The white noise of Big Media, Small Media and Bloggers “will produce a phenomenal demand for originality” (quoting myself here, sorry). It also represents a fantastic chance for the educated, cultural conservative writer, and Per Svensson of Expressen knows how it works. To get ahead nowadays you have to blog, he acknowledges: “One is, I have understood, supposed to blend details from one’s richly textured daily life with profound reflections on the banalized present day, tell stories about meetings, food and coffee filter, blame the social democrats”… So he dutifully goes to work, with exciting tales of devouring his favourite inflight snack, a snack he had to bring with him because the SAS doesn’t serve the passengers anymore, terrible, the SAS isn’t what it used to be, now a cheap airline, the populism, the market – the social democrats’ fault, of course!

Svensson mocks blogging cliches and defends the banalized present at the same time. Well, he should. Google the wonderful Swedish word “förflackad” (the Norwegian “forflatet” can’t compete, the German “verflacht” is better but not quite there), and who is on top of the charts at the time of writing? Hr. Svensson. Out of respect I won’t even try to translate this favourite quote:

“Det har alltid varit ett skandalöst faktum att det kejserliga Roms bättre bemedlade damer tycks föredra muskulösa gladiatorer och bjärt sminkade skådespelare framför hårt bildade skalder med seriösa ambitioner.”

(via the Blind Hen’s post about the blogging ketchup effect now reaching Sweden.)