How do you describe what a blog is? There is the technical definition, which describes the various characteristics of a special type of dynamic website. We could go back to the root of the word web + log = blog.
We could look at a blog as a form of self-publication or self-broadcast. A blog is a personal space or place for the author on the internet.
But there is more too it than that. A blog is not just about a place for the author to broadcast, it is also a place for conversation. To be a blogger is to be a part of a community of the bloggers. Different types of blogs have different cultures. The blog-o-sphere isn’t one thing. It is not something that can simply be identified.
Going back to yesterday’s post, the author started with “Society has changed“. I would argue that society is change. By its nature, it is not a static thing. It is something that is forever moving. In the same way a blog is not simply a website. It also is not one thing. It cannot be defined in the static, because by its vary nature it is change.
We could think of a blog as a living thing. Something that is fed – primarily by the blog author – but also by those who choose to comment. Those who engage in conversation also feed the blog, encouraging the author to continue.
I have a challenge ahead of me. I want to blog as dissertation. I want to blog as data collection. But before I can do that, I need to define what a blog is. I need to define it for the lay person who is note familiar with technology. I also need to define it for my community. I need to define it for an external examiner. I need to someone make static the dynamic and living thing that is a blog.
And so, I ask my readers, how do you define a blog? What are the ‘things’ that make a blog a blog, rather than a website or a personal public journal? What makes a blog a unique digital media?
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