Of Blogs, Blues, and Business
By Daniel Joseph Saracin and Karl Oliver Diaz
According to wikipedia, a weblog (also known as a web log or blog) is a web application for entering, modifying and displaying periodic posts. It is also used to refer to the entire set of multimedia that constitutes a single account. Blogs, or online journals, have been in existence as far back as 1980’s. Indeed, the first Filipino blog was created in 1996; however, the concept of blogging rapidly gained popularity only recently. There are at least 9 million blogs in cyberspace, with 40,000 new ones sprouting out daily. Of course, most of them are just plain silly. Even by assuming that 99% of fresh blogs are senselessly off the point, at least 400 blogs still have the potential to influence your cause. Daily.
There is no doubt that there are millions of blogs online. However, are they of any importance to the society? When the concept of blogging boomed around 2002, a handful of blogs were crafted to broadcast political ideologies. A few examples of these demonstrate sentiments from both sides on the US invasion of Iraq. Another example would be blogs that offer different opinions about Philippine presidents, namely Estrada and Arroyo.
Just as Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press set the model for the dynamics of mass media, blogging has also introduced a radical shift in power. Businesses could change dramatically now that everyone is a potential publisher. Companies over the past few centuries have gotten used to shaping their own message. Now, they’re losing control of it — and it looks like they’re not getting it back.
What about language and literacy? Since blogs are open to the public and the citizens of the worldwide web, a blogger, supposedly, takes into consideration his or her target audience. Most of them opt to use English as their language, primarily due to the fact that it reaches out to a wider range of online readers compared to their native languages. In a way, this is a form of neo-colonialism using blogging to influence one’s writing language. On the other hand, it is also a means of improving one’s English literacy: a very useful tool when one ventures
into the international community.
Most blogs were first used as online journals: a way of broadcasting thoughts, ideologies and philosophies to the worldwide web. A lot, though, were used as public diaries, sharing anecdotes of one’s life, which matters not to anyone except for a select few. Unless one is a very significant person, using blogs in this manner is only beneficial to no more than one’s ego. Thankfully, not all blogs are used as such. Some themed blogs discourse different topics, which, although not as reliable as information found in books or websites, nevertheless provide an alternative and, possibly, interesting viewpoint. After all, blogging can be used to introduce a new way of looking at things.
Blogs have caused the web to grow, but it isn’t the same web but an entirely new one. The web we’ve come to know is mostly a compilation of documents, an archive of permanent and unchanging information. The blog-oriented web, however, changes rapidly, with each blog tied to a more specific moment. Imagine now the implications of getting an up-to-the minute view on what the relevant world is thinking.
Blogs still don’t easily translate into big bucks for now. The blogosphere runs mainly on people’s passion to communicate but sure enough, with money or not, the dominance in this new web will primarily be to those who host the best conversations.
By Daniel Joseph Saracin and Karl Oliver Diaz
According to wikipedia, a weblog (also known as a web log or blog) is a web application for entering, modifying and displaying periodic posts. It is also used to refer to the entire set of multimedia that constitutes a single account. Blogs, or online journals, have been in existence as far back as 1980’s. Indeed, the first Filipino blog was created in 1996; however, the concept of blogging rapidly gained popularity only recently. There are at least 9 million blogs in cyberspace, with 40,000 new ones sprouting out daily. Of course, most of them are just plain silly. Even by assuming that 99% of fresh blogs are senselessly off the point, at least 400 blogs still have the potential to influence your cause. Daily.
There is no doubt that there are millions of blogs online. However, are they of any importance to the society? When the concept of blogging boomed around 2002, a handful of blogs were crafted to broadcast political ideologies. A few examples of these demonstrate sentiments from both sides on the US invasion of Iraq. Another example would be blogs that offer different opinions about Philippine presidents, namely Estrada and Arroyo.
Just as Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press set the model for the dynamics of mass media, blogging has also introduced a radical shift in power. Businesses could change dramatically now that everyone is a potential publisher. Companies over the past few centuries have gotten used to shaping their own message. Now, they’re losing control of it — and it looks like they’re not getting it back.
What about language and literacy? Since blogs are open to the public and the citizens of the worldwide web, a blogger, supposedly, takes into consideration his or her target audience. Most of them opt to use English as their language, primarily due to the fact that it reaches out to a wider range of online readers compared to their native languages. In a way, this is a form of neo-colonialism using blogging to influence one’s writing language. On the other hand, it is also a means of improving one’s English literacy: a very useful tool when one ventures
into the international community.
Most blogs were first used as online journals: a way of broadcasting thoughts, ideologies and philosophies to the worldwide web. A lot, though, were used as public diaries, sharing anecdotes of one’s life, which matters not to anyone except for a select few. Unless one is a very significant person, using blogs in this manner is only beneficial to no more than one’s ego. Thankfully, not all blogs are used as such. Some themed blogs discourse different topics, which, although not as reliable as information found in books or websites, nevertheless provide an alternative and, possibly, interesting viewpoint. After all, blogging can be used to introduce a new way of looking at things.
Blogs have caused the web to grow, but it isn’t the same web but an entirely new one. The web we’ve come to know is mostly a compilation of documents, an archive of permanent and unchanging information. The blog-oriented web, however, changes rapidly, with each blog tied to a more specific moment. Imagine now the implications of getting an up-to-the minute view on what the relevant world is thinking.
Blogs still don’t easily translate into big bucks for now. The blogosphere runs mainly on people’s passion to communicate but sure enough, with money or not, the dominance in this new web will primarily be to those who host the best conversations.