Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications

    Throw Another Blog on the Fire

    Written by

    Scot Petersen
    Published May 31, 2004
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      Blogging is the hottest thing on the Internet since, well, the Web browser. This is not news, as just about everybody who spends time online is maintaining a blog, regularly reading and contributing to a blog, or knows someone who is maintaining or regularly reading and contributing to a blog. And blogs are everywhere. The National Institute for Technology & Liberal Education Blog Census has logged about 1.9 million Weblog sites, 1.2 million of which are in English.

      What is news is that bloggers and blogging are killing journalism as we know it. This is scary but not necessarily bad. Ill try to sort it out.

      The paradoxical thing about blogs is they are simultaneously mainstream and subversive. Most “legitimate” news sites feature blogs hosted by their own writers. These sites include The New York Times, MSNBC and our own These blogs are more or less an extension of the old discussion forum or message board. Most blogs, however, feature content that lives on the political or social extremes. Go through the list of bloggers at www.instapundit.com, and youll see what I mean.

      The war in Iraq (for and against, but mostly against) certainly has garnered most of the attention among bloggers, followed closely by sites promoting President Bush or Sen. Kerry. There is still an active grass-roots movement that gave rise to Howard Dean, on sites such as Blog for America. In our world of enterprise IT, nothing compares to the power of Slashdot, whose popularity can cripple the sites not prepared to handle the traffic directed their way from user posts.

      If theres a topic to be written about, theres a blog for it. For instance, a staffer in the Washington office of Sen. Mike DeWine, known as “Washingtonienne,” was detailing her own sex-for-hire exploits in her blog, until it was shut down a couple of weeks ago. The reductio ad absurdum blog of all time is “The Dullest Blog in the World,” found at www.wibsite.com/wiblog/dull, in which the blogger describes his daily activities, such as staring at a wall, in mundane detail.

      The common thread among most blogs, however serious or silly, is their radical spirit. Although it is a point debated even among bloggers, a common rallying cry is, “The revolution will be blogged.” Social critic James Wolcott praises blogs in the April issue of Vanity Fair as “the best thing to hit journalism since the rise of the political pamphlet,” a la American founding fathers Benjamin Franklin and James Madison. People have been putting up static Web sites on any subject for years, but the interactive nature of blogs gives bloggers and bloggees the sense that they are participating in something important and that they are making a difference. Blogs have enabled the true democratization of the information age.

      But amid the din of blogging voices, whose is heard? And whos paying attention? According to blogger Darren Rowse of www.livingroom.org.au/blog: The average reader spends less than 2 minutes reading the average blog. And most bloggers are blogging only to the converted. You dont find a lot of pro-war readers visiting www.iraqwarreader.com. Those of opposite political views may visit these sites but only to post an attack. So the question is, what kind of constructive dialogue is being produced?

      /zimages/5/28571.gifClick here to read eWEEK.com Messaging and Collaboration Center Editor Steve Gillmors column in defense of blogging.

      Still more bloggers see themselves as the new journalists. Many readers turn to blog news sites because they disdain “mainstream” journalism, which is viewed almost as an anachronism full of lazy co-conspirators in the national decline. Who can blame them after The New York Times fiasco of Jayson Blair, who was caught last year making up his stories? Meanwhile, as the blog sites proliferate, they become sources of their own news, a lot of it rumor, which then takes on a life of its own.

      So blog on. If left to market forces, most blogs will live or die on their own. But get used to an era in which information becomes so ubiquitous it becomes almost useless. With a national election coming up, the stakes are high, so its blogger—and bloggee—beware.

      News Editor Scot Petersen can be reached at [email protected].

      /zimages/5/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK.coms Messaging & Collaboration Center at http://messaging.eweek.com for more on IM and other collaboration technologies.

      /zimages/5/77042.gif

      Be sure to add our eWEEK.com messaging and collaboration news feed to your RSS newsreader or My Yahoo page

      Scot Petersen
      Scot Petersen
      Scot Petersen is a technology analyst at Ziff Brothers Investments, a private investment firm. Prior to joining Ziff Brothers, Scot was the editorial director, Business Applications & Architecture, at TechTarget. Before that, he was the director, Editorial Operations, at Ziff Davis Enterprise, While at Ziff Davis Media, he was a writer and editor at eWEEK.

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×