Anne's blog has been making the news - not least because she's been thrust into the position of becoming Scotland's newest MSP in the saddest of circumstances.
Most reports on her blogging career have come in diary pieces, so I'm a bit concerned by the tone of today's article in the Daily Record.
Labour really are doing their best to smear a story out of nothing, and have been gleefully aided and abetted by the Record in this case. Glasgow's "eastender" has rather ridiculously called for an apology to Parliament. How she thinks that's even appropriate when the comment was made two weeks ago, I can't begin to imagine...
Anne has been blogging for nearly two years now. She's been a candidate, been to Sri Lanka, and updated the world with many aspects of her life. She's more open than most in her blog, and it's this frankness that makes her blog so readable. It's useful for her friends as well as her followers to know what's going on in Anne's life - everyone's so busy these days that blogging and facebook updates are often the only way of keeping up with what goes on in the lives of our friends.
Blogs are both serious and irreverant, they give an insight into people's lives, they give comment on events. I'm guessing this, along with freedom of speech in general, is something Labour just don't understand. By attacking bloggers in the press, they shut down debate and cause the more timid of us to get cagey about what we blog and when we blog. Labour's Kezia Dugdale has recently dipped her toes back in the water after being scared off; others have given up on the catharsis of blogging for a variety of reasons. The blogosphere needs many voices to make it worthwhile; I don't want to see someone so committed to blogging feel that all of a sudden they can't speak their mind.
Anne's "offending" post on the goings on on budget day was actually interesting. On the whole, we don't get to see things this way. Her photoblog (separate to her usual blog) was a fly-on-the-wall, behind the scenes account. It doesn't target any one party unfairly, and all the pictures of non-SNP politicans were taken in the public spaces of the Parliament (mainly the Garden Lobby, where any member of the public can access). The things she picked up on were of public interest, and illustrated how tense the day was. We get media comment, we get diary pieces, we get innuendo in Wholly Rude; it's up to bloggers to fill in the personal interest.
I don't know whether Anne will feel it appropriate to continue blogging as freely as she has done. I think it's understandable if she takes a step back; I would however love to hear where this next adventure takes her, and whether she gets over the loss of her car.
PS - don't know how the Guardian got the photo above, but it's mine. I took it and I'm not credited! For shame.
Most reports on her blogging career have come in diary pieces, so I'm a bit concerned by the tone of today's article in the Daily Record.
Labour really are doing their best to smear a story out of nothing, and have been gleefully aided and abetted by the Record in this case. Glasgow's "eastender" has rather ridiculously called for an apology to Parliament. How she thinks that's even appropriate when the comment was made two weeks ago, I can't begin to imagine...
Anne has been blogging for nearly two years now. She's been a candidate, been to Sri Lanka, and updated the world with many aspects of her life. She's more open than most in her blog, and it's this frankness that makes her blog so readable. It's useful for her friends as well as her followers to know what's going on in Anne's life - everyone's so busy these days that blogging and facebook updates are often the only way of keeping up with what goes on in the lives of our friends.
Blogs are both serious and irreverant, they give an insight into people's lives, they give comment on events. I'm guessing this, along with freedom of speech in general, is something Labour just don't understand. By attacking bloggers in the press, they shut down debate and cause the more timid of us to get cagey about what we blog and when we blog. Labour's Kezia Dugdale has recently dipped her toes back in the water after being scared off; others have given up on the catharsis of blogging for a variety of reasons. The blogosphere needs many voices to make it worthwhile; I don't want to see someone so committed to blogging feel that all of a sudden they can't speak their mind.
Anne's "offending" post on the goings on on budget day was actually interesting. On the whole, we don't get to see things this way. Her photoblog (separate to her usual blog) was a fly-on-the-wall, behind the scenes account. It doesn't target any one party unfairly, and all the pictures of non-SNP politicans were taken in the public spaces of the Parliament (mainly the Garden Lobby, where any member of the public can access). The things she picked up on were of public interest, and illustrated how tense the day was. We get media comment, we get diary pieces, we get innuendo in Wholly Rude; it's up to bloggers to fill in the personal interest.
I don't know whether Anne will feel it appropriate to continue blogging as freely as she has done. I think it's understandable if she takes a step back; I would however love to hear where this next adventure takes her, and whether she gets over the loss of her car.
PS - don't know how the Guardian got the photo above, but it's mine. I took it and I'm not credited! For shame.
5 comments:
Wasn't just the Guardian who used that photo.
I have to say the Record story probably ranks as the non-story of the year already.
My initial reaction was that Anne should approach Margaret Curran tomorrow, hand her a tissue and a tenner and tell her to dry her eyes and buy a sense of humour...
Curran's something else - at the moment, it seems she'll put her name to anything to get in the papers. She wasn't even in any of Anne's photos... perhaps there's jealously there? ;-)
I'd call the Guardian's picture desk - what's their going rate for freelance photogaphy these days?
Hmmm
I wonder why Margaret Curran, unsuccesful candidate in Glasgow East, is having a go Anne, succesfull co-ordinator in Glasgow East
Congratulations to IndyGal!
Sneaky snaps inside the Scottish Parliament!
How dare she show shutch dishreshpect to the Shcottish people - doesn't IndyGal know that's New Labour's job?
After all, it was New Labour, in their foreign HQ in London, who took the decision to put a up a building that cost us nearly a billion pounds.
As far as I can tell, New Labour consulted nobody in Scotland and left the taxpayers to foot the bill for anti-democratic decisions made elsewhere other than Scotland.
Now New Labour are miffed for people taking appreciative photos of the interior of their billion pound palace to London's rule. If only New Labour were as forthcoming about the way they wasted taxpayers money over a project nobody wanted or was consulted about.
Speaking of photos,
what is it with New Labour?
After Monday, it's going to be a criminal offence to take photos of the police.
all the best BB!
ps
Getting set on by Curren and The Daily Retard, is like being savaged by a dead sheep.
Here's how to do these things properly.
The great George Monbiot's demolition of New Labour's Hazel Blears -
Just what exactly do you stand for, Hazel Blears - except election?
The minister claims to have political guts, but the only principle her voting record shows is slavish obedience
George Monbiot
The Gruniad
10 Feb 2009
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