The Blogosphere (http://securetechusa.com/)
By now you probably know what a blog is. It is a virtual place online where people will pretend to be more important than they are and give their ideas on a topic that other people have already done. I know this because I am a blogger. You know this because you are reading my blog.
I blog because I want to be a Prof3ssio4l Wr1t3r one day but a quick search shows that as of October 2011 there were roughly 18.7 million blog writers. This is insane, surely I, a special snowflake, don't have the same dreams and aspirations of 18.7 million other people. That's nearly an Australia's worth of people.
We will have to delve into the Blogosphere to find out who else is blogging.
The Web-log-o-sphere (or Blogosphere for short) is made up of blogs linking to other blogs linking to news articles with all the linking back and forth between news sites and blogs around the world it creates the blogosphere (Poell, 2009 p 244).
New media scholars believe that the Internet extends the public sphere (Hurgen in Poell, 2009 p 239) and through extension of the public sphere it increases public debate (Poell, 2009 p 241).
So to put it elegantly, some people are offering their sides of an argument and comparing it with other blogger's arguments. Whether this be over political ideals, complaining about work or the problems with the latest X-Men movie, blogs are definitely invoking a discussion.
Some other bloggers use blogs as a platform to start their career as a journalist. Though bloggers may not have the ethical training afforded to paid journalists (Benjamin 2011 p 280).
So there you have it, the Blogosphere is made up workers, writers, "journos" and people with political agendas. 18 million of them in March. I'm too scared to see the current statistics of the sea of people I have to contend with.
References
Benjamin in Noor Al-Deen, H; Hendricks, J 2011, Social Media : Usage and Impact, e-book, accessed 10 September 2013, <http://deakin.eblib.com.au.ezproxy-f.deakin.edu.au/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=795614>.
Poell in van den Boomen, M; Lammes, S; Lehmann, A; Raessens, J; Schäfer, M 2009, Digital Material : Tracing New Media in Everyday Life and Technology, e-book, accessed 10 September 2013, <http://deakin.eblib.com.au.ezproxy-f.deakin.edu.au/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=474227>.
Hey Kris,
ReplyDeleteI really like this post. I think it really helps that you as a blogger are able to use your own experience and humour to the post to help explain your ideas. I think your use of quotes was really good as they seemed to slip into the sentence without interrupting it, especially the Poell quote. I like the link you gave and the information about 18.7 million bloggers really grabbed my attention as I had no idea there was that many! I also liked how you noted the reasons that people use blogs, because I agree, they are so many and varied, and this helps us to get an understanding of how blogs actually create a public sphere.
Hi Kris,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post showing your own personal point of view and how the blogosphere relates to you. I laughed when you said a whole Australia's worth and your own personal writing style really helped to blosten your arguement. Your use of Poell's work shows a good understanding of the topic at hand and shows you have a strong handle on the Blogosphere. all the best and cant wait to see more!
Very amusing opening, I enjoyed that! I love the humor in your writing, it keeps a reader engaged and is an essential aspect to a successful blog.
ReplyDeleteYour use of hyper links to other sites is something that not many other bloggers do but really should. In my opinion blogs with extra information are the ones that readers are more likely to go back to in the future. You clearly have a great understanding of what the Blogosphere is truly about. I have no doubt that with exposure and a wider audience you could write an amazing blog! Your argument and discussion was so sound, and so entertaining all in one.
Great job, one of the best posts I’ve read so far.
Hey Kris,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this post, you managed to incorporate a sense of wit and humour throughout the general tone of your post which added to the engagement that I felt whilst reading it. I loved the use of hyper links to other sites, this is something that added to your argument as you had previously stated in a quote from Poell (2009) that 'the blogosphere is made up of blogs linking to other blogs linking to news articles', and the use of this reflected your quote as well as adding an extra feature to your post. You clearly have a great understanding of what the blogosphere is made up of, and how it is used throughout today's society. Overall a great read, good luck with your writing in future!
Hello Kris
ReplyDeleteIt is true that blogging really made some more jobs for those people who love to write. And your humor really made me laugh. Anyways in m,y opinion, I think bloggging industry is decaying today because of the raising of social networking sites. That's what I think... because they can be assessed easier and everyone can just type what they want on those sites. Length will not be a problem on Facebook or Twitter --- however I think these changes won't really affect those who blogs really professional because they always type very long and most of us won't read a essay-like status on Facebook aren't we?