We’re in USA Today

We’re in USA Today
: Kathy Kiely writes a fine overview of blogs’ impact on politics in USA Today today. Haven’t picked up the paper yet, but it appears to be the Page 1 cover story. Kiely talked to lots and lots of people, bloggers and political beasts (“Veterans of the political scene admit they’re having some trouble adjusting. ‘When I first got up here, I thought blogging was an Irish dance,’ says Tricia Enright, a longtime Capitol Hill press secretary…). It’s a well-reported piece that tells people why they should pay attention.

: Tim Windsor, the blogless deputy GM of the Baltimore Sun‘s site, emails this reaction to the USA Today story:

To your comment about “influencing influencers,” I think that blogs are currently the Velvet Underground of publishing. As someone once noted (Lester Bangs perhaps?), the Velvets had a huge influence over the development of rock music because, while they didn’t sell many records, everybody who bought one of their records went on to form a band.

I like that.

: Tim now says the quote may be Brian Eno. See the comments.

: Here’s the USA Today page 1.

: UPDATE: More fame (no fortune) as the BBC World Service Go Digital calls 2003 The Year of the Blog. Audio here. [via Blog Herald]

: UPDATE: Tom Mangan complains about the loneliness of blogging. I don’t see it that way. I see it as a very social activity.