Thanks to the BivingsReport for reminding me that Slugger is in the running for a place amongst the Ten Top Changers of the Internet and Politics. The shortlist is very short, but our competitors are mostly a lot bigger than us, so we need every last vote we can muster! Check out Derek Wyatt’s site, the thinking man’s New Labour independent minded MP. There are no other Irish sites on the shortlist. Whilst we have no doubt there are many other unnamed sites that have as much right to be in the line-up, here is Slugger’s modest claim to be included in the top ten:
As a civil space:
Three years ago, when Slugger was only small in an interview for weblog magazine, I told Rebecca Blood: ‘There have been no conversions as such. But there have been some journeys. Mostly in civility. We have seen a growth in tolerance between people who were very short with each other when they first met.’
For grabbing the attention of politicians:
Back in 2004, the BBC’s Northern Ireland political editor, Mark Devenport, looked at Slugger and the growing influence of the Internet. One Sinn Fein councillor told him, of the value of listening in to opinion and views from other parties: “These are interesting insights which are useful and valuable to read,” he says, “especially for a politician like myself”.
As a place to get straight dope:
In 2005, Slugger was named as one of the fifty best things in the media by Esquire Magazine. John Lloyd author of What the media are doing to our politics wrote: “Good journalism consists of asking the right questions and getting together the right answers, and he does that”.
As a key node point in the wider blogosphere:
During the Dublin riots earlier, Indymedia Ireland pushed readers in Slugger’s direction telling them we were ‘hardwired in to the blogosphere”.
And for getting down to the detail (trivial and profound) behind the daily news cycle:
Chris Lydon, Harvard based thought leader and broadcaster: “It overflows with Comments on the finest details of an ancient conflict (lots of back-and-forth this week about the wearing of IRA T-shirts featuring the image of a sniper)”.
You can only vote once, but if you like what see/know of Slugger then spread the word!
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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