Why do we Blog?

For the uninitiated: the ‘blog’ : originally from ‘weblog’; hence blog, blogged, blogging, blogger and blogosphere .

Asking the question “why do we blog?” will probably yield dozens of answers, from “to be heard” and “to connect with others” to “to share information”, but what is this blogging lark really all about? Blogging may have started as a slightly narcissistic form of self expression – the equivalent to the personal diary/journal, but these days it is a phenomenon far bigger than that.

Blogging as we know it began around the mid 90’s as a form of online journal, but really started to spread in the late 90’s when it began to become a force in its own right. Ten years ago your attitude to blogs might have gone something like “why do I care what some computer geek in Arkansas had for breakfast?”… and to some extent that wouldn’t have been unreasonable. Now however, google any subject you want, and the chances are that at least one of the results will be a blog entry. And not only that, but it will be interesting, informative, and reliable.

Blogging brings together three of the things that the Internet is really about, especially as we move into the so-called web 2.0 age: communicating, sharing and socializing. It creates a network of real people out on the web, giving real information and opinion on relevant (and not so relevant) topics. Not only that, but it is becoming an exceptional source for alternative news and information, which, whilst it doesn’t fully rival traditional media, certainly provides a valid additional channel.

To pick a handy example: the much awaited unveiling of the new 3G iPhone which happened this month. Stats show that gadget and Apple-related blogs sent more traffic to the iPhone site than the traditional IT media*.

There are of course problems with blogs. Reliability is one: as one needs no credentials whatsoever to be a blogger, content of blogs should not always be taken as gospel. Even the same content on many blogs doesn’t necessarily assure veracity: bloggers may all be working from the same (incorrect) source. Which brings us to problem two: redundancy vs originality. Everyone and his dog wants to have a blog, everyone (and his dog) wants to comment on what matters to them, which results in dozens of blogs all parroting the same tired information and opinions.

Overall, however, I think the growth of the blog as an alternative news channel and and as a network of informative & thought provoking articles can only be a good thing: there are always going to be rubbish blog posts out there, but spend a bit of time and you can soon sort the good from the bad. And as for why we blog: I think it’s the same as why we do anything else – because we can!

*http://weblogs.hitwise.com/robin-goad/2008/06/uk_blog_traffic_reaches_all_time_high.html

http://lorelle.wordpress.com/2006/01/26/the-12-biggest-problems-with-your-blogs/

June 16th, 2008 / 1 Comment / Tags: blogs, blogging, new media channels, web 2.0 / Trackback