How Social Media & Blogging Changed Our Lives?

How blogs changed the way we share information!

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.