SUGAR SHOCK! Blog Accepted Into Media Bloggers Association

Yeah, I finally received word today — after waiting word for many months — that yours truly has been admitted as a member of the acclaimed Media Bloggers Association (MBA). So, I guess this means I’m now a bona fide bloger (whatever that means!)

Given that many revered, well-read bloggers are members of this group, I was quite pleased to get the "you’re-in" nod from MBA president and veteran blogger Robert Cox, who runs The National Debate blog, which he started way back when dinosaurs were roaming the earth. (OK, silly joke, I confess. But, seriously, Bob began his blog back in June 2003, when people were like "Huh?" about "blogging." Or maybe they thought it was a derivative of "flogging.")

Anyhow, did you know that about 12 million Americans with Internet access are online content creators? Wow! This fact comes courtesy of a Pew Internet & American Life Project study released in November (and which I pulled from the Media Bloggers Association blog). About 19% of those bloggers run online journals, according to the study. Another figure I also found on the MBA site says 5 million of us have blogs.

So, in case you’re completely in the dark about the Media Bloggers Association, the MBA (don’t you love that business-sounding acronym?) is "a non-partisan organization "dedicated to promoting, protecting and educating its members; supporting the development of "blogging" or "citizen journalism" as a distinct form of media; and helping to extend the power of the press, with all the rights and responsibilities that entails, to every citizen."

As you may surmise, I’m a big fan of this genre of communicating. I simply love blogging, and I greatly treasure you, my dear readers.

What so impresses me about blogging is that it offers an unparalleled means of direct contact with readers. You see, while as a journalist, I did receive feedback — letters, phone calls, and e-mails — I never received this kind of instantaneous rapport, or criticism for that matter.

Speaking of which, contrary to what a visitor here stated, I don’t delete comments here unless they’re blatant spamming.

Anyhow, here, quoted verbatim, are the Media Bloggers Association’s lofty missions:

• "Promoting its members by advancing the grassroots media movement generally, showcasing exemplary instances of media blogging and citizen journalism, making members available for media appearances, and otherwise creating promotional opportunities for the MBA and its members.
• "Protecting members by defending the rights of bloggers and citizen journalists generally, providing first-line legal advice to members, and partnering with organization dedicated to promoting values enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
• "Educating its members through mutual support and robust internal discussion, by partnering with organizations dedicated to education in the area of technology, methods and standards and otherwise creating educational opportunities for the MBA and its members."

If you’re a intrigued blogger, you learn more here about the Media Bloggers Association.