak to me assured me they liked my column and blog even if they didn't always agree with it. They forgot to mention how they'd give up a lung to have my job.

I think bloggers will continue to increase their relevance and impact as long as they don't start taking themselves too seriously. It's good to have folks out there keeping the mainstream media on its toes, but it's important to remember just like the NFL draft, the real game is played on the field.

It's not in your basement.

Yes, Kane seems genuinely ticked off by the bloggers, people without a degree in journalism. Naturally, he's ticked off by "whiteness."

Although he does acknowledge the relevance of bloggers, he feels the need to put them in their place and label them as delusional wannabes, confined to their basements, and jealous of his authority. That's kind of weird.

You don't need a degree in journalism to express your opinion, and you certainly don't need to be employed by a media outlet to exercise your freedom of speech.