The great hope of the 2007 election was the blogosphere. With Ciaran Jenkins’ Blamerbell Briefs in the vanguard, there was a new space opening up for people who were interested in politics to access more information and better debate. But four years on, much of that radical alternative energy has been absorbed in to the mainstream. Jenkins was sucked in to the BBC news machine – as have many experienced voices in Welsh political reporting (Tomos Livingstone (WM), Dan Davies (PA), Rhiannon Michael (Golwg) have all been absorbed in to the Beeb).
The Welsh blogosphere has been corporatised – all the main political reporters have blogs and there are more ‘official’ blogs than ever before – but these are largely broadcast tools, rather than genuine social spaces. Yes, they add some colour and detail, and I read them all without fail – but they no longer inspire me. What limited debate they generate is generally governed by a hardcore of extremists (see any time Betsan blogs on a language issue). Even WalesHome – the one web space which does regularly manage to provoke and challenge conventional thinking – has struggled with this election. The days of hope for the Welsh blogosphere were indeed (Blamerbell) brief.
Mae blogiau Cymraeg yn fwy na blogiau gwleidyddol ond dw i’n cytuno. Angen mwy o farnau “annibynnol”. Hoffwn i weld blog barn dyddiol yn Gymraeg hefyd. Unrhyw un? Mae cyfle wedi bod gyda Golwg am sbel..
Dwi’n credu taw dispersal da ni’n gweld yn hytrach na dirywiad penodol yn y blogosffêr. Na, does na neb wedi llwyddo i greu buzz, ond dydi’r pleidiau ddim chwaith. Mae na fatigue etholiadol post-refferendwm, ac mae hynny yn cael ei adlewyrchu ar-lein dwi’n meddwl.
Dydi blogiau jest ddim yn lle cweith digon secsi i ddechrau bod yn sylwebydd gwleidyddol rhagor. Mae Twitter wedi cymryd drosodd i raddau, ac er bod lot o gofnodion longform da iawn ar gael, mae na ddiffyg blogiau punchy, wedi eu diweddaru’n gyson, wedi eu sgwennu’n dda ag efo chydig o ‘inside scoop’ (fel roedd Blamerbell). Er mwyn cael y buzz a’r traction yna fel cafodd Blamerbell, mae’n rhaid sgwennu’n aml ac yn dda, a wnaeth cael Arsembly fel gwrtbwynt ddim drwg iddo chwaith. Mae arddull y math yna o drafodaeth sydyn, crafog, yn siwtio Twitter llawer mwy na blogiau.
Fasa’n ddiddorol gwneud cownt o faint o flogiau gwleidyddol oedd yn 2007 a faint sydd rwan. Faswn i’n fodlon rhoi beth bod na tua r’un faint, ond bod ambell un yn gwneud lot o sŵn. Y pareto principle ar waith, ond mewn pwll mor fach â blogosffêr Cymru. Pan ti’n tynnu ambell sgodyn mawr allan, mae’r model pareto yn disgyn am nad oes unrhyw bysgod mawr eraill i lenwi’r bwlch. Pareto-paradocs!