Fame or Famine

Doug Fox writes about a new event (and wonders “…how come nobody else has done this before?) where the Cedar Lake Ballet invited several dance bloggers to munch on wine and cheese and see a dress rehearsal along with a post-performance talk. He notes that this is a big departure from the traditional methods of dance publicity, namely getting big name reviewers to say nice things in big papers and then put the quotes on the event posters.

I’m not surprised that the power of the blogosphere is spreading, though. I think that the tech world figured it out first, as people like Robert Scoble gained power and influence through nothing, really, save the power of their ideas. This was followed by the political world, where Howard Dean really found out how much could be gained – and lost – with a strong web presence. The military has had to clamp down on blogging, because it is perceived as a threat to their operations and morale. It’s not surprising, then, that the performing arts would gradually catch up to the effect. I think it will continue, although I believe that the term “blogger” will become less easy to hold – some people will have more cachet than others, and just as “reporter” might have certain stereotypes associated with it, “blogger” already is getting a reputation both sublime and ridiculous.

This is the kind of thing my friend Amy Gahran is obsessed occupied with much of her time. Me, I just wish I lived closer to Cedar Lake…

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