Last year Iain got a good deal of stick for his method of compiling the top 100 centre left blogs. Dave Complex and John Angliss pointed out that Iain had circulated an email asking respondents to name their top Labour blogs, which he subsequently went on to label 'centre left'. So not only did we see a Labour right-winger like Luke Akehurst weigh in at number 10, but also juvenile tat like General Theory of Rubbish came in way above popular socialist blogs like Socialist Unity and Lenin's Tomb by virtue of being known by the right people. This wouldn't matter if the rankings were just a bit of fun, but as we know the book spun off the list has become something of a reference work for political blogging in Britain. When it came to the combined top 100 list Andy noted that the bias in Iain's method allowed him to run with the spurious argument that left blogging is nowhere as vibrant or well read as the right's, nor is there any alternative to consensus politics.
Thankfully this year it looks like Iain has taken on board these criticisms and completely changed the way positions are determined. To quote,
We're asking for your votes to decide the Top 100 UK Political Blogs. Simply email your Top Ten (ranked from 1 to 10) to toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com. If you have a blog, please encourage your readers to do the same. I'll then compile the Top 100 from those that you send in. Just order them from 1 to 10. Your top blog gets 10 points and your tenth gets 1 point. The deadline for submitting your Top 10 is Friday August 15th. Please type Top 10 in the subject line.So now the left has an opportunity to redress the balance and produce a more representative list. As a respecter of democratic processes I'm not going to be asking readers to vote early and often, but if you do like this humble blog you know what to do.
Phil
ReplyDeleteWould you like to cross post this over at SU blog as well?
Will do!
ReplyDeleteI came in at 54 on his first list when he was writing his book but i dropped out of the ranking completly last year.
ReplyDeletenevermind! lol
I am just curious. How can a list made up by a partisan Tory (who would mostly be read by other like minded people I would assume) be construed as a true reflection of "top" political blogs. Even with the introduction of his voting scheme, would not conservative minded people be most likely to vote thus tilting things in favor of conservative blogs? Just wondering...from your ignorant friend on the other side of the pond... I would be more than happy to vote for you mind you... :)
ReplyDelete