The fog surrounding this term ‘blog’

I’ve previously posted about what I and others believe networked media is about, so now it’s time to take a glance at a strong component of that, blogging. In my opinion, blogs were originally considered either two things- spaces for ’emo’ people to whine about their seemingly miserable lives; and a place for aspiring fashionistas to show us how cool and quirky they are. However, now i’ve noticed that blogs are so commonplace and used over a variety of fields. There are now political blogs, government blogs, PR blogs, food blogs, yummy mummy blogs- the list really does go on (much like networked media, hey!) Oh, and of course, university assignment blogs such as this one; however hopefully this will continue on to be more than strictly for academic purposes. So I understand now that there are more blogs, but I want to dig a little deeper and see what they actually can be defined as and why people should be encouraged to use one.

This week’s reading, titled ‘Blogs in Media Education,’ written by Adrian Miles, answers a lot of these questions and relates it to media education. Adrian defines a blog as a ‘web based publication’. Ok, that makes sense. But to me, that is very broad. How does that define a blog specifically…isn’t that the whole of anything published online? So, for example, is this a blog? Or, this? If you go on to read Adrian’s description of what constitutes a blog, he says that a blog:

• Traditionally consists of entries of varying length, published in reverse chronological order.
• All entries (posts)  have a heading, some sort of date and time stamp, and usually attribute authorship.
•  All posts are automatically archived by date.
• A blog has a name.
• Most blogs also support optional comments.

(Source: Miles, Adrian. “Blogs in Media Education: A Beginning.” Australian Screen Ed.41 (2006): 66-9)

I think this is a really good breakdown of what is expected in a traditional blog. But what I am more interested in is what are some of the benefits of one? To me, blogs are a great way for analysing those issues and ideas going on in your head, and getting public interaction and feedback about them. I also believe they can be educational and informative, such as news website’s blogs and government blogs. I also think they are just a fun form of social media to pass time with, for example glancing at fashion blogs or making your own is an enjoyable activity, in my opinion. Blogs were originally to me just seen as ‘pretty’- because many blogs tend to simply just have cool photographs. Nowadays I think writing is becoming much more common, as is commentary.

Adrian in his article says that blogs are great when it comes to media education and teaching. He raises many benefits of blogging and how it can enhance education. One point he makes is that many students who are simply told to blog for a university subject such as this one, will see it as a chore and something just to ‘get done’. I have to admit, I am not a ‘natural’blogger, so I found it slightly comforting that he knows that students do feel this way. I shouldn’t feel guilty about the fact that I know that I need to blog for this class, therefore I do it to pass. However, I am honestly hoping that I will soon be doing it more for enjoyment rather than just to tick off another uni assignment. Actually, while I’m on this note, I am already noticing how there is no word limit for these blogs and I intended for this one to be a relatively brief post. But look at me go, I can’t stop typing. Maybe this means that I’m already being converted to Adrian’s ideal blogger? Anyway, back on track. Adrian then discusses the notion of blogging being private work, that becomes public. Like a journal, but everyone can see it. I found this sentence interesting: ‘it is written with the assumption that it has readers’. Blogs are not dissimilar from being in class and discussing your thoughts. You can get feedback and have debate over blogs, which can help broaden your views and understanding on topics. Overall, I felt this reading was a great insight into the benefits of blogs and I am definitely starting to realise they are more than just simply for leisure.

I came across this short video discussing what a blog is and its different features. It’s a great beginners guide to blogging, so check it out to learn a thing or two: