Intellectual Property Law

EU Blogs Becoming Prominent Players in Elections

By IBLS Editor

While the Internet continues to increase in users and impact, blogs are making themselves felt in the politics of the European Union and will be an increasingly important player, as seen across the Atlantic in recent U.S. Elections.

In a period when analysts and critics bemoan the lack of fresh ideas and genuine dialog in the West, the European blogosphere promises to bring a mass of previously voiceless political enthusiasts into the arena. In the States, blogs were initially known as a bastion for the Right to bemoan a supposed lack of representation in the mainstream press. But the Left launched stunning growth in blogs, and are now well-represented. Now, in many blogs there are heated debates on the issues of the day that can go one for weeks and months.

It would seem that blogs in America now play a crucial role in allowing important ideas to be debated and ferment until they burst onto the wider political stage. In fact, several scandals within the mainstream media have been addressed by the blogs and one such even caused the fall of a prominent television anchor during the last presidential cycle.

Two European political websites deemed essential are ?Nose Monkey's blog directory?and ?Jon Worth's guide?, both of which educate and debate essential EU political issues. Another, called ?EU Corruption?  is a survey of the site's named topic.

Why have blogs engaged so many in such a short amount of time? The ability to not only read about the news of the day and important issues, but to actually respond to such and other bloggers and launch one's own opinion that can be read by others across the globe within seconds, is certainly alluring. An example can be found at ?England Experts.?

For professional politicians, the  North West Labour MEP, Richard Corbett, keeps a political site, as well. He uses this to joust with political enemies, tout his issues and decry the positions he opposes. On his site he mentions a new development: ?A new collaborative blog site has been launched by the House of Lords, which is called 'Lords of the Blog' and is written by Members of the House of Lords (obviously). Its aim is to increase public engagement and it should certainly offer an interesting insight into the House of Lords.?

Many journalists and celebrities in the States keep a blog, and entertainers have seen the logic of tapping directly into their fan base through such an endeavor. Newspapers also launch blogs, as well. The ?Three Line Whip? political blog of the U.K.'s Telegraph is a general site where readers post comments and can come in and opine on the story or the paper's angle on the topic. A typical comment was titled ?Gordon Brown Strategist's Favourite Book on 'Leaderless Organizations'?, which said: ?At PMQs David Cameron made an incomprehensible decision not to ask anything, not a single question, about the state of the global economy (thus giving Brown a good chance to recover and close on strong remarks after having been kicked up and down the chamber by Cameron on other matters.) It was utterly bizarre, as though PMQs was taking place on a different planet from the world of the credit crisis, rising prices and fears over the housing market.?

As one can see, the subject matter is controlled by the posters, and the full force of freedom of speech comes into play. While there is always a danger of angry and obscene rants that webmasters are well-advised to nip in the bud, there are also moments of wit, which the following posting highlights,  titled, ?Top Tory Toe-Curling Moments?. This included the Tory-penned couplet, alleged to have been penned by a disgruntled cabinet minister, which stated in part: "At Downing Street upon the stair/ I met a man who wasn't Blair/He wasn't Blair again today/Oh how I wish he'd go away." ?

A blog can also be a canny investment for a business, especially one driven by opinion, such as a newspaper or website that publishes articles. Websites can capitalize on the desire to be heard on important topics and the ensuing dialog that may rise between various posters grappling over the issue. The bottom line for a web business is attracting and keeping readers on their site for a meaningful amount of time. As is well known, bloggers can spend countless hours on a favorite site, which represents a bonanza for the advertising model that many sites derive their income from.

The Internet Business Law Service site has such a blog where readers can respond to articles posted and also ask original questions regarding the law and Internet and related topics. The IBLS blog can be accessed from the front page, center of our site. Please feel free to come in and take part.

Full post as published by IBLS Internet Law Blog on March 24, 2008 (boomark / email).