Blog of Norman Ralph

Whilst I have been recovering froma bout of the flu I have been catching up on some of the other blogs I subscribe to. After reading Kieran’s post on the Guardian’s article on the blogosphere, which basically says that blogging is fast heading towards the realm of a virtual boxing ring, filled with point-scoring alpha males, I felt the familiar surge of rage and burning desire to defend something that I love.

I have not been blogging long, in fact I am a relative newbie compared to many of the more established weblogs out there, but I feel a part of the community of bloggers (the blogosphere) all the same. Since going ‘live’ at normanralph.com I have been the subject of ridicule from a number of sources. These include the general public who see blogging as the last realm of the geek - a view that would anger and offend many bloggers - as well as close friends who seem to see blogging as a passing fad. Both of these views are bad enough, but usually they can be put down to at best ignorance and at worst jealousy. This latest attack from a nationally accepted broadsheet paper is something different. Whilst I normally put the offings from the Manchester based newspaper down to left-wing, nimby style journalism, I am not naive enough to belive that some people will sit up and take notice to this article. I think that it is this negative media coverage that is more likely to discourage potential bloggers than the views of the people that I have spoken to.

Blogging provides so many opportunities for so many people. From the technical minded that want somewhere to offer support and advice on all things tech. It provides an excellent platform for many businesses to discuss their development side and offer up-to-date feedback to their customers and investors. It also provides people like me a ’soapbox’ from which to shout our many opinions!

Keep blogging!