a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer; also : the contents of such a site.
So what exactly are the contents of a blog? There are a few basics:
- Introduction: Short biography of blog creator(s) and/or contributor(s)
- Posts: Original or linked text, images, or videos
- Comments: Reader responses
- Blogroll: A list of other blogs with similar themes
- Widgets & Gadgets: Small, user-focused applications such as polls, weather reports, and links to social networking sites
Of course, blogs can be personalized to no end, with varying background colors and images, as well as different layouts and themes. But what really makes a blog unique is its content, and if the contents of a blog are a blog, then it follows that submitting reader comments constitutes blogging.
Therefore, it is my assertion that those who frequent blogs and those who create blogs are bloggers just the same.
In fact, call it waiting for inspiration or just plain laziness, but it seems that Americans are more drawn to viewing and commenting on blogs than we are to creating them. According to a 2012 study by Blogging.org, Wordpress.com hosts 42 million blogs but attracts 329 million viewers who view 25 billion pages per month.
So what does all this mean for libraries?
For starters, it means that there is indeed a market for blogs, if only organizations would create them and update them regularly. The Blogging.org study agrees, reporting that while 60% of all businesses have a company blog, 65% of those businesses haven't updated their blogs in a year or more. That means that companies (and libraries) are failing to provide access for a large group of people eager to blog.
In Lesson 3, we will begin to uncover the reasons for this eagerness by briefly exploring the history of blogging and looking at how changes in our culture have impacted the blogging industry.
Because yes, blogging is an industry.
Do you know of any reasons why more libraries haven't come on board and created their own blog? It seems like a great way to reach out to the community and encourage feedback from patrons.
ReplyDeleteHi, Michael--
DeleteWe could return to the trope of libraries being hopelessly behind the times to explain why there aren’t more library blogs, but I think there are other factors at play. My coursework and my work as a library assistant have exposed me to many of the troubles that libraries are facing today, most notably understaffing. A surprising number of libraries have to rotate staff from department to department just to get through the day’s work. Finding someone with the time, the writing ability, and the technical know-how to create and update a blog could prove difficult in many systems. It may even require a team effort, allowing one person to research, another to write, and yet another to manage the design and technical aspects.
I agree with you that blogs are a great way to show the community what the library has to offer. I think people underestimate the power of blogging—if blogs can make regular people rich and famous, why can’t they do the same for libraries? Stay tuned, Michael. More news at noon. (Or sometime next week.)
What is your opinion on "vlogging" as it relates to blogging? I'm always curious where web series end and vlogging begins are far as my favorite web series go. A great many of them are unscripted topical videos but they also tend to fall in to the Merriam Webster definition you have above.
ReplyDeleteHi, Kelly--
DeleteI never thought of it that way. Most of the web series I watch are scripted, so it just never occurred to me to consider them blogs. I think the differences lie in intent. Most web series are meant to entertain and perhaps make social or political commentary while doing so. But vlogs, I think, intend to educate first and entertain second.