Above: Josh Marshall, not your average blogger

David Eaves examines many “old media” myths, most importantly this one: “The average blog is not very good – so how can we rely on blogs for media?”

The problem being that no one – not old media, not other bloggers, not anyone – is competing with “the average blogger.” Because no one reads the average blogger. Everyone’s competing with the most popular bloggers. Some of those aren’t very professional (like Drudge, who despite his protests to the contrary, is a blogger), some are (like the Talking Points Memo family).

So there’re a couple take aways from this:

If you’re from “old media,” forget about how bad most blogs are and think about the good ones.

If you’re a blogger, don’t just do marginally better than “the average blog” and think you’re doing a good job. Aim to be as good as not just the best blogs, but the best media in general.

Eaves: Why Old Media and Social Media Don’t Get Along