I’m a major disciple of the American journalist/writer Hunter S. Thompson – who sadly bid farewell last year after a lifetime of pure and utter craziness.
Hunter S. Thompson, to me, was the forerunner of what blogging is today. He’s the grand daddy of gonzo journalism and his spirit lives on in the millions of highly opinionated blogs going around today. Dr. Gonzo would be proud.
I’ll let Wikipedia explain gonzo journalism …
Gonzo journalism is a style of reporting that mixes fiction and factual journalism. It uses an unconventional, exaggerated and highly subjective style, often including the reporter as part of the story. It is used to describe the style of American journalist Hunter S. Thompson.
I hate boring journalism. Therefore, I hate boring blogging. My motto is: have an opinion or go home.
Now go ahead and read the first three paragraphs of the Wikipedia entry on Gonzo Journalism and don’t tell me you do not see blogging written all over it.
And therefore fellow travellers, that explains this columns’ title if you’re wondering, and it also leads into how I will go about my weekly column here at The Blog Herald – expect the unexpected. Heck, Matt said I have free reign, I can write about anything I want, no-holds barred … yippie ya yeah! If Matt doesn’t have more dreams about The Blog Herald and columnists then I’ve failed in my duties. :)
The column will kick into gear from next Wednesday with a look at … the current trend of classified-type services cropping up for bloggers. Think: Performancing Exchange and the brand-spanking new Problogger JobBoards … and no doubt the many copycats who will quickly jump on board. I’ll be blunt but fair in my assessments. I’ll probably talk about that, but you can never be sure … we bloggers usually have short attention spans.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Let me tell you a little bit about myself if you’re asking who is this punk.
I am a journalist who got ruined by blogging from late 2004 till right to this day … and I ain’t looking back. And I love that I am ruined. That means more fun with blogging. That means I can be gonzo for a living – heck, who’d have thought!
For me, blogging is the new journalism and I’m on this horse till they say, “Whoa there big boy, it’s over”. And then I’ll punch ’em in the face and say “no it ain’t, now scram!”
I’m an Aussie. I’m 36. I love to write. I’m a news junkie and a semi-geek. I love journalism hence my attraction to The Blog Herald. I also started, stopped, started and finally off-loaded Blog Network Watch to Matt last year. I’ve been a passionate basher of The Blog Herald in past times but they’ve finally got their shit together, says the two-faced hypocrite.
You also might (or might not) know more about me from last years big hit HomeOfficeVoice. This year my main focus is ePublishingDaily – if you’re into information products and making money then head on over. I also write at The Blog Columnist which is a very side thing I do for kicks.
That’s it folks. Til next week, have a good blogging week and thanks for letting me in da house y’all.
