Bloggers and Power

I know we have discussed blogger's power many times. There is not a consensus on how much political and social power do they have, but bloggers are putting weight in poilitical decisions. Today I read a washingtonpost article about Roberts nominations being in the eye of the bloggers swarm. As soon as President Bush announced Roberts as the nominee, liberal and conservative bloggers were ready to discuss the nomination. Fifty top liberal bloggers held a conference on Tuesday discussing the new nomination.

The article raises a very interesting point. This is the first Supreme Court nomination in the Internet era. We can read immediate responses from liberal and conservative bloggers sharing facts, opinion, agreeing and disagreeing. This is what democracy is all about. Also with the help of the Internet, bloggers are rallying to influence the mainstream media and direct the journalistic coverage. Is that possible? Well, we are reading, seeing and listening in the news how bloggers react to Roberts nomination, so I should say that bloggers have earned a position in the mainstream media. The positive thing I see about bloggers having influence in the mainstream media, is that many of them do not have a particular political interest.

It has been a great experience attending Phil's and Emi's class, because I have learned so much about the blogsphere and the impact they have on the media and public opinion. As I see it, good things should be copied and developing countries should start heading the path to have other voices.
A quick fact, just to let you know, while here in the United States the Senate will be approving or dissaproving Roberts nominations to the Supreme Court, in Ecuador we are trying to constitue a new Supreme Court. Ecuador has not had a Supreme Court since last April!