OUA/NET11 (Web101) Communication and Collaboration Online - Essay 1 (Curtin)

Grade: Credit (69%)

“Creating Our Own Blogosphere”

Many types of blogs exist today on the World Wide Web (WWW). These include blogs that are instructional, personal, informative, product and more (Types of Blogs, n.d.). The concept of blogging began before the Web 2.0 framework became a commonly used term. Early blogs were non-participatory and their creation was limited to the knowledge of programmers. This changed by late 1999, when free blog creation software became available. Many now consider blogs are worthwhile user-participatory communication tools. This essay will analyse the extent to which blogs have evolved and have become socially collaborated and distributed networks where anyone can participate. Next, it will explore how blogs have become interlaced with other Web 2.0 technologies (Facebook, Twitter etc.), and how Really Simple Syndication (RSS) works as a distributing information tool. Finally, it will discuss two future issues: colliding networks and information privacy.

Weblogs (aka blogs) began around 1994 as static, but frequently updated Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) web pages. The word “blog”, according to the Oxford Dictionary pertains to “a website on which an individual records opinions, links to other sites, etc. on a regular basis” (2008, p. 147). When blogs first emerged not everyone could create them, only programmers that either knew or learned HTML created and maintained them. User interaction, at this time, was either very limited or non-existent, and blogs were not considered user-interactive. This changed in late 1999 when “the first free build-your-own-weblog tool launched” (Blood, 2000). Suddenly anyone could create blogs. Through research, Technorati had indexed over 34 million blog sites, along with more than 1.2 million posts per day by April 2006 (Sifry, 2006). Different types of blogs were created including blogs that are instructional, personal, informative, product and more (Types of Blogs, n.d.). These new softwares created a paradigm shift in how blogs were used, compared to how they are used now.

Current blog softwares have created an opportunity for anyone to be the author of their own blog and publish posts (articles). Blood states that these softwares “have given people with little or no knowledge of HTML the ability to publish on the web: to pontificate, remember, dream, and argue in public, as easily as they send an instant message” (2000). Research shows that blogs are a form of “computer-mediated communications (CMC)” (Huffaker, 2005, p. 91). Rosenberg states that blogs “... often consist of annotated links to media web sites as well as other blogs” (2002, p. 1). These annotations usually include the authors’ personal opinion or insight about the link, whether it was good, bad or indifferent. Blog posts are usually published in reverse chronological order, for example: “a newcomer ... will first see what was written today, not necessarily the best post ...” (Rettberg, 2008, p. 65). As a result, the reader will see the latest or most recent post first, and the reader can add their own comments or thoughts to the post or existing conversation. Therefore, collaborative conversations now replace the traditional static or read-only look of blog sites.

The blog reader can easily contribute to content, by commenting on posts or others’ comments. Bruns and Jacobs state, “The ability to link to and comment on content found on other blogs ... remains a crucial aspect ...” (2006a, p. 250). Commenting on blog posts creates conversations where every writer can use their own self-expression and creativity. Therefore, blogs have evolved to become socially interactive sites where anyone can participate, rather than just being a ‘reader’, like past (pre the year 1999) blogs. This is one of the reasons how blogs are ‘socially interactive’ or are ‘social networks’ within the Web 2.0 Framework (Lafayette, 2009). Through user interaction, these social networks begin to grow, especially where people share common interests. One aspect of social networks, as described by Rettberg, is “... links between blogs can signify that two bloggers know each other ... as friends or acquaintances ...” (2008, p. 60). This is true, for example, with blogs created by co-students studying the same university course where the author links their blog to other student’s blogs. Through this collaboration of students, a new social network, or blogosphere has been created.

Students that link to each other’s sites have unknowingly created their own blogosphere (own blog world). This blogosphere demonstrates the power of building social communities (Nelson and Fernheimer, 2003). As an example, this student created community consists of information that is similar, because of the subject studied, yet significantly different, as all authors have their own unique ways of creation and self-expression. Other students that have not created a blog of their own may visit these blogs to gain further information about the subject, or to learn how to create their own. It is highly likely, that future students will also use these current blogs as a resource of information, and possibly link to them. It is also possible, if needed, that these students could create one collaborated blog, for a specific assignment. This collaborated blog could act as a hub to all their individual blog sites. Creating these unique blogospheres encourages group culture, promotes teamwork, keeps everyone informed, and of course, offers the opportunity for students to practice their writing skills, and participate in online conversations. One notable feature of a blog is the simplicity to incorporate other social Web 2.0 media and networks into blog sites.

 

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