Firstly, and superficially, I think "blog" is just a great new media word. It's a goofy-sounding addition to our English (or perhaps, global) vernacular - like "Google" or "Hulu." It's strange to think that these words did exist when I was born.
But alas, on to some more substantive discussions of writing in new media. Blogging seems to be an appropriate entry point for tackling this subject, as it is so prevalent and varied. Everyone seems to have a blog nowadays, from Barack Obama, to (the often incomprehensible) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and even The Office's fictional Dwight Shrute. There are political blogs, sports blogs, gossip blogs, and of course, metablogs. Such variation within the "blogosphere" creates some difficulty in pinpointing a unified "blog theory" or even a coherent discussion, but there are certain aspects of blogging which pervade all genres.
Naturally, a blog about Nietzsche, and one about Jake Gylenhall's love life might have very little in common. Their tone, style, content, and intended audience diverge significantly. Yet, there are inherent universalities which stem from a blogging format. Particularly, as Andrew Sullivan notes in Why I Blog, there is an immediacy to the interaction and conversation of the web. Sullivan notes that [blog] readers, "will send links, stories, and facts, challenging the blogger's view of the world, sometimes outright refuting it, but more frequently adding context and nuance and complexity to an idea." In this way, a groupthink or "collective mind" emerges, creating at least important debate points, if not a more profound consensus.
Similarly, Sullivan discusses the value of shared experiences in blogging. While information and details of ongoing events may be sketchy, there is a certain usefulness to the live and archivable discussion and vetting of breaking news. Fark is a moderated news aggregate with a forum for users to discuss stories. They archive the entire history of their website, so it is possible to read readers' reactions to important events as they happened. For instance, a live discussion of 9/11 contains viewpoints and information from readers from New York to Europe. You can also see how the details of the event gradually emerged.
While blogging certainly has some limitations (access, reliability, bias, to name a few), its format lends to a unique mode of discussion. In an age where many complain that we are not concerned or informed with the world around us, blogging allows for idea vetting and an array of different viewpoints. Ideally, blogging can nurture an environment where people from all cultural, national, and socioeconomic backgrounds can learn from eachother and not necessarily agree, but at least consider more deeply.
That last sentence was cheesy...Oh well.
Image courtesy of http://mariamusic.blogspirit.com
Ian,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post very much. I think that you provide a very effective summary of what blogging is. Your hyperlinks are also useful in providing additional information for your readers.
But, the one downside was that your link for metablog didn't work. Since the definition of metablog (I think) was totally reliant on this link I was confused on what a metablog is?
Since, this is the title of your blog, I really think that you should have taken some time out to introduce what this concept is to your reader.
Other than that good job!
-Alex
the link is now fixed.
ReplyDeletenow that it works though, it probably will not explain what "metablog" is because it just links to my own site. its kind of a joke.
meta essentially means self-referential, so this is a metablog because it is a blog about blogs.
hope that helps.
These words did *not* exist when you were born, is what I think you meant to say?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Alex, I think maybe a definition or introduction to what a metablog is would be good (and also the link which i think? redirects the reader to your blog does not work). But you fixed that.
I really like how you incorporate specific posts to illustrate your points and how you link to basically anything that you can link to. I also think it is good how you incorporate your own original examples like Nietzsche and Fark. Your conciseness is nice, as well.
One thing I'd ask you is whether you would only see access, reliability, bias, etc as limitations? I can see how, and Sullivan hints at this, that these things that make blogs unique also empower them.
Good job! Brett