Political blogs in this country are asleep. There is no passion. They are not making the headlines. They are about as exciting as a caravan site.
Cross the pond to the states and that is where all the action is. First there was Obama versus Hillary which had 'Sweetiegate', the pathetic jumped up controversy when Obama was accused of misogyny for calling a reporter 'sweetie', then there was 'Fingergate' where an odd-angled snapshot made it appear as if Obama was giving Hillary the finger. These are some of the trivial events but now the blogging wars are getting more serious: as bloggers flag up gaffes, link to news stories or support the views of particular sites.
Listen to Peter Jukes in the latest issue of Prospect. Check out his article called: Flaming for Obama, ' Republican trolls often had multiple accounts,recommending their own diaries and rating their own comments.Democrats of both persuasions occasionally formed joint patrols to hunt them down'. It is great stuff. Rivetting. Bloggers in the states are gaining real influence.
Why are political bloggers not surfacing here yet? What about Mandelson? Must be plenty of gossip there... What's Blair doing behind the scenes? Will Blunkett come back? Is Alistair Campbell briefing? Where's the news that matter? Why aren't political bloggers here yet - at least ones that actually bite? And I don't mean ConservativeHome.
I suppose in a way it reflects the wider professional blogging culture. Corporates are dipping their toes in the water whereas many more US companies have plunged into the blogosphere and are making videos, twittering, linking to profiles on facebook. They are immersing themselves in the culture. Once UK plc loses its blogging virginity, things should start to hot up.
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