All hail the era of the blog, the era of the blog we hail! (or something like that) Believe it or not (as this was Wikipedia sourced), the modern blog was born of the online diary as early as 1994. The weblog phenomenon has continued to build in popularity to present day and will likely not be disappearing any time soon into online history. There are simply too many opinions with a desire to be heard. Is this a force for good or a step in the opposite direction?
I think blogs are best when they aren’t taken too seriously. At best, they avoid being offensive and lean towards humour. A blogger can always choose to inform their audience, but hopefully they find a creative way to do it and do not just spout off. I can’t imagine what Rush Limbaugh’s blog would be like as I wouldn’t risk visiting the site and fouling my hard drive.
That being said, political blogs are not all bad. As long as their intent is to inform and not manipulate, sign me up. What is unfortunate in the realm of the blogosphere is there really isn’t a checks and balances system for online opinion. I’m not aware of any governing body that moderates poor taste according to blogs. There probably should be one, but I suppose for the most part we vote with our mouse’s.
If an individual creates their own blog, they’re relatively free to say what they want. What can happen for many blogs are opinions that can be misunderstanding of the original topic. This may not always cause too much harm as with the amount of blogs worldwide has surpassed the 180 million mark and one persons opinion becomes lost in a landslide.
What I feel is a great use for a blog and hopefully most peoples intention is the idea of social networking. Whether it be for keeping faraway friends updated on what’s happening in your life, or a way of increasing your chances of employment, blogging comes into its own.
In this way you have a tool to present your personality to others in the hopes of gaining their interest. It makes keeping in touch with those close to you much easier as they can link to your blog and find out what’s new in your life. Words of encouragement can follow if they post a comment on your blog congratulating you on an achievement or providing a “there, there…” when disaster occurs.
The way you choose to blog says a lot about yourself. For me, I try to stay on the light side as much as possible. There are too many other mediums out there that offer up healthy doses of seriousness already. The world needs laughter and pretty much take anyone, as long as it’s not in too bad of taste. How will you know, you ask? Send out your blog addy to everyone in your email list and see what happens. If you build it (laughter), they will come…
1 comment:
You raise a great point, about the social networking aspect of blogs. My Dad is a big traveller, and recently (at my and my brother's urging) started a blog recounting his experiences as he toured eastern Europe. It was a great way for us to keep tabs on him and Mum, and for him to be able to keep up with us, as conversations would happen in the comments section.
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