What Hath Blog Wrought? ...

This is a repeat post ... of sorts. Some time back, I wrote about LANL: The Real Story a weblog created and maintained by members of the staff at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), perhaps the most storied scientific institution in the United States.

I return to the topic once again, because, among those now discovering the concept and impact of weblogging is the Congress of the United States. They have become especially mindful of that impact as it pertains to an institution that has known more than its share of controversy in recent years ... controversy that has been given, at least in the opinion of some, too much coverage in the blog. And, the opinion of those inside the Washington beltway ... LANL and BLOG do NOT mix.

An audio report airing today stated, "Last winter, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory began a Web log, or blog, for employees to post concerns and complaints about fixing problems at the government nuclear facility. But now, some members of Congress who've seen the blog see it as a reason to shut Los Alamos down." The link for listening to the entire report can be found at www.npr.org. Yes, yes, I know ... that's National Public Radio.

By the way, another blog-related feature running just after this morning's LANL blog report was a commentary from Catherine Seipp, that also makes for interesting listening.

And while I'm at it, I'd also like to recommend glennreynolds.com (one of a number of blogs over at msnbc.com) in which Reynolds looks at some recent examples of attempts to silence bloggers. What's interesting about this particular post, is that those attempts are not coming from the traditional boogeyman of the blogosphere, the mainstream media. No, the examples he cites come from corporate America - General Motors, and Apple.

Don't worry, though, he also cites one example from "LinuxWorld" magazine, too. And that counts as mainstream media ... I guess. So, you can keep on ranting about how the MSM is out to get you, or how we're 'disrespecting' you, or running in fear from you ... or whatever the heck it is we're doing.

But, if some bloggers want to make the move to news producers/reporters - rather than news critics/commentators/spinners - then they better get used to this. They better get used to ongoing and continuous efforts by government, corporate and special interests to direct their product. And they better learn how to respond to those efforts, and protect their product. So, while I am pleased, in a way, to hear that corporations are trying to muzzle the blogosphere - hey, it's how you learn - I am especially pleased to hear how the blogosphere is responding. Read Reynolds' post, and tell me what you think.