Friday, September 26, 2008

Debate LiveBlogging

I am listening to the presidential debate via the NY Times site (C-SPAN's site is completely hosed). And I've been looking periodically at Kevin Drum's MoJo site which is liveblogging the debate.

I have never tried to follow any "live-blogging" before. It seems completely useless.

I have no read one comment by Kevin that has added anything to this debate. It's hard enough to listen to the debate, carefully, and understand and follow what McCain and Obama are trying to say. Listening to it with one ear and looking at these other blogs for snarky comments just breaks up my concentration and detracts from the experience. It certainly does not add to the experience.

All this liveblogging, twittering, and such is going to ruin us, I'm afraid. I'm perfectly willing to listen to the debate now, and then read the analyses later. I don't need both at once. I can't use both at once.

Kevin: listen to the debate. Decide what you want to say. Then give us your valued perspective. I don't believe you can multitask the debate (listening + blogging) anymore than I can (listening + reading).

Let's try to value thought over immediacy.

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