Bloggers provide vital counterpoint

ABC News calls them the People of the Year and, according to statistics, a new one makes an appearance every 7? seconds. Who are they? They are the bloggers.

I will be the first to admit I find the blogging phenomenon a bit hard to fathom. Face it: this is diary writing with a spin. It is journal keeping with good marketing hype.

It seems I am not the only person curious about the concept. Last year, the word blog was the No1 term looked up on the Merriam-Webster.com website. People everywhere seem to be either trying their hand at blogging or trying to figure out why anyone would bother.

Let us define the term blog, courtesy of Merriam Webster: the noun blog is short for Weblog. A website that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments and often hyperlinks provided by the writer - in other words, a glorified electronic diary.

I suspect that, like most diaries, many blogs are not worth the time it takes to read them - at least for anyone other than the author. After all, you may have access to a computer and an internet connection, but that does not automatically mean you have anything interesting to say.

A search of the blogosphere (a word that undoubtedly will appear in Merriam-Webster's 2005 Word of the Year list) will turn up a baffling array of fan sites, personal rants, pictures of pets and a variety of other things of little interest to anyone other than the writer and perhaps a slim coterie of devotees.

There are blogs for every niche, reflecting in their diversity the variety inherent in the internet. Want to read about home appliance repair? There is a blog (http://www.applianceblog.com/). How about tapestry designs? There is a blog (http://tapestrydesigns.typepad.com/design_niche/). Beekeeping? You bet (http://s00r.van.wessem.net:81/mnist/blog/). Heck, even God has his own blog (http://bigoldgod.blogspot.com/).

Despite the presence of large amounts of trivia and drivel, there are some genuine gems. Last year, blogging played a role in the presidential elections in America and bloggers even found a place beside mainstream journalists at the political conventions. From unexpected places, amateur journalists with passion and talent have emerged.

Why would people turn to amateurs for important news or critical analysis? Well, as Time magazine recently noted, 'they are fast, funny, and totally biased'. But, while Time's comments may explain in part the fascination, I am not the first to note how much that explanation also sounds like another way one might describe bad journalism.

Still, the cynics have been given pause by an unexpected by-product of the recent tragic tsunami. Some of the most compelling coverage came from the amateur journalists who used their blogs as forums for presenting unedited photos, anecdotes and video. The coverage has been spectacular for its prodigious output and its humanity. Personal testimonials and eyewitness accounts sparkle with a sincerity that no over-trained teary-eyed talking head tele-journo could ever touch.

Blogging has struck a chord with the public for two very different reasons. First, there is a growing cynicism towards mainstream media.

The internet provides an alternative to mainstream media, giving people the power to find information independently. Second, many people prefer to get information from others with whom they can feel some sort of connection.

Blogs are personal in their tone and approach to topics. People tend to find bloggers that somehow resonate with their own style and views, and they form connections.

All of this has not gone unnoticed by media and marketing industries. You can now find a wide range of blogs from PR companies, media figures and celebrities. I would be willing to bet any amount of money that blog ghostwriters are now in demand at many PR agencies. A quick search of eLance.com for blog finds copywriters who now list among their services ghostwriting for blogs.

The emergence of the late adopters in the mainstream shows that blogging as a social phenomenon is reaching maturity, but does that mean it has peaked? The novelty will wear off, the next big thing will appear. But for others, blogging will remain vital and may provide a welcome note of counterpoint to the mainstream media.

Some bloggers will no doubt become celebrities and cross that great divide to join traditional media. And, if per chance blogging does maintain the momentum and the relevance, traditional media will find some way to absorb the blogosphere, subtly changing both media in the process.