I read from Glenn Reynolds that some terrorist group in Spain executed a car bombing. He gives the name of the group, as does every other news source. So I wonder: would we, as citizen journalists in the blogosphere, help to reduce the bandwidth of free advertising these murderers get if we simply refuse to give the name of the group? How about if we just report: Thuggish Buffoons Blow Up Car Might be me, but since blogs are leading by example in a lot of ways, such as the Porkbusters folks have shown, why not lead here too? And then what if there was a pressure on MSM to do the same?So imagine that terrorists by name get no credit whatsoever. Then why would they continue to do it? Let's not promote their cause by giving them attention in this attention economy. Is there a value in giving us, the public, the name of the murderous group that commit these acts? No, if you think about it. Whether it's Al Qaeda or the Wonder Twins, how does that knowledge help you? It can't help you avoid terrorists. The public doesn't benefit by this knowledge. The only thing it does is give them a big ol' banner for recruiting and financial support. "Oh look, the Smarmy Bastards are really giving it to the West these days - I gotta sign up! I want to be a Smarmy Bastard too." So let's not. Let's not give them any attention. Call attention to the act, but never say who specifically did it. By drying up their advertising, maybe their cause becomes just a loser hobby instead of a well-financed organization. | 
