The Era of the Blog Part 1 - Blogging today and how it benefits us

The Internet is a part of our daily lives. Most of us go home from school or work to face a computer, surfing the net and checking on Facebook. It is no wonder the blogging phenomenon today is taking over millions of users on the Internet.

A blog, short for web log is a frequently updated online journal that shows entries in reverse chronological order (Glaser, 2006). There are usually no rules to what a blog can be, and are literally online diaries with articles, writings, photos, Web links as part of the postings by the blogger (What is Blogging?, 2005).

The blogging phenomenon continues to grow rampant among Internet users. Technorati, an online search engine for blogs, tracks a total of 112.8 million blogs, and states that the Internet spawns over 175, 000 blogs per day (2008). Blogs have very much literally replaced our old-fashioned diaries and, here is the catch, blogs can do much more than an old-fashioned diary can.

Source: deaddays.deviantart.com

According to Technorati (2008), bloggers usually link their blogs to and comment on other blogs, creating immediate connections like when having a conversation. A research done in Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne has concluded that blogging can help one feel less isolated, more connected to a community and more satisfied with their relationships, both online and face-to-face (Ryan, 2008). One of the researchers, Professor Susan Moore was quoted saying "Maybe they'd just made more social connections," when commenting on the state of the respondents of the research survey, after trying online social networking.

Blogs also bring about monetary benefits. Some people can make extra cash for coffee by blogging and others can make a full-time living. Darren Rowse, a full-time blogger who is making a living off a couple of his blogs manages to earn a six-figure income from blogging through methods such as his own private ad sales and sponsorships, and networks like Amazon.com's affiliate program and Widgetbucks (n.d.).

Blogs are now a powerful media tool in shaping new communities online and increasing the versatility of media and publication. For this reason, the world must embrace this phenomenon with open arms as well as the fact that it's growing so fast that resistance is futile anyway.

References:

Ryan, C 2008, Blogging boosts your social life: research, ABC News, viewed 9 November 2008, <http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/03/2178512.htm>.

Welcome to Technorati, Technorati Media, viewed 9 November 2008, <http://technoratimedia.com/about/>.

Glaser, M 2006, Digging Deeper: Your Guide to Blogging, MediaShift, viewed 9 November 2008,
<http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2006/05/digging-deeperyour-guide-to-blogging136.html>.

2005, What is Blogging?, ABC News, viewed 9 November 2008,
<http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=889289&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312>.

Rowse, D, Make Money Blogging, Problogger.net, viewed 9 November 2008,
<http://www.problogger.net/make-money-blogging/>

Rios, J 2008, Bloggy Vengeance, DeviantArt, viewed 9 November 2008,
<http://deaddays.deviantart.com/art/Bloggy-Vengeance-82030161>