What is the point of blogging?

[T_i_B]

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/sunny_hundal/2007/08/what_is_the_point_of_blogging.html

Why do we blog? Does it serve any purpose? Is it "killing our culture" as some say, is it a "parasitic" medium as others do, or is it the promised land? It is the latter of course; allow me to explain why.

I'm pontificating on this because journalism lecturer Andrew Grant-Adamson points to the eruption of an online row in America over this article in the LA Times by Michael Skube. His view can be summarised as: bloggers don't do original reporting so they're rubbish. In response an American journalism professor, Jay Rosen, wrote this DailyKos post and a reply in the LA Times pointing to several examples where bloggers did original reporting or broke stories.

End of discussion? I think this somewhat misses the point of blogging. I think blogs like Firedoglake who do original reporting (it had unparalleled coverage of the Scooter Libby trial) are to be admired and I've half-done some reporting myself . But generally I think we can leave that to the paid professionals. Unless of course when they choose to ignore a story.

Where blogging can play an important role is two-fold.

1) Partisan political commentary
2) Campaigning

[fasttense]

1. I personally think blogging is a check on an unbalanced

corporate media. I mean if we didn't have the internet, all those lies, and manipulative stories, articles and reports would go unnoticed. I don't think the internet would be as busy and important if we had a media that was really honest and trustworthy. The right-wing has skewed the truth so much in their "news" organizations that no one trusts them much anymore.

[T_i_B]

3. "a check on an unbalanced corporate media"?

Well it's not like bloggers are exactly balanced themselves! And it's not like it's only RW media stories that get disseminated. The most popular target for UK bloggers is Polly Toynbee for instance and Conservative she ain't.

And beyond that bloggers tend to be just as fond of bashing each other as they are the MSM. I wouldn't get too worked up about the blogosphere just yet, especially when you consider that social networking sites such as Facebook may well be where the future of internet political activism lies.

[antiimperialist]

8. You are confused

The point of this thread is to ask why do people blog; not jut liberal bloggers. The fact that UK bloggers, you say, target Polly Toynbee (How did you reach that conclusion, I don't know) is further proof that bloggers from left and right use blogs to attempt to correct media figures that are allegedly biased.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

2. I think blogging is more akin to radio broadcasting

It is more a source of disseminating stories than originating stories. Bloggers may not be the source of stories, but they can move stories more efficiently than newspapers, magazines, television or radio -that is why those mediums seem so behind the curve so often. That is what makes those guys so nervous. Oh, my God! Uncontrolled content without their paid-for corporate filters! The horror! Oh the horror!

Some journalists may be bloggers and some bloggers may be journalists, but all bloggers are like little ham radio stations.

[Demeter]

4. Blogging is the Backyard Fence Writ Large

It is the grapevine, the library, the barbar shop. It is the casual socializing that modern life has cut out of daily routines, and the collective knowledge of the people. It is a way of getting instant information, replacing the corrupted print media, radio and tv broadcasters.

Blogging has changed the world and the bablance of power. Why else would China's authoritarian government fear it so? Why else would ours?

[monmouth]

5. It has been my "education" and I am not a stupid person. I did however,

depend on the print media and tv. I am not a young person so you can undersand how shocked/impressed I became with the wealth of knowledge I have found on DU. I have learned to criticize, ask, never assume and thoroughly listen to other points of view. Thank you DU...

[Bitwit1234]

6. I don't know about Britain BUT

sites like this is where we get the most of our news. The MSM here does not print, does not tell us anything, anything at all that goes on in our government. They tell us which Hollywood personality went thru a red light, which one got caught drinking too much, doesn't wear underwear, is on a diet. We know all about that. But something effecting the government especially if it is negative toward the bush administration does not get published.........period. What would WE, do without it. Maybe Britain doesn't need it, maybe their media gives them the news, we don't get it here.

[T_i_B]

9. Well it's quite a US-centric article actually

Which I for one don't think is a bad thing. :-)

[antiimperialist]

7. To enlighten others about events not reported, or distorted, in the mainstream media

That's the way I see it.

[applegrove]

10. Since everyone joing forums and started blogging...things have turned

around re: the GOP narrative. Need we any more evidence! A conversation is happening and it poked a hole in the GOP talking points.

The GOP had the advantage with radio. Now they don't.

[Trillo]

11. I think the idea that blogging has to involve "original reporting"

is a big fallacy. If this fallacy has merit, then citizens should have no first amendment speech rights and be disallowed from saying what is on their minds.

The poor buggers are upset that commoners have blogs. Corporate Media wants to control all the messages in the public sphere.

[T_i_B]

12. "original reporting" is not why many of us read blogs

Blogs have the same attraction as does reading the opinion section of the newspaper. It's nice to know what people are thinking and you never know, you might just agree with them.

The "original reporting" that I tend to see on blogs is little more then badly informed gossip such as you see from Guido Fawkes but that sort of stuff is not what I for one read blogs for.

[natrat]

13. substitute joe jackson's sunday papers with blogs

If you want to know about the gay politician
If you want to know how to drive your car
If you want to know about the new sex position
You can read it in the Sunday papers, read it in the Sunday papers