One of most controversial bloggers on the internet might just be reaping the fruits of her labor according to a Newsweek Magazine article, Celebrity blogger Sandra Rose has just been elevated to the prestigious title of one of the nation’s “Most Notorious Bloggers.”
This honor is only bestowed on bloggers who have throughout history made careers of pushing others’ buttons (see Mark Twain), but the Internet gave birth to a new type of rabble-rousing big-mouth: the blogger. The most successful writers to harness this medium have been the ones to realize—in the tradition of Matt Drudge, the godfather of dotcom provocateurism—the Internet’s unique power to enrage people. Armed with snark, a keyboard, and a gift for attracting Web traffic, the following instigators are some of the most notorious (and often successful) in the business.
In Sandra Rose’s company on this list are Andrew Breibart, the blogger responsible for releasing an edited video of Shirley Sherrod depicting her as a racist which prompted the White House to abruptly ask her to resign from her position as US Dept. of Agriculture Rural Director in Atlanta.
Another noted addition to the list is none other than Mario Armando Lavandeira better known to the world as Perez Hilton. Hilton has gained a reputation for taking cheap shots at artists like Black Eyed Peas front man Will I Am and Miley Cirus.
Hilton successfully avoided criminal charges when he tweeted a picture of Miley Cirus alleging that she was not wearing any panties. After talk of him possibly being charged with child pornography, he retracted his comments and acknowledged that she was in fact wearing panties.
Like Hilton, Rose pushes the envelope of controversy and she doesn’t back down when pushed as noted when she wrote a blog about music veteran Jermaine Dupri. According to Rose, Dupri made threats of violence towards after she pointed out some of his shortcomings in his music career and his personal relationship with Janet Jackson. There were many bloggers who came out against Jermaine Dupri because of this and since then he has been very mute on what actually happened.
Rocky Williform, CEO of Hiphopblog.com & Jermaine Dupri
Rose doesn’t just limit her opinions to the entertainment community; President Obama gets no free pass with her either. She has been the only urban blogger who has constantly pointed out some of the deficiencies of the Obama Administration when very few others would dare critique the first black bi-racial President of The United States.
Many have made blogging a way of making a living for themselves but CEO of Hip Hop Blog Rocky Williform pointed out that for Sandra Rose it’s more about control than financial gain.
“Sandra has a very strong constituency, people actually galvanize around her because they like her and they respect her opinion. There is a difference in being rich and wealthy Williform points out. “Wealthy people control something. You can have wealth and it doesn’t necessarily have to be monetary. I’m likening Sandra Rose to that of someone who has a cult like following. People listen to her and people are very influenced by her. She is very consistent and she doesn’t equivocate. People like to know what they can expect from her and it’s something that is not commercialized or watered down. She doesn’t say what she thinks, she says what she believes and that in itself is a big difference.”
It’s safe to say that Sandra Rose is a pioneer in the blogging game and she can be credited with putting urban bloggers on the map even though some are hesitant to acknowledge that fact.
Source: Newsweek