Bloggasm

Jeff Goldstein is a writer living in Colorado. Before the birth of his son, he spent most of his time teaching at a private university and writing short fiction. These days, he finds himself doing a lot of very simple shape puzzles and (when his mind wanders) looking for instances of subversively placed anti-capitalist, pro-progressive agitprop in shows like “Higglytown Heroes” — if only as a way to keep his critical faculties sharp (and to keep himself distracted while he’s changing back-loaded diapers).

Jeff got his Bachelor’s from Towson University (MD), where he received a Dean of Liberal Arts scholarship and graduated with both general and departmental honors (with an emphasis on the fiction of Flannery O’Connor); he did his graduate work at Johns Hopkins and the University of Denver, and spent two summers at The School of Criticism and Theory, Cornell University, where he studied under Walter Benn Michaels and Catherine Gallagher.

He also devised and co-chaired an international conference on the intersection between creative writing and theory that has since become a signature event of the DU English Department (most recently held in Oct 2005).

His published fiction has appeared in a number of academic journals — the kinds read by other short story writers but, sadly, no one else. He’s also won a number of awards too insignificant to appear on certificates that aspire to embossing or caligraphy — though some of the awards did pay a modest sum, blessed be the Lord, amen.

I recently got a chance to ask him a few questions about his political blog: Protein Wisdom

Simon Owens: Since joining Pajamas Media, has the actual content of your blog changed at all? How did you become involved in the network and what are some of the perks of joining?

Jeff Goldstein: No change in content. I was invited to join the project early, and I’m always interested in trying new things — whether it be raw giant red clams and salmon egg pizza, or some blogging venture that it seemed to me had a potential to move blogging into a new realm.

Simon Owens: Are there any political blogs or pundits that share your outlook on politics that you try to distance yourself from because they make your side look bad?

Jeff Goldstein: I tend to poke a bit of fun at the partisan cheerleaders on “my side” — though I’m more of a classical liberal than a GOP guy (Bush was the first Republican President I ever voted for). I’ve made a bit of fun of Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly — and among bloggers, there are certain social conservatives I shy away from — but I tend to distance myself from people based on their take on issues, not some preconceived idea of what they might say.

Simon Owens: How do most political bloggers get to the overlooked stories first? Do you rely on emails from your readers or are there any other methods that allow you to get the scoop on brand new issues?

Jeff Goldstein: I rely heavily on emails from readers and other bloggers. My site is a mix of humor and serious analysis; but because I’m doing a lot of other things during the day, I don’t really have time to scour around for a lot of overlooked stories. Which is why the input of my readership is so valuable.

Simon Owens: How often do you converse with the readers in your comments sections? Do you have a group of commenters who you’d label as “regulars”?

Jeff Goldstein: I have a number of regular commenters — somewhere in the neighborhood of maybe 50 or 60, I’d guess. I comment a few times a day — but my blog is such that often times my posts will act as follow-ups to a particularly heated comments thread. So in that way, I find myself speaking to commenters and providing new material for the site simultaneously.

Simon Owens: As a relatively popular political blog, to what blogging tactics do you owe your success? Were there any particular link-baiting strategies you used to get other powerful blogs to link to you?

Jeff Goldstein: Whatever success I have I owe to being different than most other “political” blogs. I mix my content, and much of what I do makes no sense to those who don’t read me on a regular basis. I think because of that I have a bit of a cult following.

In terms of link strategies, I don’t have one. I’ve been around long enough that I think I’m on a lot of people’s RSS feeds. On occasion, when I write a post that addresses what has become my analytical specialty (the convergence of multiculturalism, identity politics, and language), I’ll email it to a few folks. But other than that, I have a close relationship with several bloggers who tend to like what I do and will link me if I write on a topic they themselves are interested in.

Simon Owens: What are the five blogs you’d recommend to supplement the reading of your own blog?

Jeff Goldstein: There are too many to name, to be honest, so paring a list down to 5 is impossible. In fact, I’m not even gonna try.

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