Sex, blogs and Craigslist

Just popping in her briefly -- I still have much to do this day.

While all blogs do much (acknowledged) cribbing from the mainstream media, a few people have recently noticed that the traffic also runs in the opposite direction. "Responsible" journalists often crib memes from blogs. If they don't crib, then they may work soil that bloggers have already tilled and fertilized.

For a classic case in point, read Melissa Gira Grant's new Slate piece, "The Craigslist Sex Panic: How shutting down its "erotic services" section hurts prostitutes and cops." Virtually every point Grant makes recapitulates two pieces I wrote nearly two months ago, here and here.

No, I'm not saying that Grant pilfered from my work. She probably has never visited Cannonfire. My point is this: The pressure on bloggers to "feed the beast" on a daily basis means that we amateurs are often the first responders. The professional scribblers show up later.