Opinion: The blogosphere heats up
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Local and non-local bloggers warm up to the fires raging throughout Southern California. Topics range from bad-taste wildfire cash-ins to who qualifies as a blogger (hang in there long enough and we may even get back to the old who invented blogging controversy), and there’s some real public service going on as well.
The Fishbowl points out The Times’ continuous coverage, remarking,
The LAT’s fire blog is exactly what newspapers will be doing with all breaking news coverage some day. And that’s not a bad thing.
Thanks, we think. Meanwhile, a Times columnist finally gets his weblogging wings courtesy of Central City East:
Steve Lopez is even submitting his own photos, which in my opinion, by doing that, makes him a full fledged blogger.
Twitter Love gets kudos from Big Action for its role as
a valuable emergency communication tool. People who probably had no clue about Twitter three days ago are using it to stay abreast of fire evacuations and the latest news. [...] Go Twitter.
LA Observed is also staying abreast of fire news, and posts a photo of a phenomenally dismal scene at Long Beach.
LA.com links to a post about a sushi chain that “turns tragedy into publicity”:
A good portion of the state of California might have been burning yesterday, but that doesn’t mean high-end sushi chain Nobu couldn’t turn tragedy into publicity by deciding to selflessly offer their delicious Miso Hamachi to Malibu firefighters looking for a little raw fish break from the flames swallowing the nearby homes. Nobu’s good deed was made even better by their just so happening to mention it to TMZ, who whipped up this cheeky little photoshop, slapped an “EXCLUSIVE!” on it, and gave it a hilarious headline (”Hottest Reservations In Town” - Get It?) for you to enjoy if your internet connection wasn’t on fire. Too bad the Tribeca Grill didn’t think of this during 9/11.
Laist.com wonders whether Orange County’s got the short end of the matchstick when it comes to resources, concluding,
The federal response is so shaky and unreliable that even Michael ‘heckuva job’ Brown had the nerve to offer himself up for interviews on the fire response in a press release last night. We may really have to reconsider California Secession after this.
While they urge readers to “keep this all in perspective,” the blog hosts another interesting post about the effects on LA sports teams:
- The San Diego Chargers are practicing in Arizona and may have to play their next game there, as over ten thousand evacuees are currently camping out in Qualcomm Stadium.- Pepperdine’s homecoming weekend was wrecked. Practices and games were canceled, and players returning from road games couldn’t get back to campus.- USC practices have been altered by the bad air quality.
Even Craigslist has jumped into the fiery fray, providing an all-purpose forum with everything form emergency information to lost-pet posts. Jason Burns at blogging.la:
Here’s one entry that would make anyone tear up:golden retriever found in santee < evacueedog > 10/23 19:52:47we found a stray dog in santee golden retriever male looks like possible evacuee it drank three bowls of water and ate a bunch of food. call 858 414 1414.It’s fascinating, because it keeps updating. I can’t seem to look away.
On a more human level, signonsandiego.com has also set up a blogspot not for news, but “A list of people, places and things to help San Diego live through and recover from the wildfires.”
From snarking at sushi restaurants to feeding lost pets, witness the power of the Web.