A blog is a form of website mainly sustained and operated by an individual who makes regular commentaries and other material such as images and clips. Bloggers usually provide descriptions of events, news or comments, and observations on a subject of their interest. Blogs at times also function as online diaries. Blogs also allow readers to post their comments since sharing ideas is an important part of this form of communication. Features to be found in a blog include:
- Text
- Videos
- Images
- Web pages
- Links to different blogs.
There are presently more than one hundred and twenty million active blogs. (Technorat) Types of blogs include personal blogs, corporate blogs, by genre, by device, and by media type blogs.
In mass communication, bloggers participate in various forms of journalism. They are those that engage in citizen or participatory journalism, a concept whereby the public, in general, participates in gathering and reporting news and information. Members of the public are also actively engaged in the analysis and dissemination of information. This form of communication allows members of the public to shape the nature of news and information by using the modern tools of technology (Lorimer et al 2007).
Blogging has enabled online journalism to flourish in the last couple of years. This has revolutionized mass media and allowed it to be both decentralized and interactive. Blogging provides members of the public with an insight into news material and information while at the same time allowing for the exchange of intelligence among them. This has seen the mass participating in the creation of information and news material, its production, and exchange on a mass scale.
The sheer size and influence of blogging have not gone unnoticed. For instance, the two major parties in the United States issued press credentials to participatory bloggers during the 2004 presidential election convention. This demonstrated that citizen bloggers have reached a level of recognition in terms of influence and credibility. Bloggers have also started to act as watchdogs to conventional journalists and their work. They are actively monitoring their work and checking for any inaccuracy or bias. (Kline and Burstein 05)
As indicated earlier, blogging as a form of communication has developed to become a respected medium of creating, producing, disseminating, and exchange of information today. Blogging is not only a form of citizen journalism but has found its way into mainstream journalism as well. According to CyberJournalist.net, there are over three hundred mainstream journalists who maintain their own blogs. There are other bloggers who have shifted to other media as well especially the influential ones.
A number of them have appeared on television and on the radio. Authors have also taken advantage of this medium of communication by using it to update their fans and expand into new areas of writing. Some bloggers have also used their blogs as the basis of their books (blook). Minority languages have also used this inexpensive medium to publish their books. (Brunnes and Joanne 2006)
Conclusion
Blogging has been around a decade or so but has achieved tremendous growth, influence as well as credibility (Lorimer et al 2007). It has developed into a respected medium of sharing information and is seen by many as an integral part of mass communication. Based on its rate of growth in a short span, its future looks bright.
References
Bruns and Joanne Jacobs, 2006. Uses of Blogs, Peter Lang, New York, Blog critics. Web.
Lorimer, Rowland, Gasher, Mike, Skinner, David. (2007). Mass Communication in Canada: Oxford University Press.
Kline, David; Burstein, Dan. (2005) Blog! How the Newest Media Revolution is Changing Politics, Business, and Culture, Squibnocket Partners, L.L.C.