Eugene Kane ,writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, brought up some good points in his article Blogging gives everyone a voice.
Here’s an excerpt:
The Internet is overrun with blogs. These personal Web sites are written by both amateur and professional journalists with an ax to grind or strong opinions they are dying to express. Many of them are read by only a small group of readers, sometimes just family or friends.
Despite the current hype over bloggers taking on the mainstream media – “MSM” to many bloggers – I believe there’s little chance that blogging will replace traditional forms of reporting and commentary. At least, not in the near future.
But yes, they are making an impact.
What I liked about his article is that he says the best blogs guide you to stories that don’t are not over opinionated. I agree. In my personal and professional opinion, I feel that if you want people to listen to you, you must leave out the overdone opinions and guide readers to seek out their own opinion. But, in the light of the ritual of communication theory and the theory behind community… people will find like-minded individuals to discuss politics, religion and other social conversations, which I tend to avoid. I was reading about China today and how MSN censors searches for certain words. China is also a country that censors bloggers or is trying to figure out a way to censor MORE bloggers. We are lucky we can rant and rave about anything we want. We are lucky to have a voice in our country. But, remember, be smart about what you blog and others might become loyal readers. Just remember an employer or potential employer are now doing Internet searches to seek out these over opinionated employees who give too much of themselves away.
I agree, most bloggers won’t be famous or won’t be heard from other than the occasional visitor who are either family members or friends. But, it’s nice to know that people have a voice no matter what… I guess my best advice is to think before you post because you really never know who might pop in and read. OR if you’re a vlog, pop in and watch.
