New Forms of Media Publishing

The mass media is constantly evolving. Communication among society has changed tremendously with the emergence of new media trends such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Blogs, online news sources, and so forth. Although many anticipated the couch potato culture among the new generation, new media seems to prove otherwise. Naughton (2006) states that audiences were passive and uncreative in the past due to the lack of interactive tools and publication opportunities. In terms interactivity, users are now able to actively search for information and interact online with news websites (Salcito, 2009). Publication opportunities have increased too via blogging which allows every user to be a journalist online.

(Source: connectioncafe.com, 2008)

These new forms of media also contribute to new alternative news sources. The Malaysian Insider for example, provides different points of view compared to the mainstream press. Blogs such as limkitsiang.com also offers opinions on current affairs with less censorship and more freedom of expression. Naugthon (2006) concludes that the relationship between blogging and conventional print journalism is symbiotic. Besides that, Lickerman (2010) argues that although the new social media sites like Facebook and Twitter connects people more, there is a vast difference as compared to interacting with people physically. Moreover, messages sent electronically convey emotions very poorly. Thus, virtual communication cannot replace the role of face-to-face interaction.

Lastly, we must always think twice before publishing something over the internet. Even though there is freedom of speech online, we must learn to use it with responsibility. One bad example would be the case of Wee Meng Chee, or better known as Namewee in YouTube. Wee made headlines in 2007 for posting up a controversial music video ‘Negarakuku’, ridiculing the national anthem and Islamic call for prayer (Yahaya, 2010). This caused a stir and racial tension among the public. This year again, he made a comeback video ‘F*** Racism Malaysia Nah’, in response to Siti Inshah’s (racist) remarks. This video was deemed seditious and was taken down due to public disapproval. He now faces risks of being arrested under the ISA and his citizenship being revoked. Hence, using our freedom of speech should always come with responsibility.

(Source: beritasemasa, 2010)

References:

Lickerman, A 2010, Costs of communication on email, Facebook and Twitter, Kevinmd, viewed 30 September 2010,<http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2010/07/costs-communication-email-facebook-twitter.html>

Naughton, J 2006, Blogging and the emerging media ecosystem, viewed 30 September 2010,<http://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/fileadmin/documents/discussion/blogging.pdf>

Salcito, K 2009, New media trends, Center for journalism ethics, viewed 30 September 2010,<http://www.journalismethics.ca/online_journalism_ethics/new_media_trends.htm>

Yahaya, Y 2010, ‘For the record: a rapper named Namewee’, The malay mail, 3 September, viewed 30 September 2010, <http://www.mmail.com.my/content/48460-record-rapper-named-namewee>

The Blogging Society

According to White (2006), an ‘online community’ refers to a community who interact online with some bounded set of technologies. Thus, a blogging community consists of bloggers whose blogs are interconnected and they interact with one another, forming a social network.

There are several ways in which one can build a blogging community. The following guidelines are tips and tricks on how to create one and increase traffic/readership at the same time.

ü Comments: This is the first place to start off and leaving a comment in other blogs is a good way to get interactivity. Ask a question and interact with other readers to get the ball rolling (Rowse, 2009).

ü Link: Linking out to other blogs is the essence of the spirit of generosity that is needed to have a vibrant online blog community (Bauer, 2006). This can be done by adding other blogs to your own blog roll and they will most likely return the favour.

ü Reader centred/entertaining posts: Publishing posts about the readers can be done via answering their burning questions and inviting or posting up questions for discussion. This allows for more feedback. Also, entertaining posts will keep them coming back for more.

ü Interactive tools: Posting quizzes, surveys, and weekly polls will allow readers to feel more connected as they are able to participate in the interactive projects.

ü Promote: One’s blog can be promoted via other media forms such as Twitter. This is useful to increase followers and traffic.

Besides that, there are numerous blogging communities which exist in the blogosphere today. White (2006) provides three main types of blogging communities which posses their own individual pattern.

The Single Blog/Blogger Centric Community

Figure 1.1 Single Blog/Blogger Centric Community

(Source: White, 2006)

This community revolves around one main blogger or organization in which its readers recognize and revisit to comment and get to know the blogger and commentors better.

The Central Connecting Topic Community

Figure 1.2 Topic Centric Community

(Source: White, 2006)

The network of blogs in this community is linked by a common passion or topic, be it food, travel, fashion, or politics. Thus, these bloggers are linked together via hyperlinks, blog rolls, tags, comments and so on.

The Boundaried Community

Figure 1.3 Boundaried Community

(Source: White, 2006)

The boundaried community consists of a collection of blogs and readers hosted on a single website or platform. One can join this community simply by signing up. Once a blog is created, he/she can get access to other built-in tools such as discussion boards, instant messaging, etc.

(Source: tumblr.com)

The boundaried community that I am familiar with is Tumblr. Tumblr is a tumbleblog, a short-form blog. Users are able to post texts, images, videos, links, quotes, and audio to their site. They can also follow other members and reblog images or quotes, as well as ‘like’ other users’ posts.

References:

Bauer, E 2006, How to build blog traffic – community, BlogHer, 25 July, viewed 30 September 2010,<http://www.blogher.com/node/8128>

Rowse, D 2009, 8 Tips for building community on your blog, Problogger, 28 February, viewed 30 Spetember 2010,<http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/02/28/8-tips-for-building-community-on-your-blog/>

White, N 2006, Blogs and community – launching a new paradigm for online community?, The knowledge tree, viewed 30 September 2010, <http://kt.flexiblelearning.net.au/tkt2006/edition-11-editorial/blogs-and-community-%E2%80%93-launching-a-new-paradigm-for-online-community>

Blog Taxonomy

With the increasing blog growth over the past few years, blog directories have come in handy to help users search and locate blogs based on topic or type. On the other hand, blogposts in a blog itself can be classified too, by adding tags to them for easy reference. As metioned in the previous post, there are basically two main types of bloggers; those who blog for fun (the hobbyist) and those who blog professionally either for work purposes or to gain income. Smich (2010) argues that there are various kinds of blogs which range from diary types to news information types.

The blog classification system that I am familiar with is based on the content or topic of the blogs. White (2009) states that most bloggers write about several subjects and both personal and professional topics are equally popular. However, there are five main types of blogs and this includes collaborative blogs, tutorial blogs, travel/cultural blogs, fashion & lifestyle blogs, and personal blogs (Belardo, 2010). This classification approach is very straightforward and quite prevalent. Smich (2010) also classifies blogs into ten main categories such as personal blogs, business blogs, collaborative blogs, and educational blogs among others.

Margaret Simons argues the need for a new vocabulary for internet-based publications and describes the term ‘blog’ as ‘manifestly inadequate’ due to its diminutive differentiation (Funnell, 2008). Hence, she has come up with her own blog classification approach with nine types in total. The following is a summary of Simons' approach.

1. Pamphleteering blog - point of views on current issues/politics
2. Digest blog - collection of facts from other resources with little analysis
3. Advocacy blog - pushes one point of view in an issue
4. Popular Mechanics blog - how-to/tutorial blog
5. Exhibition blog - showcase one's work to an audience
6. Gatewatcher blog - blogs which keep an eye on the media
7. Diary - personal blogs
8. Advertisement - a blog solely for advertising purposes
9. News blog - news/information surveillance blog

Her classification system is no doubt similar to the five main types of blogs suggested by Belardo. However, with more unique blogs on the rise, I believe Simon’s approach is a more prescribed version compared to Belardo’s, as it is easier to organize and identify blogs which have a combination of different styles. Hence, Simons' taxonomy of blogs is a better system to categorize the multifaceted blogs that is available.

References:

Belardo, M 2010, The 5 types of blogs; which one suits you best?, Inkrebels, viewed 29 September 2010,<http://www.inkrebels.com/insp/the-5-types-of-blogs-which-one-suits-you-best/>

Funnell, A 2008, A taxonomy of blogs, The media report, viewed 29 Spetember 2010,<http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2008/2372882.htm#transcript>

Smich, M 2010, Different types of blogs, myhosting, 8 April, viewed 29 Spetember 2010,<http://myhosting.com/blog/2010/04/types-blogs-2/>

White, D 2009, Day 2: the what and why of blogging, Technorati, viewed 29 September 2010,<http://technorati.com/blogging/article/day-2-the-what-and-why/>

Blogging Phenomenon & its Benefits to Society

The Blogging Trend

Blogging has taken the world by storm, especially in the technology savvy community that we live in today. Technorati has tracked over 50 million blogs since 2006, with an astonishing rate of 175,000 new blogs a day! So imagine how many more blogs have been created up till this day since their annual reports began in 2004. This is the new alternative and modern trend of writing, be it for news purposes, entertainment, or as a personal diary. Blogging is also becoming more mainstream, though not replacing the traditional media.

According to Sussman (2009), the majority of bloggers are a highly educated and affluent group, with research showing that almost half of them having a graduate degree. Besides that, demographics show that two-thirds of bloggers are males aged between 18 to 44.

(Source: Technorati.com, 2009)

McLean (2009) reports four different types of bloggers which are the hobbyist (72%), part-timers (15%), self-employeds (9%), and professionals (4%). The hobbyist blogs for fun, without earning any income as compared to part-timers , self-employed's, and professionals who earn money from it. Thus, in a nutshell, the blogosphere in 2009 focused more on professional bloggers and micro-blogs.

However, this blogging trend varies from country to country. In Europe for instance, blogging is not a popular trend among the people. Only 2% of them write blogs, 11% reads them, and 37% are not even aware of blogs (Rubel, 2006). Whereas compared to America and Asia, the blogging trend has been picked up quite fast in the past decade. Some of the popular American entertainment blogs include perezhilton.com and people.com.

Prevalent Blogs

In the Malaysian blogosphere, there are certain blogs which are more prevalent than others. The majority of the influential blogs write about personal events, accounting for 28% while 16% write about politics or technology (Loone, 2007). According to Wong (2009), some of the top bloggers in Malaysia include Kenny Sia (personal blog), Anwar Ibrahim, and Lim Kit Siang (political blogs). The benefits that these blogs bring to the Malaysian context are that society can have an alternative point of view without strict media censorship through these political blogs. Personal blogs on the other hand, make way for entertainment and advertising purposes.

References:

Loone, S 2007, ’50 most influential blogs in Malaysia’, Sloone.wordpress, weblog post, 6 February, viewed 13 September 2010, <http://sloone.wordpress.com/2007/02/06/50-most-influential-blogs-in-malaysia/>

McLean, J 2009, State of State of the Blogosphere 2009 Introduction, Technorati, 19 October, viewed 15 September 2010, <http://technorati.com/blogging/article/state-of-the-blogosphere-2009-introduction/>

Rubel, S 2006, ‘Blogging slow to take off in Europe’, Micropersuasion, weblog post, 3 April, viewed 13 September 2010, <http://www.micropersuasion.com/2006/04/blogging_slow_t.html>

Sussman, M 2009, Day 1: Who are the bloggers? SOTB 2009, Technorati, October 19, viewed 15 September 2010 <http://technorati.com/blogging/article/day-1-who-are-the-bloggers1/>

Technorati, 2006, State of blogosphere, viewed 13 September 2010 <http://www.sifry.com/alerts/archives/000436.html>

Wong, A 2009, ‘Top 100 Malaysian blogs’, Rice blogger, weblog post, 7 May, viewed 13 September 2010,<http://www.riceblogger.com/top-100-malaysian-blogs/>