Blogging
I decided my blog is going to have a new theme. I'm going to talk about some of the articles I've read in news magazines and provide a forum for discussion.
The first topic is on an article I read in The Economist on The New Media. Coincidentally, blogging was part of the article. So, what is a blog? Is it a personal online journal? A news commentary? What? Should bloggers be taken seriously if they are trying to cover the news? Or is it another form of a conversation, such as IM, text, email, or the telephone?
One thing to point out is that a blog can serve as a shelter for anonymity. Is that why it has become so popular? Is mainstream America becoming too scared to say what they actually feel in person?
Here's what I think. Wait...let's hear what you think first...then I'll tell you what I think. So participate. I'm opening up to everyone. Hide behind the computer and say whatever you like. I won't hold it against you, I promise.
The first topic is on an article I read in The Economist on The New Media. Coincidentally, blogging was part of the article. So, what is a blog? Is it a personal online journal? A news commentary? What? Should bloggers be taken seriously if they are trying to cover the news? Or is it another form of a conversation, such as IM, text, email, or the telephone?
One thing to point out is that a blog can serve as a shelter for anonymity. Is that why it has become so popular? Is mainstream America becoming too scared to say what they actually feel in person?
Here's what I think. Wait...let's hear what you think first...then I'll tell you what I think. So participate. I'm opening up to everyone. Hide behind the computer and say whatever you like. I won't hold it against you, I promise.
3 Comments:
What is a blog? I would say all of the above. The great thing about blogging is that it gives everyone a voice, but the down-side is that the sheer volume them means that most blogs become just white noise.
Should they be taken seriously? I guess that depends the source. In the end, though, who's to say any of the "news blogs" are more reliable than yours or mine. It seems to me that a blog by it's very nature is based highly on opinion, speculation, and discussion. These are all strengths of the medium, but I believe this also discounts most blogs from being considered "hard news" sources.
Should bloggers enjoy the same constitutional privileges as the free press? That may be another question for another day...
-chc
(What do those initials stand for? I'm not going to tell you, since I enjoy hiding behind my computer...)
What gives blogs such appeal is the fact that they put only one degree of separation between your ideas and the entire world, and at such a low cost.
That hasn't happened in the history of human posturing....ever. Still, I agree with Char - with so many blogs out there, it's tough to make yourself heard above the cacophony of others.
I agree that some bloggers shelter themselves in anonymity. Perhaps even greater than their desire to be separated from their opinions, however, is their desire to be separated from themselves. "Legitimate" posts can be informative and thought-provoking, but they also have a tendency to be impersonal. It doesn't take gushing intimate details to make what you write both interesting and uniquely yours. So while you're writing "legitimate" entries, keep in mind that it can be just as interesting to read a thought that someone had on life that was inspired by something that happened during their day.
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