theblogpaper

theblogpaper describes itself as ‘a news community which allows anyone to publish written and visual work online and in print.'

THE AMBITION

Founded by Anton Waldburg and Karl Jo Seilern theblogpaper aims to produce ‘the first user-generated newspaper in London,' the first edition of which will be available on September 25th 2009.

HOW IT WORKS

Users of the site submit articles which are then rated and commented upon by their peers. The best work ‘will be promoted to print.' But what if the news community consists of the writer's friends, who artificially propel certain work forward onto the front pages? This has happened on fiction critique sites such as www.authonomy.com and challenges the idealisation and fetishising of the communal that is the principal characteristic of this stage of the web's development. 

FAUX-ANARCHISM

The dominant mood online is a faux-anarchism which allows only for the idea of a world without editorial control: ‘Instead of few people controlling the majority of what is being published and therefore read, theblogpaper is aiming at putting the majority in charge.' This risible techno-communism, that would have us all be Citizen Creators, reduces writing to a mechanical mass exercise. Have opinion. Choose available set phrases. Apply set phrases. Add paragraphs to set phrases, if desired. Key in note of ironic detachment. Upload. Michael Frayn mocked this robotic use of language in his 1967 novel of Fleet Street life Towards The End of the Morning. He was not to know that everyone was to become a journalist in the new century.

THE FUTURE?

It is a strange irony that the push toward the digitalising of the publishing industry should have led to a writing website with the offer of publishing in print as its biggest prize. Then again, perhaps this confusion of identity is only to be expected given the ongoing chaos over copyright law and intellectual property rights. Is theblogpaper a glimpse of the future?

28th August 09