A Blog About Making Culture
Do blogs really have an impact?
August 18, 2006
We've got another chance for the mainsream press to either laud or dismiss blogs, and I'm curious to see how it turns out. The thing to note is that, for these purposes, the blogosphere basically includes not only all blogs, but all the other hangouts for web geeks, like Fark or YTMND or Something Awful. We've had lighweight phenomena have moderate success through this medium in the past (Mahir, JibJab, Howard Dean) but we haven't seen any incontrovertible hits yet.
But now we've got some signs that blogs might be able to really impact mainstream, non-geek people and media. First, there was the Lamont victory, but of course it's impossible to know how much of that victory was about online efforts and how much was about policy.
So what, then, can act as a measure of the influence of web culture? Why, Snakes on a Plane of course! For as ubiquitous and unavoidable as the film's been online (almost immediately moving from in-joke to overplayed), it's been noticeably quiet in mainstream media until its debut this week. But Kurt Loder (he's in his 60s!) breaks it down on MTV's site:
There's no way to separate the experience of actually seeing "Snakes on a Plane" from the year-long carnival of Internet anticipation that preceded it: the fake trailers, the viral videos, the posters, the songs, the T-shirts. God, it's been fun.
Here, then, is our referendum on our real influence. Snakes doesn't have to be the number one movie this weekend to show that blogs have influence over people who aren't web geeks. But a decent showing would illustrate that we are maybe, finally, reaching outside of the echo chamber. I couldn't think of a more noble subject for the experiment.
Previously: The Windows Apps You Never Need To Install
Rob
Great blog! I’ve added a link to your blog on Blog of the Day under the category of Blogging. To view the feature of your blog, please visit http://blogoftheday.org/page/111972
Scott Johnson 
A decent showing would also bring more of this type of spam to our world, and that’s something I can live without.
Brian Clark
Oh come on Scott… spam?
This is a great story that people are having a lot of fun with. Don’t be such a downer!
mcgurk
Lamont victory? Wasn’t that the asshole that was saying “I don’t knows nuttin bout no blogs!” after one of his stringers posted Lieberman in blackface on her blog? Ironic, you see? No?
Raffy
Just noticed the new look on the site (the folly of being a longtime feed reader) and it definately comes off more authoritarian! Which Wordpress Theme is it?
(totally kidding)
Donnie Jeter
Snakes is certainly a testament to not only the power of the social web, but the power of sheer geekery. I’ve never had a better time at a theater; people dressed up as planes and snakes cheering everytime Sam Jackson came on screen - priceless.
Amrit
Hi Anil.
In India recently blogs were banned and initially the mainstream media just displayed a knee-jerk reaction. But then so much fruitful noise was generated on various blogs that not only the somnolent bureaucracy, but also the mainstream media had to take notice and devote the prime time slots to the issue. Even during the Tsunami and the recent Mumbai blasts blogger played a major role disseminating the information. So yes, in their own little or big way, I believe blogs do make an impact and as more and more come into existence, it is going to empower a big up-till-now silent majority.
Stephen Collins
Well, the movie wasn’t number one. If you add in Thursday night previews it may be, but I’m not sure that Talladega doesn’t beat it on Thursday too.
In this instance, I’m saying the blogging momentum failed to do almost anything for this movie.
Samuel L Jackson in a summer action movie is good for 13m+ withour any problem, especially with what it was competing against this late in the summer.
FOr me to agree that internet auciences had any influence over the box office of this film, I would have liked to have seen it gross over 20m in the first weekend.
Steve
God, how tired was I when I tried to type that last comment?
PLC
I’d say this referendum has come back with a big “F” for the blogosphere…
Scott Johnson
PLC: I’d say that it’s actually an A+ for the blogosphere. After, Snakes was #1 at the box office this past weekend.
Brian Clark, way up there: I wasn’t trying to be a downer. I just wasn’t privy to the “in-joke” that Anil mentioned. All I saw was the “overplayed” bit. And that wasn’t pretty.
hans
What would it take for blogs to become considered more mainstream.
If a blog [posts] in the [blogosphere] does it make a sound?
Post a comment