In my opinion, this has been coming for a long time in Canada as Bell and Rogers have very successfully lobbied the CRTC over time to support a system of charging by the bit, which will inevitably create a multi-tiered system of access to information. Once Bell and Rogers figure out a way to bring all your television to your tv over broadband (whether they control that content or not, although it’s in their interest to control it), then they can move away from a one-fee for all you want to watch model to a fee per minute model (or whatever level of granular unit they settle on). Netflix doesn’t represent much of a threat to Rogers and Bell. This is exactly what they want. Get people accustomed to downloading lots of content and set up a payment scheme where users ultimately pay more for the “convenience”. Or, offer cheaper rates for their own content (i.e. commercials) than for non-Rogers content.

So, I agree with you that the “captains” of connection in Canada are insidiously building an expensive system of access to information, and one that is fully supported by the CRTC, who’s supposed to represent consumers’ best interest, but who clearly support corporate interest.

And I’m all for pictures of something if the picture is not just a “throw away.” If you write about the picture, then hell, that’s blogging (which you do). If a picture of…say…a car is posted, and no description, comment, etc. is offered, then I don’t think that’s blogging.

And for the life of me, I can’t remember the last time you posted a picture of your cat.

I use my blog as a way of staying connected with individuals that I may never see on a daily basis and gauge what others find humourous. I’m not a big writer and never have been.

To say that “blogging is dead” is to assume that blogging was once “alive”. If anything, I would say that blogging is more alive than it ever has been. There’s a clear cut idea of blogging as an outlet for creative writing, expressing emotion, or many other ways for one to express themselves through posting something online – but I would draw the conclusion that although this is what some people would consider “blogging”, using online blogging websites such as Tumblr, WordPress, and even Facebook allow people to post whatever they like, whenever they like. THIS is now what blogging has become, and although it has taken away from the creative outlet that people (such as yourself) wish that it once was, it cannot be denied that even the term has adapted to something much more open ended.

Then there is the argument of “creation”. In your piece here, whether or not posting a photo of food you have made is “creation”. That argument is as invalid as they come. Did the individual in question (probably me), take the photo? How far does credit have to go back? Do I have to cite the soil, farmers and farm where the food is grown? Is it no longer creation when you are able to give an opinion, regardless of how short and narrow-minded it may be? What do we need to do to “create”. Are we forced to write in prose and limit ourselves simply to the “creation” of text, and nothing to the visual sense?

If we’re getting nit-picky about how people choose to write and post things then why don’t you bring up how useless and ridiculous Twitter is? Twitter feeds are the definition of how useless writing has become. The constraint of 140 characters defines how our generation has become one of quick and pointless immediate satisfaction. They are used to repost and show off photos and links just as often as blogging sites are, and you yourself have posted quick two sentence quips as responses to dictate opinion of various things. After all of this, the critique falls squarely on the “blogger” and not the “tweeter”.

So what if people are using the internet to reblog the “Double Rainbow” video, or post what funny things cats are doing this week? The point is that people are actually attempting to make an effort to try and stay connected and immerse themselves in popular culture. It doesn’t matter what the content is though, people are going to waste their time on the Internet regardless, so they may as well waste it checking out whatever other people have to offer.

My Oma and Opa (who I only manage to see every five years – or longer) are able to stay in contact with me and know my interests and check it every day. I used to be the grandson who “is in school and plays guitar” and nothing more. Now they know which films I watch (and take recommendations), know what I’m doing with my life and what fascinates me, and if nothing else – I’m glad I’ve done it for their sake.

Now if you excuse me, I’m going to get back to posting more photos of my cats, photos of the food I make (and eat), and tell everyone that “I bought Iron Man 2 today on Blu-ray. Can’t wait to check out the special features!” and post it without giving a second thought about what people may think about my blog. If someone has something to say, such as: “Hey, I saw that funny video you reblogged on your site”, I don’t feel a sense of accomplishment but a casual happiness that someone was able to enjoy something I’ve shared with them. All that matters to me (even after 600 posts today) is that I’ve managed to post things that interest me and may interest others.

http://www.nicktrunks.tumblr.com

(I’m well aware I was “baited” for a response to this too, but after seeing that this entire blog post was pretty much directed at me, I felt like I needed to respond with something.)

Adam