Blogs

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses weblogs (more commonly known as blogs). The paper describes the history of blogs and their usefulness to people attempting to find information on the Internet. The paper concludes that with so much proliferation of information and the need to try to find some identity in the world, the blogosphere is going to become more and more universal.

From the Paper:

"Velkov (2005, p. 36) explains that the blog offers new forms of association, where people sharing ideas get together to form new publics. These publics can also be groups of individuals dealing with an issue who disagree on the best way to handle it and are willing to discuss it. These publics have an ability to mobilize people in cyberspace: They "have become key players in democracies, because they have the power to act collectively in meaningful ways and exert influence on political leaders." They pursue specific agendas and create detailed communication strategies. When the Madrid train bombings occurred in March 2004, for example, citizens used millions of short-message service messages to criticize the government, which initially tried to blame the Basque separatist group ETA rather than Al Qaeda, in a last-minute attempt not to jeopardize the elections. Blogs mobilized hundreds' of thousands of Spaniards to participate in a large protest march through the streets of the capital."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Fulford, R. 2005. "Blog's age: available to anyone who has something to say, blogs have become politically powerful and culturally influential. But getting to the good stuff often means sifting through virtual reams of moronic musings." Toronto Life, vol. 39, no.10, pp. 31-35.
• Gillmor, D. 2003. "Moving toward participatory journalism: 'if contemporary American journalism is a lecture, what it is evolving into is something that incorporates a conversation and seminar." Nieman Reports, vol. 57, no.3, pp. 79-81.
• Internet Wire 2005. Innovative Blog Network Emerges as Popular Alternative, Reaches 60,000 Members, p. na.
• Packer, G. 2004. "The revolution will not be blogged: to see beyond their own little world and get a sense of what's really going on, journalists and readers need to get out of their pajamas," vol. 29, no.3, pp. 28-33..
• Rainie, L. 2005 "The State of Blogging." Washington, D.C.: Pew Internet and American Life Project.

More papers on Blogs:

• Term Paper # 122325 : "Blogs in the 2006 Election"
• Term Paper # 124182 : "Blogs and Politics"
• Term Paper # 116798 : "Political Blogs"
• Term Paper # 134507 : "Issues in Education: A Collection of Blogs"

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