Wednesday, November 29, 2006
A YU Blog? Why Not!
Why do I sit at this desk pounding out yet another blog posting? Do I delude myself into believing that more than a very small group of people will ever read these words? Will my post incite millions to throng the streets tomorrow, triggering massive social upheaval?
The chances of any single blog enjoying that kind of influence are slim. Far more than other mediums, the Internet approaches democracy in its literal sense: It takes the combined force of many bloggers to wreak havoc on corporate corruption, scandal, and government malfeasance.
The power of bloggers united has matured into a formidable force in today’s political climate. As Dan Gillmor illustrates in his book We the Media, bloggers were partly responsible for ousting Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott in 2002. At first, major news outlets found the remarks innocuous. The story was buried deep into The Washington Post, and ABC News had barely mentioned it. It was the swarms of angry bloggers that forced the issue into the national scene (for further analysis, read a Harvard study).
Ironically, blogs can also serve the needs of the corporate elite. For the potential candidate and the corporate executive alike, maintaining a timely, open blog is an excellent way of engaging your targeted audiences and putting a human face on a product brand. You can read Blog Maverick, written by Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks. Just be sure you don’t delegate blog writing.
A more difficult question to answer is whether blogs can be classified as communities. Sure, bloggers network to build active discussion groups on topics of relevance to them, from DVD players to Yoga dancers. Bloggers have even developed a system of typing etiquette, such as a disdain for capitalized lettering, which is the electronic equivalent of shouting. Yet if communities are defined in the strictly traditional sense, neighbors meeting at a county fair, then something is lacking in the blogsphere. Bloggers tend to form communities with those they already agree with, spurning exposure to diversity for an echo room. If diversity is considered to be a necessary component of a community, then most blogs are not communities.
Perhaps, if Richard Joel were to start his own blog, a la Mark Cuban, a YU blog-based community could possibly develop. In time, the blog would engage the diverse YU denizens in issues that affect us all, satisfying my diversity requirement. For all the talk of “building the community”, I’d imagine that this one’s a no-brainer. Check out the existing alumni blog on the YU site, it's pathetic! This "blog" merely lists off the recent headlines that have graced the front page of the website, no more.
President Joel, if you are reading this, could you please respond with a comment?
Why do I sit at this desk pounding out yet another blog posting? Do I delude myself into believing that more than a very small group of people will ever read these words? Will my post incite millions to throng the streets tomorrow, triggering massive social upheaval?
The chances of any single blog enjoying that kind of influence are slim. Far more than other mediums, the Internet approaches democracy in its literal sense: It takes the combined force of many bloggers to wreak havoc on corporate corruption, scandal, and government malfeasance.
The power of bloggers united has matured into a formidable force in today’s political climate. As Dan Gillmor illustrates in his book We the Media, bloggers were partly responsible for ousting Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott in 2002. At first, major news outlets found the remarks innocuous. The story was buried deep into The Washington Post, and ABC News had barely mentioned it. It was the swarms of angry bloggers that forced the issue into the national scene (for further analysis, read a Harvard study).
Ironically, blogs can also serve the needs of the corporate elite. For the potential candidate and the corporate executive alike, maintaining a timely, open blog is an excellent way of engaging your targeted audiences and putting a human face on a product brand. You can read Blog Maverick, written by Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks. Just be sure you don’t delegate blog writing.
A more difficult question to answer is whether blogs can be classified as communities. Sure, bloggers network to build active discussion groups on topics of relevance to them, from DVD players to Yoga dancers. Bloggers have even developed a system of typing etiquette, such as a disdain for capitalized lettering, which is the electronic equivalent of shouting. Yet if communities are defined in the strictly traditional sense, neighbors meeting at a county fair, then something is lacking in the blogsphere. Bloggers tend to form communities with those they already agree with, spurning exposure to diversity for an echo room. If diversity is considered to be a necessary component of a community, then most blogs are not communities.
Perhaps, if Richard Joel were to start his own blog, a la Mark Cuban, a YU blog-based community could possibly develop. In time, the blog would engage the diverse YU denizens in issues that affect us all, satisfying my diversity requirement. For all the talk of “building the community”, I’d imagine that this one’s a no-brainer. Check out the existing alumni blog on the YU site, it's pathetic! This "blog" merely lists off the recent headlines that have graced the front page of the website, no more.
President Joel, if you are reading this, could you please respond with a comment?
# posted by Jonathan Noble @ 12:37 AM 
