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6.2: What is a blog?

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    305695
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    I hate the term “blog.” It doesn’t sound the least bit revolutionary, technologically savvy or cutting-edge. But that’s exactly what blogs are.

    Blogs have changed forever the way information is disseminated in our society. They’re fast. They’re interactive. They’re freewheeling. They can be dangerous. They are already powerful and growing more so every day.

    Blogs usually have several common characteristics:

    1. A frequently updated online journal, written in a conversational style, with entries displayed in reverse chronological order (most recent stuff on top).
    2. Links to other news and information found on the Web complemented with analysis from the blogger (or bloggers).
    3. A “comments” link that allows readers to post their own thoughts on what the blogger is writing about. Not all blogs allow comments, but most do.

    How did blogging become a phenomenon?

    In the first information revolution in the 1990s, everyone started creating Web sites just to have one. The advent of blogs has paved the way for a more authentic information revolution.

    The Internet of the 1990s was said to allow “anyone” to become a publisher. But it turned out that “anyone” needed to know a little bit about computers and, specifically, how to build a Web page. As a result, individual publishers were largely computer code jockeys and graphic artists and designers who were much more interested in pushing the cosmetic limits of this new medium. In essence, it was style over substance. Lots of flashy Web sites were built, but once you visited them, there often was little reason to return.

    Blogs aren’t always pretty to look at, but they can be published by anyone who can click a mouse.

    Blogs flipped this model on its head. They’re not always pretty to look at, but they can be “published” by anyone who can click a mouse and type. The software makes it so easy to publish, in fact, that blogs can be updated several times a day with about the same effort as sending e-mail.

    It was an effective way for citizens of all stripes to discuss the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in 2001. The energy created by those post-9/11 blogs morphed into passionate discussion and debate leading up to the military action in Iraq, then evolved in 2004 as election season shifted into high gear. Presidential candidates and the Republican and Democratic national committees hosted blogs, altering the perception of a blog as a grassroots communication tool and furthering the mainstreaming of the medium.


    This page titled 6.2: What is a blog? is shared under a CC BY-ND 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Mark Briggs via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.