I want to share a little more information about blogs with whoever may read this. I have already talked about the history of the blog and how blogs have changed over time. I mentioned that the first blogs were usually lists of links followed by some sort of commentary, whether it is a response or critique, of the information contained in the related link. I mentioned how there are many, many different kinds of blogs today with many different formats as a result of the incredible ease in which a person can create a blog today. For example, many blogs follow the original format of links with some commentary about the ideas presented in the links, but still more blogs are simply online journals where bloggers can spill their guts. They can write anything that they want.
These two examples of modern blogs may seem quite different at first, but they share a commonality. They both likely contain links to sites of other blogs. In fact, this property of blogs that was so common in early blogs remains a staple of the blog today. The fact that blogs are usually obscure and difficult to find using a search engine further exaggerates the importance of the link as a tool for discovery in the blogging world today.
Links are how most blogs are discovered. They are the currency of the blogging community. The easiest way to find interesting blogs is usually to find a poplar blog and explore its links. Little known bloggers strive to get links to their blog onto popular blogs, and for good reason. Getting a link to your blog onto a popular blog is almost guaranteed to increase the number of hits that your blog will receive. Not only because of the number of visitors to the popular blog, but because of the reputation of the popular blogger. In general, blogs may be more similar to a spider’s web than THE Web itself since they are navigated largely by passing from blog to blog using links. What if popular blogs or archives charged a fee to post a link to blogs?
Another characteristic of today’s blogs is their tendency to form social alliances. This simply means that often bloggers will post links to other blogs in exchange for a link to their blog being placed on that blog. It makes sense because it benefits both bloggers. Both gain from any traffic that the other blog receives.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
History of Blogs
Hello again. Well, the first essay is over and our focus in class this week has been on blogs. Our reading assignment dealt with the origins and history of the weblog, and outlined the different types of weblogs as well as some common uses for blogs. In this week’s installment I will try to summarize the history of weblogs and give some information about what weblogs are commonly used for, and why they are a noteworthy form of new media.
In late 1997 there were only a few sites on the web that we would define as blogs today. These sites were not linked, and they were largely unknown to the average internet browser. The start of the blog revolution can be traced back to Jesse James Garrett, who began compiling a list of sites that were similar to his (sites that consisted of links to a site or article and commentary). Jesse sent his list to a friend named Cameron Barrett who published the list of links on his own website, CamWorld. This list contained the 23 blogs known to exist as of 1999.
More and more people found out about blogging and began their own blogs. Soon there were thousands of blogs on the internet. As blogging became more and more popular, naturally, tools to make it easier and more available were created. In 1999, Pitas launched the first free build-your-own weblog site, which made it possible for anyone to maintain a blog. Shortly after that many other similar sites were created, including blogger, the site used for this blog. The first blogs were what we would consider link-driven blogs. They almost always consisted of a link to some web page accompanied by some sort of commentary about the page. Usually these were pages that the blogger wanted to bring to the attention of anyone who happened to read the blog.
The other form of weblog that has become quite popular today is the journal style blog. Blogger was a pioneer in proliferation of this style of blog. Whereas some of the first blog making tools required a link to accompany any commentary, in a journal style blog the blogger posts a thought, often without any links but often with, which can be about anything. Some bloggers make posts about things that they happen to notice on their way to work or about their favorite recipes, for instance.
It is easy to see how blogs can be useful sources of information, or just fun. In fact no-one really knows what the future of blogging has in store. But it seems that blogging has caught on with the mainstream public. I think that it is safe to say that blogging will be with us for a while.
In late 1997 there were only a few sites on the web that we would define as blogs today. These sites were not linked, and they were largely unknown to the average internet browser. The start of the blog revolution can be traced back to Jesse James Garrett, who began compiling a list of sites that were similar to his (sites that consisted of links to a site or article and commentary). Jesse sent his list to a friend named Cameron Barrett who published the list of links on his own website, CamWorld. This list contained the 23 blogs known to exist as of 1999.
More and more people found out about blogging and began their own blogs. Soon there were thousands of blogs on the internet. As blogging became more and more popular, naturally, tools to make it easier and more available were created. In 1999, Pitas launched the first free build-your-own weblog site, which made it possible for anyone to maintain a blog. Shortly after that many other similar sites were created, including blogger, the site used for this blog. The first blogs were what we would consider link-driven blogs. They almost always consisted of a link to some web page accompanied by some sort of commentary about the page. Usually these were pages that the blogger wanted to bring to the attention of anyone who happened to read the blog.
The other form of weblog that has become quite popular today is the journal style blog. Blogger was a pioneer in proliferation of this style of blog. Whereas some of the first blog making tools required a link to accompany any commentary, in a journal style blog the blogger posts a thought, often without any links but often with, which can be about anything. Some bloggers make posts about things that they happen to notice on their way to work or about their favorite recipes, for instance.
It is easy to see how blogs can be useful sources of information, or just fun. In fact no-one really knows what the future of blogging has in store. But it seems that blogging has caught on with the mainstream public. I think that it is safe to say that blogging will be with us for a while.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Response to Essay 1
Our first essay is over whether or not we agree with Mitchell Stephens’ assessment of the future of internet video. In his book The Rise of the Image, the Fall of the Word Stephens asserts that in the future internet video will provide us with a greater perspective of the world. We have been asked to agree or disagree with this assertion and provide specific examples to back up our claim.
I agree with Mitchell Stephens’ claim that internet video will provide greater perspectives on the world. I think that because of the rise of Web 2.0 it is inevitable for greater representation to come about simply because of the ease in which a person can upload video to sites like YouTube. As these sites become even more popular and accessible around the world the greater variety video that will be posted will definitely broaden our global perspectives.
Another reason for this perspective broadening stems from the inherent superiority of images and therefore video in conveying emotions in simple fashion. Even though written accounts of events are very good at describing things, seeing a video of an event can show things that would have gone unnoticed in a written account. For example, when we read an author’s account of something he believes in we get the idea that he is trying to convey, but do we see the look on his face when he is talking about something he believes in. The answer is no. The truth is that sometimes video can have the effect of revealing things about something that the written word cannot.
This fact seems clear when we consider just what exactly images and words are. Images are usually representations of something else. In the case of a photograph or a video, they are exact replicates of something that is or has been real. But they can also be representations of abstract ideas or things that are not real at all. In the case of words, they are merely characters that represent another form of code, the language. Therefore it becomes more clear as to why images, and therefore video, can be more truthful and elemental representations of an event.
Of course, one could argue that the future of internet video is bleak as well for any number of reasons. Maybe the corporate conglomerates who will undoubtedly come to control the industry will limit the uploading process. Maybe the sites will become so saturated with ads and distracting features that the sites will merely lose popularity. The truth is that only time will tell.
I agree with Mitchell Stephens’ claim that internet video will provide greater perspectives on the world. I think that because of the rise of Web 2.0 it is inevitable for greater representation to come about simply because of the ease in which a person can upload video to sites like YouTube. As these sites become even more popular and accessible around the world the greater variety video that will be posted will definitely broaden our global perspectives.
Another reason for this perspective broadening stems from the inherent superiority of images and therefore video in conveying emotions in simple fashion. Even though written accounts of events are very good at describing things, seeing a video of an event can show things that would have gone unnoticed in a written account. For example, when we read an author’s account of something he believes in we get the idea that he is trying to convey, but do we see the look on his face when he is talking about something he believes in. The answer is no. The truth is that sometimes video can have the effect of revealing things about something that the written word cannot.
This fact seems clear when we consider just what exactly images and words are. Images are usually representations of something else. In the case of a photograph or a video, they are exact replicates of something that is or has been real. But they can also be representations of abstract ideas or things that are not real at all. In the case of words, they are merely characters that represent another form of code, the language. Therefore it becomes more clear as to why images, and therefore video, can be more truthful and elemental representations of an event.
Of course, one could argue that the future of internet video is bleak as well for any number of reasons. Maybe the corporate conglomerates who will undoubtedly come to control the industry will limit the uploading process. Maybe the sites will become so saturated with ads and distracting features that the sites will merely lose popularity. The truth is that only time will tell.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Week 3
Our class discussions and reading assignments this week have dealt with images and text and their relationship with each other, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. For example, there are many ways to describe an airplane. One could write a description of an airplane, a history of airplanes, a description of how a jet functions, or any number of things that give information about planes. One could also show how airplanes fly using an image or diagram. The point is that both written words and images can be effective ways to represent an idea.
Sometimes words are more effective in communicating an idea than images. For example, it would be difficult to describe ideas like those in the Declaration of Independence using images alone. Imagine the confusion that the King of England would have experienced had the Founding Fathers sent a picture book to say that they wanted to emancipate themselves from the British Empire. Clearly this is a case in which words are far more effective than any image or number of images can be.
On the other hand, sometimes an image is far more descriptive than words in communication an idea. The old saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” is often the case. For example, graphs are common ways that people use images to understand something more quickly and effectively. A line graph showing a company’s earnings is much easier to understand than a written or oral expression of the figures would be. This stems from the fact that humans are visual thinkers. The proportions of the graphs allow us to simultaneously process and compare a lot of information at once.
We must keep in mind, though, that an image can have any number of meanings depending on things like point of view. For example the period is used in the English number system to represent a decimal point, and the comma is used to separate groups of three digits like hundreds, thousands, millions, and so on. However, in many other countries the roles of these two images are reversed. Another example would be that of the Sistine Chapel. Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting can mean many different things to many different people.
In my opinion, words and images aren’t as different from one another as they may seem. Are written letters not simply a type of picture/image? The important thing to realize is that words and images are simply tools that we can use to effectively express our ideas. We must understand that each has its advantages and disadvantages, and instead of trying to use one or the other exclusively we should instead seek a middle ground where we can use a combination of both to effectively express our ideas.
Sometimes words are more effective in communicating an idea than images. For example, it would be difficult to describe ideas like those in the Declaration of Independence using images alone. Imagine the confusion that the King of England would have experienced had the Founding Fathers sent a picture book to say that they wanted to emancipate themselves from the British Empire. Clearly this is a case in which words are far more effective than any image or number of images can be.
On the other hand, sometimes an image is far more descriptive than words in communication an idea. The old saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” is often the case. For example, graphs are common ways that people use images to understand something more quickly and effectively. A line graph showing a company’s earnings is much easier to understand than a written or oral expression of the figures would be. This stems from the fact that humans are visual thinkers. The proportions of the graphs allow us to simultaneously process and compare a lot of information at once.
We must keep in mind, though, that an image can have any number of meanings depending on things like point of view. For example the period is used in the English number system to represent a decimal point, and the comma is used to separate groups of three digits like hundreds, thousands, millions, and so on. However, in many other countries the roles of these two images are reversed. Another example would be that of the Sistine Chapel. Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting can mean many different things to many different people.
In my opinion, words and images aren’t as different from one another as they may seem. Are written letters not simply a type of picture/image? The important thing to realize is that words and images are simply tools that we can use to effectively express our ideas. We must understand that each has its advantages and disadvantages, and instead of trying to use one or the other exclusively we should instead seek a middle ground where we can use a combination of both to effectively express our ideas.
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