The Blog Matrix
Rajeev identified an occupying topic from Bloggercon reportage, elitism in blogging. Infact I was giving this a thought while chatting with a fellow blogger few days back and we both marvelled at the volume of blogging being done by Indians and whether it has any impact on others who don't blog. The fact remains that these handful of blogs and the opinions expressed therein could not be representative of the rest of the population for whom (especially in third world countries) ekeing out their daily bread and butter is more significant a matter than discussing the plight of hungry farmers inside AC drawing rooms sporting an original MF Hussain . If 97% of the US population does not blog the Indian scenario can be very well reckoned. Many of my friends are in software profession and majority of them have not even heard of blogging, I can't expect much of others who are seldom online.
When Indian bloggers, many of whom are top-executives of far-famed companies, B-School grads capable of shelving hefty fees and some others who have the luxury of a reasonabley good Internet connectivity, write or refer to each other's post they hardly do so out of empathy. Majority of posts are self-indulging and would fail to make any impact except gratifying the egoboo urge. Blogging is not technolgy alone, it is supposedly a potent platform for exchange of ideas and potential business tool. But blogging certainly cannot be termed as a revolution unless it widens its reach and really delivers on the business front (ever heard of a blogger being paid for his posts). Until blogging qualifies on its commercial viability its social repurcussions can hardly be felt. Till that time the bloggers would continue to make merry in their tiny indivisualistic Matrix of referrers and syndications.