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One in a million–is blogging worth it?
A critique on the world of blogging

Adam Jacobi, a 28-year-old teacher, does not expect all of his students to respect him.  He knows some students will criticize him in the halls of Milwaukee’s Rufus King High School. He was surprised, however, when one brash student went so far as to publish defamatory comments about him. The student had freely posted his thoughts on a weblog, probably not even considering the fact that Jacobi, or any other Internet user, could simply Google “Adam Jacobi” and read the student’s critique.

As of January 2005, more than eight million people had created blogs, according to research conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. But they also found that 62 percent of online Americans have no idea what a blog is.

A blog, short for weblog, is a web-based diary that practically anyone with a computer background can create. Being as blogs are web-based, those with an Internet connection can read any blog they wish. This creates an infinitely large audience for an infinitely large group of content providers. Content covers a wide spectrum, everything from politics to corporate communications to casual social commentary.

The vast array of blogs, their creators and readers are collectively referred to as the blogosphere, a giant digital coffee shop of sorts.

But why has the Internet become such a haven for opinionated people? Is there a reason for them and their daily ramblings about politics, entertainment and other commentary, or do these conversations render themselves useless in digital format?

A quick search for blogs reveals several types with varying levels of usefulness. An article on Cheesegod.com’s blog about businessmen who pay thousands of dollars for life-size, nude sculptures of themselves with larger-than-life extremities provides a chuckle, not to mention a feeling of self-adequacy, but the blog overall serves little purpose. On the contrary, some blogs do have a larger purpose, but these blogs usually exist as extensions of professional news services, such as CNN’s Hurricane Katrina blogs with posts from professional journalists on the Gulf of Mexico coast.

A few independents, such as dailykos.com, have managed to attain credibility on the Web. Started by Markos Moulitsas, who had no prominent professional journalism experience, dailykos.com was one of a few blogs to receive press credentials to the 2004 Democratic Convention. But with so few blogs boasting large readerships or excellence in news coverage, do the millions of other blogs serve a purpose? Or does their online presence only warrant potential disasters for those like Jacobi’s student? Look no further than Jacobi’s own blog for an answer.

Like most professionals his age, Jacobi's daily schedule includes much more than the nine-to-five day, or in his case, the 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. day, can hold. He also manages seven websites and coaches a high school forensics team. For Jacobi, his blog serves as a soapbox to boast about his many accomplishments, but it’s also a means to express his thoughts on local education policies. “I have shared the content of my blog with people I knew could take my views and do something with it,” he says.  His sharing of ideas with people he knew could put them into action is the key to his blog’s success. To bolster the efficacy of his blog, some of the issues he has posted about, such as reforming Rufus King’s academic calendar, have materialized in the “real world.”

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online blog

blogging around: political blogs are one of the many types of blogs people might not be reading.
photo: derek montgomery

 
 
 

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curb magazine 2005: balance for wisconsin's young professionals