2009-02-17T20:22:01.765+05:30
BLOGS : AN ALTERNATIVE MASS MEDIA
Gone are the days when websites would report the news from other media. It is time for a reverse osmosis – the regular media borrowing blog-contents for their latest reports . Be it news, reviews, debates or discussions – today’s blogs are abuzz with breaking news while also humming the reflections from a million private souls .
What exactly is a BLOG , how did it’s name as “blog” originate ? Well the word blog is a portmanteau word (a word which combines two words in meaning and sound e.g. MOTEL from Motor & Hotel) combining two words , WEB & LOG to WE BLOG or shortly BLOG. Hence a blog is basically an online - diary or e-journal posted on the web. It is a chronological recording of thoughts, expressions, views which can be viewed as well as commented by others. They are normally informal and personal in nature, but there are exceptions.
When I was in school, my father used to give me well-bound diaries at the beginning of every new year to jot down our daily activities and experiences. I used to religiously write my diary every day before going to bed which gave me an opportunity to vent out my feelings. It was a means of introspection and a dialogue with my inner-self. But now there is a difference in recording one’s journal in a paper diary and a web-diary. The contents of a web-diary or Blog is not limited to the blogger only and can be viewed by many.
The history of Blogs dates back to the year 1997, though it gained speed in 1999. Blogging would not have been so successful (there are presently more than 100 million blog-sites on the web) , had it not been for the revolution in the communication technology resulting in fast and cheap internet connectivity and most importantly the availability of free automated blogging software, created by Google (Radio & Blogger ) , Microsoft (MSN Space) and others . If a person wants to publish an article, it used to be extremely difficult to do so unless he or she was a regular journalist with access to the print or electronic media (even though the concept of citizen journalism has started to gather pace, it has limited scope). But with these automated publishing software, it is exceedingly easy to have one’s blog site ready within minutes for publishing. These software provide many exciting features . For example , if a reader opts to subscribe to a blog, he or she is automatically updated through emails about any new content added to that particular blog. Another reason why the blogs are so popular is that they do not bind the writer with constraints such as page size or word count nor do they limit the blogger to any particular topic of discussion.
Even though mainly blog sites are used for expression of personal thoughts, they have multifarious uses - they can be used as a forum for discussions and debates on current affairs, used as a source for music/movie/book/play reviews, publishing the latest findings by academicians and researchers, promoting business activities and so on and so forth. It also acts as a bridge between the celebrities and political figures with their fans as they come directly in contact with their audience though the interactive blogs. As personalities from other fields have started blogging, some of the successful blog writers like Duncan Black (known widely by his pseudonym, Atrios), Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit), Markos Moulitsas Zúniga (Daily Kos), Alex Steffen (Worldchanging) and Ana Marie Cox (Wonkette) have moved to Radio and Television. Some bloggers have also published the contents of their blog site into books.
Blogs have some what become an alternative to print or electronic media because of their capacity to publish even controversial material instantly without going through the various layers of scrutiny and censorship which the traditional publishing media entail. Again , even though bloggers are free to express their views, they are also subject to legal actions , degree of which varies depending upon the country of publishing. But the real power of blog has come to the fore because of onsite instant reporting of facts by some blogger in war torn countries like Iraq where official media attempted to suppress or distort unpleasant happenings. With internet live and blogs kicking, there can be no more Iron Curtains or Big Brother censorship in any country.
Finally, whether the blogs are going to replace traditional mass media, is a zillion dollar question. It’s application has been very well put by Stefan Glanzer, one of the founders of blogging system 20six: “If you want to reach millions you book an ad on TV and if you want to reach one person you use e-mail or telephone. But if you want to reach between 5 and 500 people, a blog is the ideal tool to communicate”.
Hence let us use it constructively as one of the most important tools of communication which science has been so kind to have provided us today..
So, all you out there on the web take heart from Omar Khayam as …:
“The Moving blogger writes; and, having writ, Moves on to post some more of his pensive thoughts: .”.
Sarmistha Pati (Milu)
BLOGS : AN ALTERNATIVE MASS MEDIA
Whether it is Amitabh Bachan’s slamming the “Slumdog” or Amir Khan bitching about pet dog “Shahrukh “, whether it is a drawing room combat about national issues or the geopolitical fallout of Obamania - Blogs are the ubiquitous medium of self expression and it is here in the Blogosphere that millions of self proclaimed ctizen-journalists and soul searching columnists roam with gay abandon…
Gone are the days when websites would report the news from other media. It is time for a reverse osmosis – the regular media borrowing blog-contents for their latest reports . Be it news, reviews, debates or discussions – today’s blogs are abuzz with breaking news while also humming the reflections from a million private souls .
What exactly is a BLOG , how did it’s name as “blog” originate ? Well the word blog is a portmanteau word (a word which combines two words in meaning and sound e.g. MOTEL from Motor & Hotel) combining two words , WEB & LOG to WE BLOG or shortly BLOG. Hence a blog is basically an online - diary or e-journal posted on the web. It is a chronological recording of thoughts, expressions, views which can be viewed as well as commented by others. They are normally informal and personal in nature, but there are exceptions.
When I was in school, my father used to give me well-bound diaries at the beginning of every new year to jot down our daily activities and experiences. I used to religiously write my diary every day before going to bed which gave me an opportunity to vent out my feelings. It was a means of introspection and a dialogue with my inner-self. But now there is a difference in recording one’s journal in a paper diary and a web-diary. The contents of a web-diary or Blog is not limited to the blogger only and can be viewed by many.
The history of Blogs dates back to the year 1997, though it gained speed in 1999. Blogging would not have been so successful (there are presently more than 100 million blog-sites on the web) , had it not been for the revolution in the communication technology resulting in fast and cheap internet connectivity and most importantly the availability of free automated blogging software, created by Google (Radio & Blogger ) , Microsoft (MSN Space) and others . If a person wants to publish an article, it used to be extremely difficult to do so unless he or she was a regular journalist with access to the print or electronic media (even though the concept of citizen journalism has started to gather pace, it has limited scope). But with these automated publishing software, it is exceedingly easy to have one’s blog site ready within minutes for publishing. These software provide many exciting features . For example , if a reader opts to subscribe to a blog, he or she is automatically updated through emails about any new content added to that particular blog. Another reason why the blogs are so popular is that they do not bind the writer with constraints such as page size or word count nor do they limit the blogger to any particular topic of discussion.
Even though mainly blog sites are used for expression of personal thoughts, they have multifarious uses - they can be used as a forum for discussions and debates on current affairs, used as a source for music/movie/book/play reviews, publishing the latest findings by academicians and researchers, promoting business activities and so on and so forth. It also acts as a bridge between the celebrities and political figures with their fans as they come directly in contact with their audience though the interactive blogs. As personalities from other fields have started blogging, some of the successful blog writers like Duncan Black (known widely by his pseudonym, Atrios), Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit), Markos Moulitsas Zúniga (Daily Kos), Alex Steffen (Worldchanging) and Ana Marie Cox (Wonkette) have moved to Radio and Television. Some bloggers have also published the contents of their blog site into books.
Blogs have some what become an alternative to print or electronic media because of their capacity to publish even controversial material instantly without going through the various layers of scrutiny and censorship which the traditional publishing media entail. Again , even though bloggers are free to express their views, they are also subject to legal actions , degree of which varies depending upon the country of publishing. But the real power of blog has come to the fore because of onsite instant reporting of facts by some blogger in war torn countries like Iraq where official media attempted to suppress or distort unpleasant happenings. With internet live and blogs kicking, there can be no more Iron Curtains or Big Brother censorship in any country.
Finally, whether the blogs are going to replace traditional mass media, is a zillion dollar question. It’s application has been very well put by Stefan Glanzer, one of the founders of blogging system 20six: “If you want to reach millions you book an ad on TV and if you want to reach one person you use e-mail or telephone. But if you want to reach between 5 and 500 people, a blog is the ideal tool to communicate”.
Hence let us use it constructively as one of the most important tools of communication which science has been so kind to have provided us today..
So, all you out there on the web take heart from Omar Khayam as …:
“The Moving blogger writes; and, having writ, Moves on to post some more of his pensive thoughts: .”.
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