Why We Blog is an article based off of a study of a sample of bloggers to explore the drive behind this “grassroots form of journalism” and a way to share thoughts, talents, and ideas. The article, which was published in 2004 focuses on a diverse group of bloggers from in and around Sanford University and explains the different motivations behind why we blog.
The study showed that there were five main motivations for blogging. They found that blogs are used to document one’s life, providing commentary and opinions, expressing deeply felt emotions, articulating ideas through writing, and forming and maintaining community forums. Before reading this article, I mainly thought that people used blogs as “web-diaries” or a way to share pictures, recipes, and crafts. However, I was excited to see that blogs are used as much more than that. It’s not all whiny people complaining about something I have little to no interest in.
My favorite use for blogs that I learned about from this article was that blogs are used as a community forum, like how we are using this in class. I thought it was very innovative for a professor to be using them even in 2004. These days, where nearly everything is computerized, it’s important to acknowledge and incorporate the use of the internet and technology into the curriculum and schooling system.
This article has opened up my eyes to the various motivations for blogging that I had never thought about before. They are more than an online diary; they’re a way for people to share their words, pictures, poems, thoughts, opinions, ups and downs with whoever is willing to listen. I wonder though, would this open-admittance to the mind even be necessary if we were less inclined to type away our feelings? If we were to actually share in person, attend community forums, participate in debates, and talk to real people? For now though, when we live in a world where we touch more plastic a day than we touch human beings, blogs serve as a good way to stay connected and share thoughts and ideas all over the world.
Well written, Eden. I am glad to see that you enjoyed reading this article and are able to find one of the most important reasons that I provided this piece.
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