Communication has forever been known to man and it continues to grow and affect the world and how we relate to one another. Blogging is the one form of communication that has emerged with such great force. “Introduction: Of Bloggers and Blacksmiths” written by R. Scoble and S. Israel states, “Mostly, it’s about blogging, the most powerful tool so far in this revolution” (Scoble/Israel 1). There have been many other forms of technological communications such as the emails, instant messaging, text messaging and so forth, but none can compare. Blogging has taken off so quickly because of its capabilities to reach large audiences in such a short period of time. The key word is “audience.” It is the audience who makes blogs what they are. Yes, the writers are very important, but the audience are the ones who keep the communication flowing. C. Anderson’s article “The Long Tail,” does a great deal of emphasis on how important audiences are. The article states, “The first is the need to find local audiences” (Anderson 1).
How a message reaches the audience is very important. Blogs, unlike the other forms of communications, messages and information are delivered to a large group of people in a short period of time. Scoble and Israel’s article refers to blogging when it states, “It’s the first technology to enable a simple conversation to go instantly global” (5). Blogs enable people to state their opinions freely, allowing others to immediately respond and express their views on a particular topic. I found the C. Thompson’s article “Blogs to Riches,” to be very interesting. The revenue that is taken in by bloggers is amazing. Bloggers can attract viewers by simply having an interesting title. When it talks about A-lister’s and the simplest things that happen in their lives, the number of viewers dramatically increases. Again, I would relate this back to the audience. There is a particular type of person who enjoys blogging. I believe all bloggers share a common interest, which I am not quite sure of as of yet. People are always searching for the latest information or gossip, and blogs are the perfect way to inform the world. Blogs can be educational and entertaining. The article states, “By all appearances, the blog boom is the most democratized revolution in media ever.” I find nothing wrong with people expressing their opinions, but I do find people stating their views as accurate facts a problem. I am also worried about those who look for all of society’s answer on the web, meaning blogs.
The immediate emergence of blogs has blown me away. I experienced blogging in this course and I would have to say that I am not as interested in it as others are. On the other hand, I am not sure why I took to other forms of communications so quickly. Blogs tend to remind me of newspapers and books, where people tend to express too much information and thoughts at one time. I find long blogs to be annoying because the internet is there to have information readily available. When you have to scroll too long to read it becomes a turn off. You have to know what you are saying and know how to relate that message to audiences in a proper amount of time. Bloggers are making millions off of expressing their thoughts, which can only be viewed as a smart thing. Blogs are beneficial because you do not have to pay for air time in order to make the world aware of your views. Not only is it inexpensive to set up blogs, but then you’re still making a profit from advertisements in blogs. Again the educational aspect comes back into play when relating to blogs. The world is communicating and educating one another through blogs, and this system is constantly growing day by day whether one likes it or not.
