GUEST COLUMN
BEA GARDNER
What is the “other” news media in Indian River County? It is the blogosphere and it has a lot of politicians perplexed because in the age of this connected community we bloggers are able to tell it like it is according to how we see it.
According to Wikipedia: The blogosphere is made up of all blogs and their interconnections. The term implies that blogs exist together as a connected community (or as a collection of connected communities) or as a social network in which everyday authors can publish their opinions. Since the term has been coined, it has been referenced in a number of media and is also used to refer to the Internet.
So, who makes up this blogosphere? Who are we? What are we? What is the difference between us? That is for you, the public to decide. You might want to start by asking yourself….What is the difference between InsideVero and TCPalm (the on line version of the Press Journal) and other blogs such as Bea-isms. Actually, you might find very little difference between any of us other than style.
Some of the local blogs are anything and everything pertaining to what is happening in Indian River County. What makes us so popular is our differences of style as well as content. And, some of us actually print things that you will not see printed in the local newspaper.
Many forms of blogs are out there such as personal websites, e-magazines, newspapers, social media etc. Blogs do not necessarily rely on the printed word as the only means of catching the news or just catching up on local gossip. We have no particular territories or zip codes that we try to control, and a lot of our readers are from faraway places….at least far enough away that our snow bird friends can keep up with what’s happening right here in Indian River County just by logging on to this type of media.
Most of us are aware of the fact that we live in the world of instant internet access since the advent of I phones, I pads, laptop computers, etc. and this technology keeps us hungry for everything in an instant. Let me give you an example.
I have been known to write an article or two for my website called Bea-isms about something that is taking place in a City Council meeting as it is taking place – and wham bam, thank you ma’am, I have had it up on my website before the meeting so much as moved on to the next item on the agenda. This method of reporting news is not much different than you watching the same meeting and texting your friend about it as it is happening. That is the power of the internet.
If I had to rely on going to print and coming out with the information the next day as the newspaper does, my information just might be old news and I would not have the kind of following that I have. I would say the same regarding the instant news cycle that you are currently reading on InsideVero.
All you have to do is go to any of the internet access places in town such as McDonalds, Panera’s, Starbucks, etc. and look at the clientele. They no longer have their heads buried in a newspaper as what used to be the case. Now they are buried in their technology – no matter the flavor.
Blogs, e-magazines, or any form of on line news and commentary has grown in leaps and bounds and it is no wonder that politicians such as Tracy Carroll spend a lot of energy dispelling these sources as not being legitimate. And, I might add, politicians are not the only people who have expressed a dislike for the “bite of blogging” that seems to come their way.
Carroll and others do not seem to understand that their attacks on those of us who hold differing views and express our views through the internet and social media etc. will not go away simply because they want us to.
It is no surprise to me that InsideVero, and other blogs/publications such as mine have become popular here in Indian River County much to the dismay of those folks that we write about.
Public figures have been given a pass for so long in the mainstream media that they are finding it hard to digest since they are not getting the same pass with this newly popular “alternative media.”
I am sure that Carroll and others who clearly do not welcome the scrutiny they seem to be getting from the local blogosphere will continue to belittle this form of media as unimportant and illegitimate but she and others are wrong. We bloggers are here to stay and, as evidenced by the traffic our websites are getting, we are being well received by the public.
Indian River Guardian 
The best part of social media is that it gives the opportunity to add a link to the actual video of what is being discussed. When politicians try and twist what they said and how they said it..bam! the blogger can add the link to the actual video showing the truth. I believe that is why they try and put bloggers down, because they no longer can cleanse their actions in a press release. Hard to dispute the facts when it is online in all its live streaming glory.
Exactly. However, how is it that the majority of Indian River County residents still have no clue? They’re not plugged in, they don’t vote, and apathy seems endless. I’m ashamed at the number of people who don’t vote in local elections. Bea, got any ideas as to how to reach them?
To I Know the Truth:
Keep telling everyone you know about sights like InsideVero and Bea-isms and tell them to pass on to their e-mail lists. Tell them they can plug in to these sights a few times a week and they can stay caught up on all that is going on.
Tell them that this is the way to become informed and becoming informed will take them out of the low information category. Once they become informed they will want to vote and it is important for you to tell them that in matters locally their vote really does count.
So, all of you who are reading this….pass on the word. It is up to you to inform everyone you come in touch with who you think will care.
The only way to get through to people who don’t vote locally is to tune them in to internet sights like Bea-isms and InsideVero. They will become informed enough by reading our articles that they will be inspired to vote locally and….here is the big thing you can do for your friends who feel this way….you can let them know that their vote really does count in local elections. So, keep everyone you know in this loop and tell them to pass on the word as well.
Bea,
in the case such as the recall of mayor and vice mayor that I have circulating, I believe that Christina is correct in pointing out that “Live stream” is a great way to get the truth. Tracy Carroll and Craig Fletcher can not hide from their degrading words to Mr. Katrovitz and the Humanist group. Neither can they hide from the fact that each one, in a different manner, was forced into making apologies that were not genuine and sincere. When you see in context the oath taken upon entering office you will be blindsided by the fact that they “broke” that oath to the State of Florida and the Constitution. The very reason I am asking for a recall.
There needs to be an attitude adjustment to 3 of our council members and I believe the public needs to make that adjustment by speaking loud and clear with the start of this recall. Go onto Inside Vero.com and download your petitions and send them in. Deadline is August 1st.