Besides
the industrial revolution, the Internet is one of the greatest innovative
developments of our generation. The Internet has transformed the manner in
which we communicate, get information, and even shop. Originally, the Internet’s
main purpose was to distribute and share information. Shortly after its
creation, the Internet was able to instantaneously transmit information across
the world. Additionally, the manner in which society consumes information and
news has changed significantly. Not only can we receive information quicker,
but our traditional newspaper sources have been disappearing. Therefore, many
newspaper companies have been searching for ways to stay in business by moving
towards online production. The world of social media has irrevocably altered
the way we inform and interact with one another.
Along
with the Internet and social media, one of the biggest impacts to communication
methods has been the introduction of social media. Sharing
and disseminating information as corporations, advertisers, and even as
individuals has drastically changed, especially over the last decade. The phenomenon
of social media and social networks has largely contributed to the development
of new communication methods such as sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter.
Furthermore, although our culture has traditionally shared news through
official media outlets, in recent years blogging has gradually taken over as a
new form of news updates. Blogging
is as simply as having Internet access and posting information which can then
be easily seen by others. This type of mass communication has shaped the way we
organize our social lives similar to how Youtube and ITunes have changed the
format of our entertainment.
A blog, or weblog, is a website that
posts entries on a regular basis. The author also referred to as a blogger,
generally blogs on a specific topic of interest whether it’s politics or
personal stories. Within a blog there are blog posts or entries of text,
images, audio, videos, links to other sites and so forth. Creating a blog is fairly simple
because html formulas are no longer required instead there are predesigned
themes that users can customize. However, if a user is coder wizard he or she
can do a lot more. Most importantly, anyone anywhere who has access to the
Internet can create a blog in order to share their opinions on any subject they
prefer to write about. For instance, a blogger can be a CEO, a high school
student, a magazine editor, a health coach, a stay at home mother, and the list
goes on. In order to blog or be an avid blogger, users do not need any special
expertise. It’s as easy as creating a page and sharing your very own
experiences and opinions. For instance, many people have
taken this chance to reach niche readership groups which actually re-tweet and
Facebook their posts or articles. This media evolution has opened doors
and offered opportunities so that anyone, with an expertise or not, has the
ability to share information online. Some advantages of blogs are that they
facilitate the means of creating and sharing information online; are more
transparent; are simple plus free blog applications assist with managing
content; and they promote collaboration and communication to share knowledge,
ideas, and opinions.
Thus it is quite evident that blogs have
in fact change the way in which we share information. However, more important
is the bigger question of whether social media including blogs have changed
individuals, society or simply the world we live in? Moreover, are these
changes enhancing or deteriorating progress for our society? Many researches
claim that blogs have enhanced communication and even life for some while
others dispute this argument. Numerous opponents allege that blogs have caused
several problems including; destroying credibility for the journalism industry,
contributing to the decline of newspapers, and overall weakening society’s
ability to communicate with one another.
Along with other forms of social media,
blogs have been helpful for many reasons. They are encouraging reading,
improving literacy, promoting young people towards becoming aware of politics,
transforming more marketing power to consumers, and so on. For instance, blogs
empower the broader public to share their experiences; customers to generate
reviews of purchases or services; messages between celebrities and fans;
political discussions with voters; and much more. In addition, blogs
involve the readers in the conversation as well as the process of creating more
online content. As a result, this has helped to build online communities. There
are many recent examples that illustrate the power of blogs. For example,
during the last election President Obama used blogs and other forms of social
media which had never been used in any presidential campaign before. This
decision resulted in his victory over his opponents by allowing his campaign
group to reach out to the massive quantity of younger voters. This campaign has
forever changed the way future electoral candidates plan to communicate with
the public.
Blogging has also shifted more power
from marketers to consumers. Today versus prior generations, consumers have an
array of outlets where they can vocalize their joy or discontentment with goods
or services. One case often referred to is from 2007 when a YouTube video
showed KFC being over-run by rats and even worse was when they failed to
respond. So, not only did the video hurt KFC, but this then followed with
numerous blogging about the incident which rapidly multiplied overnight.
Various bloggers have become informal journalists by sharing their opinions on
current news and events. This trend has started a movement in journalism
allowing anyone to capture and generate news content. Therefore, many serious
journalists as well as newspapers, radio stations, and television channels have
been greatly affected. This has forced them to also expand to an online
presence. An interesting craze has been the increasing number of stay-at-home
mothers who have created new jobs by testing products and writing reviews for
companies. Lastly, blogs have also helped improve the lives of shy individuals
plus those with learning disabilities by provided them with a forum to interact
and socialize with others. Clearly, blogs have caused many beneficial and
productive outcomes for various reasons, but still there are skeptics that
think otherwise.
Creating blogs has become a significant
place and platform to share information rather than solely being used for
entertainment. As a result, this has caused lots of friction in the journalism
and media industry. Blogging has been around for more or less than a decade but
not until recently has it morphed into the journalist scene. For this reason,
many professional journalists are sensitive to the topic and believe that
blogging isn’t serious journalism. However, other professionals disagree and
argue that it simply is a new direction guided by advances in technology. The
main issue is that opponent’s often mistaken form for content. For instance,
there are numerous bloggers that report on meaningful and noteworthy news
rather than focus on celebrity or superficial news. Blogs as a part of new
media has really altered the reshaped the journalism industry completely. The
way we do business has also changed because of blogs. Marketing and advertising
professionals are more in tune with their consumers today because there are
much bigger risks if companies ignore social media market. Most buyers refer to
blogs in order to get insight on products or services they plan on purchasing
rather than paying attention to any television commercials, radio commentary or
magazine ads. Consequently, companies are placing their employees or hiring new
ones to post comments about their products online.
Blogging as well as social media is not
only affecting the way we communicate but also the way in which we speak and
write. Many educational professionals and scholars fear that these forms of
online communication will and are already having negative impacts on our
written and even oral communication skills. Several of these same professionals
most likely would argue that email and text messaging destroyed the art of
letter writing. However, others would dispute that claim and state that new
technology did not destroy it instead just changed its format. Well versed
individuals are aware to switch from using abbreviations or slang when
appropriate. Blogging causes users to write more concisely, use informal
vocabulary, choose different spellings or abbreviations, and so forth. Yet,
many individuals feel that this type of writing will impinge on society’s
formal writing and verbal communication. This is a back and forth argument
excluding the general public’s concern for the future generations. Those who
are young adults and adults today have a mature grasp on how to properly
communicate. On the contrary, children are being raised in this new social
media and blogging environment which is where the large concern stems from. In
general, countless people are uneasy about how blogging might push society to
become anti-social due to all the online communication. For instance, more and
more people can be seen using their cell phones to post comments or take
picture for their blogs. For many blogging is not an added venue for sharing
more information but rather contributing to creating an anti-social society.
There are many mixed
feelings as to whether blogs and social media impact communications in a
postive or negative way. By taking a look online or offline there are plently
of examples and proof surrounding us everyday as to how our society absorbs and
shares information. As social media continues to evolve, so will our daily real
time interactions as well. Although there has been a drastic social media
explosion within the last decade, we have only just embarked on blogging and the start of this
social media revolution.
