“No technical tool is going to revolutionize anything. It’s how people use the tool that makes the revolution happen,” said David Sifry, Founder and CEO of the blog search engine Technorati, in an interview published in Bob Walsh’s Clear Blogging.
Blogging has changed the way people express themselves and communicate with others. The interaction between the disseminator of information and its receivers is now instant and dynamic.
Andrew Sullivan from the Atlantic defines a blog as “a log of thoughts and writing posted publicly on the World Wide Web.” The creation of blogs and other networking sites makes Marshall McLuhan’s vision of the Global Village a reality. Because of new media, the world is a smaller place.
Blogging is so versatile that people can use it to meet diverse needs and objectives: recounting personal experiences, setting up entertainment hubs, publishing pure reporting, or even maximizing business opportunities. It can be independent or affiliated, published on hosted or unhosted platforms.
With these options and more, how blogs are used is really up to the bloggers themselves. But good blogs should publish accurate information, and include literary components, like quality writing and a takeaway:
Bloggers have redefined journalism. Are all bloggers journalists? According to the Federal Trade Commission, no. But that doesn’t change the fact that citizen journalism—when those who have no formal journalistic training collect and publish non-fictitious content—has become an essential means of acquiring news. John Kelly, a former Reuters Fellow and Washington Post columnist, spoke about citizen journalism at the 2009 Oxford Social Media Convention:
Kelly pointed to the wide range and diversity of citizen journalism as proof that it is now an established field—sometimes a complement to existing journalism provision, but also sometimes an outright replacement. It's not only technology driving this development but also a widespread sense that the mainstream media are failing in their coverage—journalists are becoming part of the establishment rather than being outsiders critiquing it, and this has created a niche for citizen journalism as an alternative to the mainstream.
Good bloggers have to also be good storytellers. And what better storytellers are there than personal essayists like Virginia Woolf and E.B. White to have as role models. Their work is full of vivid imagery and replete with sharp themes. They represent every successful writer—one who has adopted engaging prose, developed alluring plot, and established control of voice. These elements apply to good writing regardless of medium.
In The Art of Personal Essay, Phillip Lopate states:
The personal essayist must above all be a reliable narrator; we must trust his or her core of sincerity. We must also feel secure that the essayist has done a fair amount of introspective homework already, is grounded in reality, and is trying to give us the maximum understanding and intelligence of which he or she is capable.
If one were to replace 'personal essayist' with 'blogger', the above quote would explain the essence of good blogging. A blogger has to build credibility and transparency. Without them, the crucial blogger-reader trust relationship would not be possible. Lopate, although addressing the art of personal essay writing, also highlights what should be the aim of all bloggers: “The conversational dynamic—the desire for contact – is ingrained in the form, and serves to establish a quick emotional intimacy with the audience.”
Once bloggers establish a strong foundation built on accurate information, quality writing, intimacy and trust, audience interest and success will follow.
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