Centerfield

Community Standards

I don't normally care for Hugh Hewitt, but I share his skepticism over the Dean blog phenomenon.

Which raises the question of whether the vast online network the Dean machine boasts of is such a good thing after all. It may have turned into a self-reinforcing hothouse of out-of-touch, marginal-but-loud cheerleading for itself. Feedback from the middle parts of the American spectrum appear to have been cut-off.

Dean's internet strategy has been impressive at mobilizing and leveraging one segment of society. But are they out of touch with the views of the general electorate? Is this a 21st century tulip folly?

I don't blame the Dean people specifically for this, nor do I think it an exclusively left-wing phenomenon. I participate in the Clark Community Blogs. Knowing the audience feels a certain way does affect what I post, and if I do post constructive criticism, I make certain to place it in bubble-wrap so as not to offend. In any community, there's a tension between the energy one receives from the support of the community, and the pressure to conform that comes from the desire to be liked. The tighter the community, the less it may understand about the outside world.

Posted by rickheller at December 19, 2003 10:09 AM