The term blog is shortening from the word weblog, which means a web page where the author publishes content in journal format [1]. Blogs are one of the oldest forms of Social Media and Kaplan and Haelein describe them as “Social Media equivalent of personal web pages” [2].
What makes blogs then so different from personal web pages? As Kaplan and Haelein described before, blogs have that Social Media aspect that personal web pages normally don´t have. Blogs are organized by date, which makes them easy to read and diary like. Usually blogs are dealing with author´s life in general and/or his private interests and they include very personal perspective on the topic discussed. This personal approach captivates readers and creates conversation around the topic discussed – this is the social aspect. Although blogs allow discussion between the author and readers, it´s first mission is to let others see what the author has to say – as in monologue [1].
There are as many different types of blogs as there are people writing them. Blogs can be managed by one person or groups of people and also as the content differs, so does the way that content is delivered or written [3] (for example video blogs or photoblogs).
Now what did I learn about blogs?
- it´s personal and your personality should be seen in the text.
- it´s monologue and you don´t have to give a damn about what kind of reactions your text causes.
- Be creative. If writing is not your thing use photos, videos, music etc.
- Enjoy expressing yourself!
[1] Buss, Anna ja Strauss, Nancy. Online Community Handbook: Building Your Business and Brand on the Web. (2009). 7-8
[2] Kaplan, Andreas ja M, Haenlein. Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business Horizons, (2010). 1
[3] Wikipedia. Blog. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog 21.01.2011
I agree with you, there are many different kinds of blogs and people manage them in very different ways.
ReplyDeleteBlogs have reshape our notion of how content is created and information is disseminated.While it is a great environment to read other people's ideas, those ideas may not always be fact-based, insightful or correct.
However, blogs provide anyone with access to the web a way to write about anything they want and potentially reach a big audience!
I think blogging has gone from personal to highly commercial. Mashable, lifehacker, techcrunch and hundreds others are highly commercial and almost non personal though still opinionated.
ReplyDeleteNot to forget the fact that there is something called as professional corporate blogging.
For companies, blogs are an important way to keep in touch with various shareholder groups.
ReplyDeleteFor educational blogs, I would not recommend your point #2 :D
You've found an interesting reading (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). To make it easier for others to find the paper, here's its
[link].