423 The Imbalance of Fame

There is an article about blogs and their influence in the August 2004 issue of Wired. (I'm practicing putting the subject and verb first in my opening sentences as instructed at a journalism tool kit site.) I saw a phrase that shocked me--"the imbalance of fame." The clear, fold-out chart was in Wired's favorite colors--lime-green yellow and cobalt blue with a hint of thalo, lined in cadmium red with a touch of simple black.*

Apparently, the "inbound" links are now the thing to watch. Slashdot is way behind New York Times in visits, but is 5th in the chart of inbound links--more than Fox News and Reuters. Anyway, why shouldn't the government correct this imbalance of fame just as it does the wealth imbalance? Why can't I have, by government regulation, some of the cache of the NYT or Slashdot blog sites, even if they have more inbound links? My readers, Sylvia, my sister, Bev, Adrienne, Greg, Michael, Sherry, Hip Liz and the rest are no less important than those thousands who click to all the news that fits. After all, NYT had a head start, so I should be moved up just because of my lack of experience, education and staff to even out the odds. Oh yes, and my gender and age.

Why should I be struggling down in zone 5 when CNN, WP, Wired, Salon and Instapundit get all the perks? I'm heading for the mall in DC to start a protest for all us little bloggers who are not getting our fair share!