Friction – Liberal Bloggers and Progressive Groups

Interesting article about the relationship between the lefty blogosphere and big advertisers.

Some of the leading liberal bloggers are privately furious with the major progressive groups — and in some cases, the Democratic Party committees — for failing to spend money advertising on their sites, even as these groups constantly ask the bloggers for free assistance in driving their message.

The piece then goes on to quote a couple of the owners of prominent left wing blogs.

I think that it is short sighted of these groups not to put something back into the blogs as without them their advertising costs would skyrocket.

I can see where the shortsightedness comes from though, preaching to the choir is definitely not the way to get the best bang for the buck in the short term.

A system of grants provided by the groups and committees would certainly help towards redressing the balance.

I would recommend reading the comments attached to this article, there are a few good ones but for the most part they are extremely pathetic, from the barely decipherable with bonus random capitalization,

‘We are small business-people who are fighting to survive economically in a really bad year”

“These groups actually believe that we should promote their stuff for free. Do they not understand that we need funds to sustain our viability?”

Are you KIDDING ME? This is the group of people who got a bunch of SOCIALIST elected and now they are whining because these socialist don’t want to play by capitalist rules. These guys sound like they are republicans, what with all their talk about sustaining small businesses and engaging in the capitalist system.

Am I the only one who sees the irony in this?

To the downright lunatic:

Isn’t it surprising these people are so tight with their own money but so profligate with the taxpayers’? Like all commies, these people are parasites.

I added my own comment which was originally intended to point out the fact that running a big blog comes with some pretty heavy financial costs but hey, when the target is this big and this close….

Wow, this discussion has really riled up the 28 percenters*. I may have misread the piece but I got the impression that the people quoted were taking in terms of covering costs, not living in luxury. Maintaining a blog with hits in the 100,000s a day comes with a big operating cost. Unlike, for example, signing up on blogger, coming up with the a catchy title like say, Obama is a furriner who hates ‘murrika, while never leaving your mothers basement.

Saying that it wouldn’t make much sense for these organizations to advertise to an already energized group but grants and the suchlike would definitely be a good way forward.

*28% = roughly
Palin supporters
Teabaggers
Glen Beck sympathisers
Rush fans

h/t @synve