Society is incredibly dynamic. Communication is an essential part of society and is also constantly changing. Computer and internet technology has driven the development communication. Traditionally media content has been delivered to the consumers from central sources. Consumers were at the mercy of their media source. However, they have now entered a time when the media content is created, and distributed by the people. A main section of this user powered media creation and sharing is the web log, or blog. Blogging is an effective, media based social activity that enhances the way individuals communicate with others. Those who participate in blogging are given easy access to expression of thoughts and ideas, sharing media like video and photos, sharing, reading, and discussing news, establishing personal identity, and social networking with other blog writers and readers.
Blogging is a Web 2.0 concept. It demonstrates many of the key ideas discussed in Tim O’Reilly’s article: What Is Web 2.0. Blogging is a service available on the web platform. It requires no proprietary software, and is accessible to anyone with an internet connection and a web browser, and it is therefore ubiquitous. Many early web applications required costly software that was required to be installed on the users’ machines. This made it challenging for companies to harness the power of user based content since the user was restricted by cost, and compatibility issues across platforms. Since the content available as the result of blogging is generated and distributed by users, the service improves as the number of users increases. According to O’Reilly, “[Web 2.0 companies] build systems that get better the more people use them.” When a piece of information spreads through blogs, being shared by users, it may be described as viral media. Information gets passed along when users feel it is worth showing to others through what is called the social graph. “A social graph is a map of a person's connections, through which they communicate and share information.” (Klaassen, Bulik, 46)
A demonstration of connections within a small social graph.
This is a revolutionary concept since “‘the former audience’, not a few people in a back room, decides what’s important” (O’Reilly). Blogging changes the flow of information. What was originally information travelling in one direction, from a few sources to a large audience, is now information traveling in many directions through an ever growing network of users. Alas the common web user is empowered.
This new, empowered user is often identified as a threat to the mass media establishments. Criticisms of American mass media show that it is no longer considered a dominant media figure on the global scale. American media insists on its objectivity despite obvious biases in the stories. There is reduced editorial independence due to commercial influences. There have even been some incidences of mass media companies fabricating news stories. The blogging world is given the power to socially share information while reducing these problems. If a mainstream article shows a problematic bias, bloggers of the subject can write about it in their blogs, making the issue present; or simply choose not to share the article with their readers. Most bloggers are independent, and therefore do not embellish their writings to satisfy commercial influences. Blogs can also be used as a tool to address the fabrication of stories since users can voice their suspicions, and research many other blogs and online news resources to compare information. Major news networks will be less likely to fabricate stories knowing there is a critical network of bloggers listening. The decline in mass media is linked with the increase in the popularity of blogging. Newspapers are showing declines in revenue, readership, staff employment security, etc. Statistics from an article by Danny Schechter in the summer 2009 Nieman Reports reveal the increase in the popularity of blogging:
- Over 12 million American adults maintain a blog.
- Over 147 million American adults use the internet.
- Of those 147 million, 57 million read blogs.
- More than 120 000 blogs are created every day.
- Nine percent of internet users claim to have created a blog.
- 1.7 million Americans say that making money is one of the reasons that they blog.
- Of the companies surveyed, 89% say that blogging will be important for their business during the next five years.
- Over half of bloggers are also online shoppers.
- Nearly 25% of the Web’s 100 most popular websites are blogs.
- Every day, 1.4 million new blog posts are made.
- Blog readers spend an average of 23 hours online every week.
This perceived threat to mass media is not imminent however. Fears appear to be based on the assumption that blogging will overtake and eliminate major news sources and this not the case. There are very few journalistic bloggers who venture onto the field to collect their own news stories. Gathering news stories is a task still best left to professional journalists with the resources and skills to accurately and concisely document important events. The bloggers’ role is instead to respond to news stories and share them with other individuals. This communication makes blogging a social manifestation of journalism since the individuals can now respond to the stories and be heard. Blogging doesn’t take away from mass media, but instead opens up the channels of communication. With blogging, everyone can broadcast to everyone. The people are the mass media. It is “the most significant media revolution since the arrival of television” (Ryfe, 727). Blogging can be described as the ultimate form of hybrid media, since it has no exclusive ties to central political powers. All bloggers are given equal opportunities to expression.
As mentioned, a key to blogging’s success is its accessibility. When compared to previous methods of publishing, the accessibility is accentuated even more. Writing a blog has been compared to “vanity publishing”, where a writer publishes their own work, eliminating the need for approval from an editor. Both blogging and vanity publishing have been criticized for lacking the quality and prestige of traditionally published work. The difference between blogging and vanity publishing is that vanity publishing still requires printing equipment; and self-distribution can be tedious. One may publish their own work to a blog with a simple mouse click. Anyone who might be searching within the subject written can find the material through searching, and readers who find the material interesting may share it on their own blog, so distribution is not an issue. Blogging eliminates the need for editors, printing presses, and distribution; however it is not a replacement for traditional academic publishing. Blogging is simply a tool used to expand the world of academic publishing. Blogging can’t replace academic publishing because “certainly there are bloggers who possess less commitment to truth” (Savage, 49) than others.
Blogging (web logging) is often compared to another kind of logging: diary writing. Both present some disclosed information from or about the writer based on time. Diaries are typically in chronological order, where blogs are typically in reverse-chronological order. Blogging and diary writing both give the writer a sense of psychological empowerment. Diary writing has often been described as giving the writer a sense of agency, which is an individual’s sense of control over their own self and actions. Blogging however has been described as giving the writer a sense of community which contrastingly is a sense of influence over one’s peers (Marken, 31).
Another key concept supporting blogging as a social activity is how blogs may help individuals, or groups generate and maintain an identity. For individuals, identity portrayed in an online setting is traditionally in the form of a profile page. Profile pages often have data fields for basic information like name, and birth date, as well as allowing the user to display info like favourite books or films. This kind of identity can be problematic since the user writing their profile may just write an embellished portrayal of self. Also, unless a profile page is frequently updated, it will remain quite static, and can lose relevance to the individual over time. Many blogging sites allow users to display this type of profile as well, however a blogger’s identity is more shaped by their activities as a blogger. Since one may experience blogging as a completely free expression of thought, blogging can be portrayed as antiestablishment, and rebellious. One may demonstrate their identity through posts and comments that include disclosure of personal experiences and opinions. Through analysis of one’s blog, a dynamic identity that changes throughout time may be seen. Also, blogging may help to establish and maintain group identity. Since blogging is so accessible, it “[offers] direct benefits for traditionally disempowered and underprivileged groups in society (e.g., ethnic and sexual minorities, immigrants, etc.), by highlighting one freely available technology that they could use for deeper psychological empowerment” (Stavrositu, Sundar, 5). One documented example of group identity is Julie Rak’s The Digital Queer: Blogs and Internet Identity. A study was done of 40 GLBT related blogs to identify how bloggers create group identity. Some trends shown in the blogs were generally left biased politics, writers geographically located in urban centers with an existing GLBT identity (like NYC, or the San Francisco Bay Area), many posts addressing issues surrounding same sex marriage, and web design with gay pride inspired designs and slogans. Since all these blogs are readily searchable, and often link between each other, they create a network that can broadcast its own identity as a whole. Both of these individual and network identities also help bloggers to reach their target audience. A well established blog identity makes relevant content easier for readers to find.
Blogging is an accessible social tool that empowers its users, giving them the ability to share their media with one another, distributing, reading, and discussing news, establish and maintain personal and group identities, and social networking with other bloggers. Blogging has opened up communication and broadcasting in all directions for all web users. It won’t replace reputable information sources, but instead promotes open discussion and sharing of knowledge.
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