I’m famous at last — thanks to the internet (and this column)

Wednesday, 11th November 2009

James Delingpole says You Know It Makes Sense

Why? Well, one reason is that the blogosphere lends itself particularly well to those of a libertarian conservative bent like me. This means we can write the stuff we’ve always thought, but instead of being sidelined by stuffy print editors as mavericks whose wacko views are only fit for publication in August when the regular, dullo commentators are away, we’re suddenly part of the mainstream. We’re the writers readers want to read.

And we can say this with a confidence that was never possible before. In the old days, your only gauge — a very unreliable one –— was weight of fanmail. But when you write a blog, as I do for the Daily Telegraph, you and your bosses know exactly how popular you are because of how many hits your articles are getting and therefore what your market value is. You see it in the weekly league tables, which make you hungrier than ever to write more articles and get even more hits and become more ‘popular’ still.

This ought to be anxiety-inducing, but I love it. I’ve always believed in the free market; that people should be judged — and rewarded — on merit, rather than because of who they are or whom they’ve brown-nosed. Internet journalism is the embodiment of this. There are minimal barriers to entry. At long last, success comes to those who deserve it.