We have been having some trust issues with our politicians here recently (and who hasn’t?) so all the usual suspects are polling, analysing, speculating, and generally wild-assed-guessing why it is that only about 1/4 of the population in Canada trust their government to do the right thing. (Figures are similar for the USA.)
One of those pollsters decided to compare our trust in politicians and governments to other professions. A more in-depth story on the results of that poll can be found here if you’re interested, but what really hurt was this chart.
Really? As bloggers we’re even LESS trustworthy than politicians? Say it ain’t so!
But rest assured my fellow moto-bloggers, I trust you.
Ouch, indeed! But I suspect the subject of the blogging. Most of the blogs people think about either have to do with politics (either radically on the left or right, spouting the same old talking points that ignore 90% of the facts). Other blogs that come to mind have to do with health, and simply spout some cockamamy theory about why, for instance, you should never, ever, ever eat wheat, or mushrooms, or you should only eat meat, or you should never eat meat. Extreme positions get lots of feedback, but the majority don't (and shouldn't!) trust the noisemakers.
ReplyDeleteI've seen some environmental blogs that are the same way. While I tend to sympathize with parts of their positions, I think they confuse potential solutions with ultimate goals. In other words, they forget that less pollution is the goal, and substitute on their pet theory of the way to eliminate pollution as the goal, not a method. In doing so, they lose credibility in the same way that the political extremists do.
Those of us who blog about a particular hobby or lifestyle don't run that risk, at least not to the same level. I could, in my Commuting by Car blog (which is hopelessly stale), resort to continually flaming the environmentalists that want to get rid of personal transportation, and so lose my own credibility. (Come to think of it, I have often wondered whether Csaba Csere's ouster as editor of Car and Driver was at least partially because his editorial each month began to focus on politics more than cars, and he rarely discussed the issue of the magazine that his editorial was to serve as an introduction to.)
Well, I suppose I hijacked your post! But you made an interesting observation, and I thought it was worth discussing.
True, not all blogs and bloggers are created equal. Those with a particular cross to bear are especially untrustworthy as most are unable or unwilling to present a balanced scenario. But then again they can be "trusted" in the sense that you know where they stand on any issue and filter accordingly.
DeleteUnless I am following a blog for amusement or entertainment I am always highly skeptical of the contents unless I know the motivation of the blogger. Otherwise I tend to go by the old adage of believe nothing you hear, a quarter of what you read, and half of what you see.
pfffttt... lol!
ReplyDeleteCouldn't have said it better myself. :)
DeleteDavid:
ReplyDeleteI'm deeply hurt !
I hope we rank higher than car salesmen
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
And Herb Tarlek.
DeleteBloggers less than politicians, now that is low.
ReplyDeleteThey must not know any moto-bloggers, yeah that's it. It was rigged I tell ya.
That's it - rigged!
DeleteI believe that as a group, bloggers have little credibility when they pretend to be journalists. I always hear about bloggers demanding for press access and credentials.
ReplyDeleteRichard:
Deletethat wouldn't be me. I like to stay away from crowds. Many times I have been offered access to photograph events, but I have always declined.
I only accepted once when I had a chance to photograph Pavarotti when he came to Vancouver, along with his girlfriend. I was there on stage with the other photographers and I was shooting for the Italian Newspaper (link) and my photo was chosen for the Front Page
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
Richard - I agree. I have no issue with bona fide journalists who blog but simply having a blog does not make one a journalist any more than having a toolbox makes one a master mechanic. Generally I think they are just too full of themselves because a few dozen (hundred?) people read their musings on anything and everything.
DeleteWell they obviously haven't met the moto-blogger peeps I know ;)
ReplyDeleteExactly!
DeleteMy comments would be some of what has already been said. I wanted to comment on the way you put it together. Wonderful. The last photo was just great. Loved this post it made me smile...of course, maybe it didn't...after all I'm a blogger and can't be trusted.
ReplyDelete~k
Keith - Thanks... I think....
Delete