Participatory Democracy or Addiction?

“Wang Yiming, 21, is a self-confessed internet addict, one of a growing number in China. He used to spend hours online each day, often going without food or sleep. His face is drawn and sallow,” writes BBC’s Daniel Griffiths. “He said addiction changed his whole life.”


China has opened its first Internet addiction clinic. Um, what in the hell is that on that kid’s head? (Is this an “either it’ll kill you or cure you” kinda treatment? The caption says: “The clinic provides medical treatment and therapy.”)


Perhaps more pertinent to, um, BooTribbers: “A new study [from AdAge.com] shows that workers will ‘waste’ 551,000 work years reading and posting to blogs,” notes Alternet PEEK’s Evan Derkacz.


Sounding suspiciously defensive, Evan Derkacz adds:

Granted, blogs can be drivel. But they can also be a shining example of participatory democracy; the grand conversation. They can be mindless blather but they can be a pinprick of sanity in a mechanical existence. In other words, they can be anything. It’s just people writing and reading folks.


… But for the number of people I’ve seen who read the comics, do the crossword, chatter on the cell phone, gossip in the kitchenette… Employers ought to be glad their employees may be honing their writing and becoming more knowledgeable about something…


Hip, hip, hooray, Evan! You’ve given me new arguments! My motley bunch of relatives — save my daughter — either don’t care that I blog or think it’s a complete waste of time, refusing to read a single thing I write.


How many of you have avocations or professions that most everyone thinks are rather a waste of time, or of no worth?


I’ve given up on mentioning my blogging to my family, except for my daughter. I finally got the courage to send a URL to my thoughtful, funny next-door neighbor Pat — he who gave me a huge bag of dog food so I could keep feeding the raccoons we all love and enjoy.


Pat came over the other day and gave me a book. He said he’d found it in his closet. It was a novel by longtime Newsweek reporter Arnaud de Borchgrave.

Pat said, “I thought I should give it to you because you’re a journalist.” (I’ll never forget those words.) And so are all of you — including all of you who don’t put up diaries but who post your incredibly interesting and thoughtful comments. What do others think of your blogging?

“Wang Yiming, 21, is a self-confessed internet addict, one of a growing number in China. He used to spend hours online each day, often going without food or sleep. His face is drawn and sallow,” writes BBC’s Daniel Griffiths. “He said addiction changed his whole life.”


China has opened its first Internet addiction clinic. Um, what in the hell is that on that kid’s head? (Is this an “either it’ll kill you or cure you” kinda treatment? The caption says: “The clinic provides medical treatment and therapy.”)


Perhaps more pertinent to, um, BooTribbers: “A new study [from AdAge.com] shows that workers will ‘waste’ 551,000 work years reading and posting to blogs,” notes Alternet PEEK’s Evan Derkacz.


Sounding suspiciously defensive, Evan Derkacz adds:

Granted, blogs can be drivel. But they can also be a shining example of participatory democracy; the grand conversation. They can be mindless blather but they can be a pinprick of sanity in a mechanical existence. In other words, they can be anything. It’s just people writing and reading folks.


… But for the number of people I’ve seen who read the comics, do the crossword, chatter on the cell phone, gossip in the kitchenette… Employers ought to be glad their employees may be honing their writing and becoming more knowledgeable about something…


Hip, hip, hooray, Evan! You’ve given me new arguments! My motley bunch of relatives — save my daughter — either don’t care that I blog or think it’s a complete waste of time, refusing to read a single thing I write.


How many of you have avocations or professions that most everyone thinks are rather a waste of time, or of no worth?


I’ve given up on mentioning my blogging to my family, except for my daughter. I finally got the courage to send a URL to my thoughtful, funny next-door neighbor Pat — he who gave me a huge bag of dog food so I could keep feeding the raccoons we all love and enjoy.


Pat came over the other day and gave me a book. He said he’d found it in his closet. It was a novel by longtime Newsweek reporter Arnaud de Borchgrave.

Pat said, “I thought I should give it to you because you’re a journalist.” (I’ll never forget those words.) And so are all of you — including all of you who don’t put up diaries but who post your incredibly interesting and thoughtful comments. What do others think of your blogging?