Bloggers of the World, Unite!
One of the ideas tossed about at the left-leaning Yearly Kos blogger convention in Chicago was the idea of forming a union. Naturally, there’s some head scratching going on.
In a world as diverse, vocal and unwieldy as the Blogosphere, there’s no consensus about what type of organization is needed and who should be included. Some argue for a free-standing association for activist bloggers while others suggest a guild open to any blogger — from knitting fans to video gamers — that could be created within established labor groups.
Others see a blogger coalition as a way to find health insurance discounts, fight for press credentials or even establish guidelines for dealing with advertising and presenting data on page views.
“It would raise the professionalism,” said Leslie Robinson, a writer at ColoradoConfidential.com. “Maybe we could get more jobs, bona fide jobs.”
But not everyone is on board.
“The reason I like blogging is that it’s very anarchistic. I can do whatever I want whenever I want, and oh my God, you’re not going to tell me what to do,” said Curt Hopkins, the founder of the Committee to Protect Bloggers.
My two cents: I am certainly pro union. But who am I going to strike against, myself? I see that folks who do this full time and are actually able to derive a living (or close to a living) out of it might like to have some benefits, like group health insurance, even if there’s no employer contribution. Professional organizations provide this sort of thing also.
So what’s the difference? I union implies, I dunno, membership in the working class, not to mention the fact that a lot of conservatives and some libertarians really, really hate unions. Not that unions don’t hurt their own cause by letting themselves become fundraising tools of the Democratic Party.
Billy Dennis is a former reporter and editor at small daily and weekly newspapers in Illinois and Missouri. He comments on media, news and politics. He also owns and operates 
More moonbattery from moonbats…
Bah, unionizing the blogosphere? Under what common cause? Retaining the right to complain?