What have we done?
Thursday, May 03, 2007

This is my life: brief flirtation with football, passionate and elaborate relationship with classical music and academia, audacious attempt to learn Japanese from scratch and then finally, return home to have a bash at being a journalist and as an almost accidental consequence, a Welsh political blogger.

With the exception of those formative years with a football (I played for Merthyr schoolboys don't you know), I've only ever been involved in niche pursuits. I have shouted and screamed about their importance. But I've almost always had to concede that the majority of the population will never really understand nor share my enthusiasm.

So, when Alwyn ap Huw ponders on his blog if the internet has had an affect on this election, I'd like to think that it has. Because it's not necessarily important that people share your enthusiasm - what's important is that they acknowledge it exists and are sufficiently impressed by it. The best political correspondents seem to be irrepressibly excited about their subject. Blogging is no different. That's the only way to get people to take note.

Today, in the Welsh blogosphere, there are an awful lot of people talking about politics with great vigour. When Iain Dale compiled his list of all those who will be blogging through election night, it was dominated by people from Wales. And he'd missed about two thirds off the list!

OK, so the success of the Welsh blogosphere may be in part due to the relative weakness of our mainstream media. But who cares if the result is that people are expressing themselves in more innovative and less constrictive ways?

And it does have an influence. These blogs are not only read by journalists, politicians and ordinary chaps/chapettes right across the country, they are also the world's window on Welsh politics. And when they peer inside what they'll see, unlike some of our more powerful neighbours, is a real hubbub of activity. Unless, of course, they tune in at 4am tomorrow morning when I'm anticipating that it will just be myself and Joe holding hands in the semi-outside.

SYLWCH: Mae'r BBC wedi danfon bathodyn blogio'r etholiad yn Gymraeg (o'r diwedd). Croeso i chi eu ddefnyddio ar eich blogiau.

GYDA LLAW: Mae gen i golofn yn Golwg o wythnos nesaf ymlaen. Da ni'n chwilio am deitl bachog iddo. Cynigion yn y sylwadau os gwelch yn dda. Does dim clem gen i, ond hoffwn i ddefnyddio fy enw go iawn y tro 'ma...

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posted by Blamerbell @ 2:08 pm,

6 Comments:

At 2:17 pm, Blogger El Vaso Ruso said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

 
At 2:31 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'll still be here at 4 am, but I won't be holding anyone's hand!

 
At 2:51 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

why are messages being deleted from some labour candidate's sites?

is someone going around with legal threats?

even the official labour site has pages no longer working - such as the page on nhs problems.

blamer, you said that blogging has played a big part in this election - can't you find out for us what is happening?

 
At 3:19 pm, Blogger Tortoiseshell said...

I'll also be geocaching on election night!

PS how can I embed the election blogging logo into my sidebar?

Does it come with a cut and paste code somewhere?

 
At 4:24 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Alun Cairns updated his blog yesterday, it appears that he wishes to give a simple 4-letter message to all those who don't vote Tory.

 
At 6:46 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

When I smiles, it makes you think what he's thinking , now he's told us ......

 

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