Posts
Blogging explained in simple terms
By now, if you haven't heard of blogging, you must be in a coma, rarely watch or listen to the news, or never use the Internet.
Definition of blogs
First, let's start with a precise definition of Blogging. Blog is short for Web Log. Writing a blog is uploading text to the same place on the Internet daily, weekly, monthly, or at least with a predictable frequency. The best bloggers are trained professional writers, people who write because it is their passion, and politically-inclined individuals who need an intimidating pulpit for their ideas. Some bloggers travel long distances for an extended period of time and want to communicate with family and friends. Traveling bloggers don't have enough time to email everyone, so they blog. Family and friends can check her blog for updates on her whereabouts, adventures, setbacks, and golden opportunities while on the road.
Is blog a noun, a verb or an adjective?
This means that blogging is a thing, an active principle, and a way of describing something. If you want to blog (verb) and do it well, the best advice is to blog about a topic that you know a lot about. Chances are, most bloggers who are well trained in their subject area will not be short of quality material. Also, people who read blogs (noun) constructed in this way will leave enriched, educated on a particular topic and are more likely to return.
Blogging as gossip or for profit
As a professional writer and creative writer, I enjoy the popularity of the blogger (noun). Why? Because bloggers are regaining respect for the individual voice in writing. Its popularity is sometimes based on the depth of your knowledge on a particular subject. Or, as in the case of the bloggers who helped reveal the true identity of gay con artist Jeff Gannon of the White House Press Corps, bloggers can turn a vicious little gossip into international news, which I personally find amusing and enlightening. Ever since bloggers discovered the double life of this scandalous man, blogging has garnered a lot of attention. In fact, marketing and public relations companies are now using blogging as a tool in their complete package to increase a client's media visibility.
Marketing and PR Blogs
If marketing and public relations firms gain traction in blogging activities, perhaps the "real" individual voice that started the blogging craze will be lost in the rubble. This is the concern of many devoted bloggers. Or maybe this trend could strengthen the position of bloggers oriented to politics or gossip. Perhaps the 'devoted bloggers' who used to work in the restaurant and retail industry will now find that they are being offered the opportunity to blog for money rather than being slaves on a hot grill or cash register. .
Ethical versus unethical blogging
Who really has the "right" to blog? What does a true blogger look, feel and sound like? How do you identify a skilled public relations blogger? Should Blogs Stay in the Realm of Individual Voice? Or will it be usurped by multinational corporations and governments for their own devious purposes? These are all valid questions and I'm afraid I don't have an answer to any of these ethical questions about blogging. I feel that the individual person, company or entity should answer these questions on their own. Everyone has the right to blog, just as everyone has the right to write and publish their work in the public sphere, which includes the Internet.
