Cats, Dogs, Blogs and the online revolution...

Dogs read papers. They remain loyal and obedient. They will display it on their coffee table to let people know their allegiances. Cats read online. They will follow the cream - irrespective of the hand that is offering it.

Or so said Richard Burton in today’s very interesting Online Journalism lecture about the main differences between print and online journalism. Purely on a superficial level it was nice to hear someone speak about online journalism to the point where you could understand why people find it an enjoyable sector to work in.

As ex-editor of The Telegraph’s online site Richard was someone at the cutting edge of the online revolution in the mid 1990s. However, his obvious passion for the old fashioned skills and principles of journalism were evident and demonstrated that the art of style and substance can be obtained without sacrificing integrity or personal beliefs.

So to blogs; finally someone has said what no-one else seemed brave enough to say - (certainly not Iain Dale) - not everyone should have a blog. Not everyone cares what everyone thinks. Of course there is nothing wrong with writing a blog but don’t be deluded into thinking it should become everyone’s home page.

As Richard Burton said “your words are your commodity”. They are what you have to offer and most peoples aren’t much to offer. But those that are, those that can interest, entertain, enlighten, elucidate and educate (check out that alliteration), can be highly successful and deserve their place on the front page of national newspaper’s websites.