Article: Charlene Rolls from FAIRLADY
Image: Ablestock

But they have since matured: People flocked to blogs for news when the US-led war on Iraq erupted, and turned to blogs for information when the traditional news media fled the water-filled streets of New Orleans.

Research done by the Pew/Internet and American Life Project shows that, by the end of 2004, more than eight million adults in the United States had created a blog and 32 million Americans were blog readers.

More research done by blog-tracking company Technorati, shows that in the five months between March and August 2005, the number of blogs the company tracks grew from 7,8 million to 14,2 million. There's clearly a lot of activity in the virtual world.

What exactly is blogging?
But if you've been thinking that a blog is something yucky that blocks the drain, don't worry, you're not alone – the researchers also found that many online users didn't know what a blog was, even if they'd read one.

This 'not knowing', it seems, may be part of the reason why academics and news people are starting to discuss the impact blogs are having on traditional news media and whether it is problematic or not. Because many people may not know the difference between a trusted news source and the personal opinions of a blogger, they could be seeing a slanted view of a particular story.

The sophistication of many of the current blogs means that online users often look to them as their primary source of news without realising that their creators don't follow the same rules and codes of conduct that journalists do.

The line between news and opinion has become more blurred since Yahoo! has started to run blog streams alongside traditional news stories. This has again raised the question of whether blogs should be treated as legitimate sources of news.

But Yahoo! is saying that people are able to distinguish between blogs and traditional news sources. In a Forbes magazine article, Joff Redfern explains that the blog content will be clearly marked as different from the news content. 'We will make sure there is enough differentiation and demarcate where the content is coming from. Part of the goal here is to learn from consumers and publishers,' he says.

Extra extra...read all about it
But he adds that blogs shouldn't be dismissed just because they aren't traditional news media. 'Traditional media don't have the time or resources to cover all stories. We want to offer an alternative perspective on news outside of what the mainstream media have to offer.'

Ashlin Simpson, from 24.com, does not think blogging will start to rival traditional news media soon. 'Blogging is used in a personal capacity and is opinion-based,' she says. 'It should be taken with a pinch of salt. Journalists are trusted to give facts. I seriously doubt blogs will become a major source of information on current events; it's for entertainment mostly.'

So is this blog explosion good for consumers? In some sense it is, because it allows a number of voices to speak out and discuss what traditional media choose not to – or cannot – discuss. The fact is there are well-written blogs, factual pieces of work (albeit opinionated) that can get people to question what is happening in their world. In fact, many journalists start blogs and know how to challenge their readers, but this also comes without the objectivity they need to display when writing for traditional news media.

News covered factually in traditional news media could become heated online discussions, with the potential to lead to bigger stories.

The one thing that consumers need to be aware of, though, is that if it's a news-basedblog, it is still opinion; they should weigh the words carefully before accepting it as gospel.

Journalists have to follow rules and ethical codes; bloggers do not. It's very easy to get caught up in an emotional rant if you're not aware that the person is writing in a personal capacity, without any guidelines. Other than that, reading blogs can be a good way to see how other people feel about particular issues and challenge people into thinking out of the box.

Once upon a blog
What started as personal, diary-type online sites have now morphed and grown into website-like collections of commentary, images, sound and video. Those who post images and messages are called bloggers.

Blogs differ from web pages in that they are constantly updated, and each post shows the date and time. There's also a greater level of interaction, as people can respond to posts within seconds of them appearing.

It is usually the political blogs that draw the most readers – and the most controversy. For a long time, blogging stayed in the realm of the technologically sophisticated, but with technology such as Google's Blogger, for example, creating and maintaining a blog has become as easy as using e-mail. It's as simple as registering and letting the technology work for you.

And it seems everyone's jumping on the blogging bandwagon - celebs and high-profile politicians have been known to walk the blogging road.

Blogging is growing in South Africa too. Says Ashlin Simpson, 'More and more people have access to the Internet and are discovering its wonders. Blogging is already evolving at a furious pace in the States, Europe and the UK, where video blogging, voice blogging and picture blogging have taken off. As more South Africans access the Internet and become familiar with the technologies, I'm sure we'll see sharp growths in the number of blogs.'

The only downside to blogging is the 'addictive element'.

So, are you ready to blog yet? It's so easy to get started. Just visit womenblogs.24.com and sign up. Join now!