Bloggasm

Lindsay Beyerstein is a freelance writer, photographer, and blogger. Her blog Majikthise, which focuses on liberal politics, has been quoted in a number of major publications, including The Washington Post and The Weekly Standard. In a widely-read Salon article, Beyerstein wrote about her own encounter with the Edwards campaign and their offer to hire her as a blogger, which she eventually turned down. In this interview, she goes more in-depth about those decisions.

Simon Owens: In our last interview in early 2006, you said that the blogosphere had a “potential for a much larger readership than we have now.” Do you think the political blogosphere has grown significantly in the past year? Has its effect on politics grown?

Lindsay Beyerstein: The political blogosphere’s influence on politics has continued to grow. This year’s YearlyKos convention will host its own presidential candidate’s forum. Campaigns are investing heavily in netroots outreach. At the same time, increasing numbers of bloggers are becoming established as credible sources of original reporting and commentary. For example, Talking Points Memo is credited with breaking the US Attorney scandal.

Simon Owens: In your widely-read Salon article on why you didn’t blog for Edwards, you said that your outspoken atheism would likely be a problem for the Edwards campaign. Do you find it depressing to face the reality that atheists are so feared by the average voter? Do you think atheists like Richard Dawkins are effective as activists for atheist rights?

Lindsay Beyerstein: I am sometimes dismayed by the widespread anti-atheist prejudice in the USA. I was very excited last week when Pete Stark of California became the first American Congressman to declare himself a non- theist. So far, I’m not aware of any significant backlash. So, maybe other politicians will be emboldened by Stark’s example.

I think Richard Dawkins is an excellent example of an effective surrogate. He’s good for atheists because he’s willing to push the boundaries of mainstream discourse. People often misunderstand Dawkins’ role. He’s not out there trying to convince anyone to become an atheist, he’s acclimatizing the public to the existence of atheists. I find some of his overt sneering a little off-putting. But I’m glad there’s someone out there doing that on TV.

Simon Owens: Let’s pretend for a second that you had signed on with the Edwards campaign, and the right had launched a similar swift boat attack your way. How would you have handled it?

Lindsay Beyerstein: That’s a really tough question. During the actual onslaught, there was very little an individual blogger could do. Amanda later said that it was excruciating to be under attack and unable to respond on her own behalf because of campaign discipline. I don’t know whether I would have ultimately resigned or not. I don’t think so–unless I was under immense pressure to do so from inside the campaign. I’m just stubborn that way. Resigning would have meant conceding. On the other hand, resignation might have been the best thing for the campaign. Personally, I think that the furor would have died down eventually when people realized that a campaign blogger just blogs press releases and not their own stuff.

Simon Owens: How did the Salon article come about? Did you pitch it to them, or did they approach you?

Lindsay Beyerstein: Amanda wrote about her experiences in Salon. They published one of my photos to illustrate Amanda’s article. So, I emailed Amanda and asked her which editor she worked with for the article. Then, I wrote to the editor and pitched the story.

Simon Owens: As someone who oftens posts pictures of your real-world encounters with other bloggers, what’s it like to meet someone face to face after you’ve only known that person through a computer screen previously?

Lindsay Beyerstein: It’s surprising how few surprises there are. People get to know each other online better than they realize. If I like someone online, I’m confident that I’ll like them in person.

A lot of people are initially apprehensive about mixing their online and offline lives. There’s this sense that the Internet is unknown territory and that it’s somehow risky to interact with people you met there. People think “Oh, I think I know that, but they could be anyone!” After your first couple meetups, that sense of apprehension goes away and it feels perfectly natural.

You get a real sense of how someone’s mind works when you read their writing regularly. So, meeting for the first time doesn’t necessarily feel like an introduction. It usually feels more like a continuation of the relationship that was initially established online.

Simon Owens: What do you think are some of the tactics the liberal blogosphere will use in the 2008 elections? Do you think Web 2.0 products like Youtube will provide an increasing influence over swaying votes?

Lindsay Beyerstein: It will be very interesting to see what happens with social networking sites. The $64,000 question is how you translate blog reading into political action. Arguing about politics online doesn’t win elections. Blogs are like other media. They can push a message, but they aren’t necessarily the most effective organizing tools. Owning the news cycle is great, but it won’t deliver 25 people to walk precincts the next day, I can exhort my readers in California or Virginia to get out and vote, but it doesn’t mean much coming from me. It’s much more effective for someone in their own community to give them a phone call, or offer them a ride to the polls.

So, a lot of really smart people are trying to figure out how they can use the web to organize people in their own communities to do the nitty gritty stuff that actually wins elections. That’s what all this hype around MySpace and Facebook and Second Life is coming from. Campaigns want to figure out how to use the internet as a decentralized organizing tool that will actually get people to do stuff locally.

I’m sure we’re going to see a lot of viral marketing. Campaigns and interest groups are going to produce fun videos and hope to disseminate them online. Individual activists will be putting their content up, too.

The blogosphere will help by identifying and promoting talent. If an obscure 15-year-old posts a powerful political video on YouTube, it only takes one blog reader to pass that link on to John Amato of Crooks and Liars and BAM! national exposure for that video.