Always mind your language, otherwise you will say stupid things, and have to make apologies like this one:
Having heard from a couple of bloggers yesterday, I am going to plead guilty to an inexact application of the word “blogosphere”. Some of the very people I’ve characterized as the future of communications feel – justifiably – that I’ve tossed them under the proverbial bus recently.
That’s not the case. What I have done is use a term of art (blogosphere) as shorthand for all the myriad of internet communications. When I received nearly 100 emails and forwards of excerpts of a single report – and dozens of associated rumors- regarding Daniel Defense, I wrote that the “blogosphere was roiling”. A more accurate depiction would have been “rumors have been flying regarding Daniel Defense across the internet”. It was an unintentional shot at a group of individuals who I really do regard as integral parts of information distribution.
Several of the bloggers have called me to account on this one – and I have to plead guilty with a stipulation. It was inexact word usage, not intentional criticism. Calling me out on this one actually makes me feel better about accuracy in new media. Now, if I could only get someone in “old media” to take offense when I accuse them of unbridled bias….
Thanks for the apology, Jim, but it would have been better if you had been “more accurate” to begin with, rather than using the improper word for the situation. After all, if you mean one word or phrase, it would make sense to use that one word or phrase, rather than an entirely different word or phrase… But maybe it is just me.
Yes, it would have been better if he got it right the first time… but he’s swallowing his pride, admitting his mistake, apologizing, and moving on. He’s human, he made a mistake. Cut him some slack.
Now if he does it again…..
I still don’t believe he gets to manufacture his own lexicon: “a term of art (blogosphere)”, that’s a word that is already defined and “art” is not a part of the definition.
Hsoi: That is just the problem, though – this is the second time he has misdescribed something as the “blogosphere”. It seems as though, to him, the “blogosphere” has become the nebulous “they” in the phrase, “So I heard that they were saying….” It is turning into a trend, and what is the quote? “Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.”
Dirtcrashr: I did rather like that turn of phrase… It definitely exposes the man’s hubris.
Well, humans are funny beasts… sometimes we screw up more than once.
I honestly don’t understand why everyone has their panties in such a wad over this. I mean, he made a mistake, he got corrected, he admits it. Meh. This really isn’t that big of a deal, IMHO.
Eh, I just do not appreciate scapegoating. We gunnies have a hard enough time fielding that from our actual enemies – doing it internally seems counterproductive.
Fair enough.