The Militant's Fi(r)st Annivasary Roundup: The Impact

Being a Militant may have its fun and laughs, but there's a definite serious side to all of this.

See, the reason why the Militant is here in the first place is because he was totally upset at the way this City was being depicted in the blogosphere -- by certain bloggers who claim to speak on behalf of it. Certain people who lack the knowledge, or don't even care to even attain the knowledge, to provide a truly informational - dare the Militant say, educational - resource for their readers. For example, aside from the incessant Eastside/Westside shebang, the sheer cultural ignorance displayed by one unspecified blog in calling an ornate Hollywood-area Russian Orthodox church "Aladdin's Church" and "Arabian-nights themed" this past February was beyond asinine. This City deserves better.

Not to mention the various underrepresented voices of people who certainly have access to blogs, and who are experienced and skilled enough to share their perspectives, but for whatever reason, their voices are left unheard.

And even worse, the cadre of people who dare to call themselves L.A. Bloggers who incessantly bitch, whine and groan about a City they moved to that they are too ashamed to admit they made a bad decision in coming here in the first place, only grasping on the oft-cliched "But I love the weather" response to justify their meager presence here. That aside, if your blog link is located in the right-hand column, it's safe to assume that most likely, the Militant doesn't think you're one of these folks. Actually you're really on there because you've mentioned or linked to the Militant Angeleno in the past, and it's great to reciprocate.

No, this isn't a bash-the-other-bloggers kind of post, the Militant was merely offering perspective. Ultimately, the Militant has been pondering whether his presence has actually made a difference round these here parts.

The best example the Militant can think of is a relatively new blog called LA Eastside which only started this past April. A collective-type blog whose contributors comprise of contributors to other collective blogs, established local bloggers and others who were previously relegated to the comments section of other blogs, the Militant, who is not an Eastsider per se, but very Eastside-friendly, is glad to see such a site exist and present perspectives and stories about a previously underrepresented part of town (blogwise). Even this Militant, who knows quite a bit about this town and its neighborhoods, gets to learn a thing or two by the posts, which really do go beyond the usual, "Hey check this out" or whiny complaint post found elsewhere but delve into deeper issues, such as perception vs. reality of crime/public safety, gentrification, cultural dynamics, and people just living their daily lives (and historical posts always score highly with the Militant as well). So way to go LA Eastsiders! The Militant may or may not have inspired you folks, but he's glad you're around regardless.

Now looking for a South Los Angeles collective blog...

As far as the more established players in the blogosphere, the Militant would like to give props to LAist for, well...improving. The Militant gives credit to that blog for being one of the first blogs to break news of the Militant's arrival (in a post that came out exactly one year ago today), but found some of their coverage rather limiting and in some cases annoying and borderline ignorant. Not so anymore. It's tough to be all things to all people, but they've struck a pretty good balance between news, lifestyle posts, sports, entertainment and arts and local issues. The coverage is much more diverse now and overall the Militant really does see his City in that blog now, as opposed to the somewhat alien perspective he saw in the past. So keep up the good work LAistas! Again, the Militant's influence may or may not be debatable here, but he's grateful for the more positive change nonetheless.

Incidentally, both LAist and LAEastside in the past have asked the Militant to be one of their contributors. The Militant was flattered but had to respectfully decline in both cases...The Militant was, is and will always be independent.

There's really no way the Militant can accurately gauge his impact on the Blogosphere. Maybe one day he'll hire a research team to conduct random polls and find out. It's all up to conjecture, really. But if you wanna ask the Militant, hell yeah he's made an impact! Yet there's still much, much more work to do.

Right now, though the Militant would like to take this time to tip a 40 to the local bloggers who have since fallen during the course of this year. Shall we observe a moment of silence? Cue the sentimental soundtrack and memorial montage...

LA Bus Girl...

MetroPed...

Eye On LA...

and of course...LA City Nerd...

Rest in peace, folks. You may or may not be always remembered.

Now, on to year two!