The "Blog"

So what exactly is this big fuss about the blog anyway? I’ve been trying to figure it out for quite some time now.

To me, a blog seems like just another online column that some person wants you to read. Perhaps it is a bit different however.

In order to properly research this, I think I’ll have to go to Wikipedia and see what it says:

“A blog (an abridgment of the term web log) is a website where entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.”

So it is essentially a bunch of columns, but it is grouped with other “columns” in reverse chronological order. Interesting.

I also found some info on political blogs, in particular:

“Political dangers.
Blogging can sometimes have unforeseen consequences in politically sensitive areas. Blogs are much harder to control than broadcast or even print media. As a result totalitarian and authoritarian regimes often seek to suppress blogs, or to punish those who maintain them.
In Singapore, two ethnic Chinese were imprisoned under the country’s anti-sedition law for posting anti-Muslim remarks in their weblogs.”

As a journalist I suppose I should enjoy writing on these blogs, but I find it very difficult. I suppose I should just approach it like a journalism story. For some reason when I hear the word “blog” though I think of it as being more of a journal or diary – expressing your thoughts and opinions, which, quite frankly, doesn’t interest me one bit.

It seems like an exciting new (although old, actually) way of presenting information and ideas, so I think it’s great that these blogs exist. I’d rather tell stories and report on news in an unbiased manner (yes, it is actually possible to do so) than give my opinion on politics though.