Now, I Don't Usually Do This, But...

Metroblogging? Ok, so I wrote a couple of posts for the New York City metroblog site over the summer. I thought it was a great idea, having a city blog, offering different voices and viewpoints under an umbrella of civic love.

When I say I am a writer, I'm not being cute. I am trained and educated in my profession, and I have more than 10 years experience in being paid to write. I am usually thoughtful about the things I write, especially those pieces that might be read by more than just my co-workers, friends and family.

My few posts stick out like a Harvard librarian might at a Jersey keg party. Other "writers" can't spell and have limited grammar skills. There is no flow to their stories, the point is hard to discern, and cliches tend to overpopulate. Thankfully, no emoticons or TXT MSG acronyms (so far), but you feel it's only a matter of time. I felt embarassed to be part of something so amateurish and useless.

I wrote a carefully-written (read: no expletives or sarcasm), suitably deferential email to the guy in charge of metroblogging, a guy named Sean Bonner. In my note, I suggested that the site would be much improved and might gain more credibility if an editor was installed -- at the very least a copyeditor. I was NOT angling for the job, mind you, just offering helpful, well-meaning advice.

The response was a big "fuck you" from Cap'n Douchebag. Which he followed up with a couple more emails, detailing why it didn't matter what the copy looked like so long as the site got hits, and plenty of innuendo about me sucking. Quantity, screw quality. You get the idea. And then he deleted my profile and posts from the site.

Believe me, my heart may never recover. Ya-a-a-awn. What was I saying?

Oh, yeah: Metroblogging. To their credit, I've seen worse.