For those of you that didn’t catch it in the comments, my last post struck a nerve with Lee H. over at Guthrie Corporation’s Big Blue Blog. Apparently, sarcastically claiming that he pushes the blogging envelope wasn’t very nice. To make it up to him, I figured I’d address his comment directly in this post.
Lee starts,
“Jay strikes again … Whether or not you particularly care for Rohan and Graydon’s back and forth piece, at least they signed their names to it and have an email address where people can comment.”
Lee, you can email us at “author [at] fringefamous [dot] com”. We also have a phone number where people can call us and leave a message. That information has always been listed on our About page.
“Anonymous commenting and unsubstantiated shit-throwing is just the mark of very small people.”
Ah, yes…the anonymous thing. The classics never die. The logic that opinions and/or ideas lack merit without a “real” name attached is just plain silly. Besides, Lee, if I told you my real name, you’d still have no idea who I was. I’m a guy in town who follows theatre. That wouldn’t change if my name was John or Ben or Sam or Ron.
“Honestly, I don’t care who you really are or what you do, and I can tell by your ongoing slander of “LeeH” that the feeling is mutual.”
Actually, I do care what you do. That’s why I’m so often commenting about the Big Blue Blog. Also, slander is a spoken-word situation. I think you meant to use “libel”. But I knew what you meant.
“Does it suck that major news outlets are continually covering the Guthrie?”
No.
“Does it suck that the Guthrie and CTC have figured out a way to rent costume stocks to create another source of revenue?”
No. It’s pretty awesome. It’s something I’ve been taking advantage of for over ten years.
“Does it suck that my fellow Guthrie employees and I get paid a living wage to work at one of the country’s top theater orgs?”
No. Why would that suck?
“Absolutely not. I’m blessed to have a job that affords me luxuries that colleagues at other local organizations will only ever dream of … I stand by the quality of work that I’ve been tasked to complete, and will continue to offer my knowledge nuggets via a variety of platforms.”
See, now this is where our road forks, Lee. The argument I’m making is that the Big Blue Blog should aspire to more than mere nuggets of knowledge. I’m saying that the blog belonging to one of the greatest theatres in the nation (assuming that’s how you guys over there like to think of yourselves) should include much more than “check out our review” or “here’s where you can find your next Halloween costume”.
“I’m sorry that Jay can’t find a more productive way to support theater in the Twin Cities.”
I’d be sorry about that, too, if that’s was what I was trying to do. This blog is for entertainment purposes, Lee. I don’t get paid to do this. I’m not trying to change the world with my mighty blog. I post when I’m bored…to pass the time…usually in my underwear while sitting on the couch half-watching Project Runway. You’re giving this blog way too much credit.
“It speaks mountains about the type of person he is and the company he keeps.”
My friends would be totally bummed to hear that you’re judging them based solely on my blog.
“I am always welcome to engaging in a discussion that offers constructive criticism … your blog, however, offers something that is frankly far different from that.”
I’d call it snarky discourse.
“Jay (and other posters/readers) if you have a beef, comment and/or idea for me and/or the Guthrie you can contact me directly leeh@guthrietheater.org, 612.225.6142 or via webmaster@guthrietheater.org. You’ll find that, unlike Jay, I’m not afraid to take full ownership of my work.”
Got it. Users of pseudonyms can’t fully own their work. You know, people like Moliere, Dr. Seuss, Mark Twain, Lewis Carroll, Jane Martin, Voltaire…
Look, I get it, Lee. You’re upset that I pick on you and the Big G. And it’s true. I do give you lots of grief without any helpful ideas of my own. I just bitch and bitch and bitch, and then leave it to you to do your job all by yourself. That sucks. So, today I’m turning over a new leaf. Here are three things I think the Big Blue Blog — the blog belonging to one of the best regional theatres in the country — should and could be doing:
- Writing Blog Posts — This one might seem obvious, but you guys haven’t been doing it and it’s what makes a blog a blog. As of right now, what one gets if s/he visits the Big Blue Blog is a bunch of links that direct the user to someone else’s content. Click here to see a review of this show, click there to read our mention on this blog, etc. You might as well just use your Twitter account and call it a day. With all the crap on the Internets, you can be sure that if people are taking the time to visit G Corp’s blog, it’s because they’re interested in what G CORP HAS TO SAY. Which brings us to number two…
- Giving Us Something Interesting — There has got to be an absolute shit ton of awesome stuff going on at Guthrie Corporation. I mean, it’s a theatre corporation, right? But we’d never know that from reading the blog. When a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright is hanging around for three weeks, how about throwing us a quick (exclusive) interview with the guy? Can we maybe get a costume designer to show a sneak peak of the designs for an upcoming show? Or a set designer? And then can said designer talk a bit about the how/why of the designs? Can we hear from the actors? The directors? The administrative movers and shakers? Can we hear from ANYONE besides Lee H.? If the Big Blue Blog did some of these things, it would instantly be one of the most interesting (and probably most frequented) theatre blogs in the country. No shit.
- Letting People Talk — Number three is another simple one: comments. Give your readers a way to post comments on the actual post. Without a way to post comments, I’d never have known how you felt about me, Lee…and that would’ve been sad. It would be a cake walk for your web developer to install. Plus, the more you can do to make your blog a social experience, the better. Readers will be more likely to come back if they know they can have a discussion with the peeps on the inside as well as each other. And if more people are reading the blog, it makes it more beneficial to G Corp. if/when you occasionally decide to drop that dumb-ass “click here to read our awesome review” link. Eh? Eh??
There you go, Lee. That’s three beefs/comments/ideas. And you’re still the one who gets the money. Look how well you’re working the system!
Now…back to Project Runway.
