What'chu know bout BLOGGING !

            ‘Frequently updated observations, news, headlines, commentary, recommended links and/ or diary entries, generally organized chronologically’ describes what blogs are. (Branum, 2001). An article written by Simon Garfield shows that the Internet was indeed built for blogging, after pornography that is (Garfield, 2004). Blogging has currently become quite a growing phenomenon, with some people even believing it to be another form of journalism (Branum, 2001). Lee Hopkins reported that as of early 2009, Technorati – a search engine for blogs – approximately 200 million weblogs exist (Hopkins, 2009). Blogging trends vary in different countries. Researchers found that blogs in the Middle East tend to be aimed towards the American people (Krape, 2009). Many of these bloggers have are also activists who may blog about wanting social changes in their country (Krape, 2009).

 In many places today, live blogging has become prevalent. This is the type of blog that updates its content on a story as the day goes (Belam, 2010). Often, live blogs blog about specific topics such as sports (Belam, 2010). In a place such as Iran, a political blog may be more prevalent that compared to a place such as the United States, where social blogs prevail. However, blogs are not as famous as it may be in other countries. For example, of the 30.32 million Internet users in India, only 7 per cent of them are actual bloggers (Agarwal, 2007). In the Middle East, a blog on their politics is beneficial for the community as it acts as a platform for all voices and thoughts to be heard (Krape, 2009). Social blogs, such as personal ones, are seen to be beneficial as they are free and act as a marketing tools for those who may be looking for jobs (Cornwal,, 2010).

References:
Agarwal, Amit 2007, Blogging and Internet Usage Trends in India, Digital Inspiration, viewed 19 August 2011, <http://www.labnol.org/internet/favorites/blogging-and-internet-usage-trends-in-india/765/>.


Belam, Martin 2010, ‘Journalism in the digital age: trends, tools, and technologies’, The Guardian, 14 April, viewed 20 August 2011, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/insideguardian/2010/apr/14/journalism-trends-tools-technologies>.


Cornwall, Jeff 2010, Why Blog?, The Entrepreneurial Mind, viewed 20 August 2011, <http://www.drjeffcornwall.com/2010/09/why-blog.html>.


Hopkins, L 2009, Technorati and the size of the blogosphere: it can’t be THAT hard to figure out, surely?, Better Communication Result, viewed 18 August 2011, <http://www.leehopkins.net/2009/12/26/technorati-and-the-size-of-the-blogosphere-it-cant-be-that-hard-to-figure-out-surely/>.


Krape, Darren 2009, Blogging the Middle East, Darren Krape, viewed 18 August 2011, <http://www.darrenkrape.com/blogging-the-middle-east/>.