Slugger O'Toole explains why a good blog is like a good pub

I'm always looking for ways to explain the value of blogging to those who might otherwise characterise it as just soapboxing, diarising, or vanity publishing. I've now got a good explanation from ace political blogger Mick Fealty, best known as Slugger O'Toole: it's like a good pub conversation.
I met Mick yesterday evening at an event co-hosted with Paul Evans, co-founder of Poptel Technology, on the theme of improving the quality of policy discussions. We heard from Mick about the start of Slugger as a research project into Northern Ireland Unionism that grew and grew into a very lively site with guest bloggers and much commenting. The focus is on policy rather than personality, guided by 'play the ball not the man'.
Paul talked about a project to pull together on one site, by a sophisticated system of tagging, policy papers as they emerge from government, think tanks and other sources. This would be a boon to researchers, and hopefully help raise the level of policy discussion.
We met upstairs in the Edgar Wallace pub, and everyone was pretty constructive about the idea ... aided by the fact that Paul was buying the drinks. Paul developed Policybrief a few years back, but hit problems with technology and funding. He reckons he can get it right this time around. 
Click To Play and at blip.tv
I pulled Mick away from the general conviviality at the end of the session to ask him about the success of Slugger, and about the clue he gave us earlier on his inspiration for worthwhile exchanges. He explained that his father was a publican, and he grew up in a pub. The conversation could be light, could be heavy, and the publican knows that in order to keep order he has to anticipate where the disorder may come from, and be ready to deal with it. Mick extended the metaphor to blogging with other guests, and commenters:

My role is less about trying to police what people say - that opinion is in, that opinion is out - and rather police the freedom for people to express those opinions within the same civil space. It's that capacity to express diverse ideas within a single space that's crucial. If there's something that is unique about Slugger, that's probably it.

I'm sorry the audio is lousy, but I think the good humour and inspirational snatches emerge from the hub-bub. Just like any good pub conversation.
PS. If there are no comments, does it mean you are drinking alone?
Update: Mick links back here, and acknowledges an excellent 2003 Voxpolitics article by James Crabtree and William Davies as the source of Blogs are like pubs.
The article is still a good read. You can muse also upon Blogs are like ...Flower Gardens, A Good Job Doing, A Smile, Your Front Door, Cities, An Episode of Lassie, Live Jazz, Apples, Soapboxes, ALL BAR ONE, and Cocaine.
I like the comment from Maria Benet suggesting the archives of blogs mean they are also like an Attic or Garage.
Hmmm, makes me wonder if I should dig back and throw out the empties.

Technorati Tags: politics, sluggerotoole

Comments

[Ed]

you know David, I really appreciate the manner in which, and the effect that is created by, you make sense of things. This isn't particularly related to this post, but...

Top marks. Thanks.

[Mick]

David, someone on Slugger hass just mentioned (I missed it completely), that it is 'ball not man', rather than 'man not ball'.

[David Wilcox]

Oops - thanks Mick. Corrected.

[Michael Consolo]

Hi, pretty interesting info here!

First of all,I m Michael, a Design student from Chile (Southamerica). I m working in a proyect wich involves participatory design and motion graphics (for a local Community TV ). So I wonder if you know about any designer interested in exchanging points of view, experiences and opinions about this sorts of proyects, because there are no previous design experiences like this one (participatory design) here in Chile...

Thanks for your time and sorry if this wasn t the proper way for asking.

Michael Consolo

[David Wilcox]

Thanks Michael - all comments and inquiries welcome! Can you tell us a little more about the project?

[Daniel Sitter, Idea Seller]

I really like the analogy of the blog and a good pub. I also liken a good blog to the warm conversation found at Floyd's Barber Shop on the old Andy Griffith television show!