Fun fact - this blog is only one of at least 185 million blogs (Technorati Inc, 2008) that make up the blogosphere, and the number increases daily. Thus, it is safe to say that the blogosphere is here to stay.
Although the majority of blogs are of a personal nature (Herring et. al 2004), with just your everyday Joe and Jane sharing their stories, there is a whole lot more that can be gained from blogging than merely informing the largely nameless, faceless cyberspace audience of your daily experiences. After all, the allure of blogging lies in its benefits.
But have we, as Malaysians, benefited from the blogging boom?
Definitely.
The emergence of political blogs by opposition party members in Malaysia provided an alternative viewpoint, as opposed to the conventional views provided by the government-owned mainstream media. This unfettered freedom of speech led to the 'political tsunami' in the 2008 General Elections that handed over 5 states to the opposition party, leading to a new era in Malaysian politics.
Blogs also improve social relationships because they encourage interpersonal communication. Bloggers can add widgets such as chatboxes, which stimulate discussion between the readers of the blog and the authors themselves. Readers are also able to comment on the posts and provide additional insight.
Lastly, blogs are a boon for the business and advertising sector. The blogosphere demographic is wide and diverse, enabling advertisers to reach a large audience when they conduct advertising campaigns on blogs. This is achieved through blog advertising communities such as Nuffnang, which has 80, 000 bloggers in their arsenal in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and the Phillipines (Nuffnang 2009) and AdSense by Google, which has an even larger audience.
Therefore, blogging is a phenomenon worthy of discussion, and will be further explored in subsequent postings.
(297 words)
Although the majority of blogs are of a personal nature (Herring et. al 2004), with just your everyday Joe and Jane sharing their stories, there is a whole lot more that can be gained from blogging than merely informing the largely nameless, faceless cyberspace audience of your daily experiences. After all, the allure of blogging lies in its benefits.
But have we, as Malaysians, benefited from the blogging boom?
Definitely.
The emergence of political blogs by opposition party members in Malaysia provided an alternative viewpoint, as opposed to the conventional views provided by the government-owned mainstream media. This unfettered freedom of speech led to the 'political tsunami' in the 2008 General Elections that handed over 5 states to the opposition party, leading to a new era in Malaysian politics.
Blogs also improve social relationships because they encourage interpersonal communication. Bloggers can add widgets such as chatboxes, which stimulate discussion between the readers of the blog and the authors themselves. Readers are also able to comment on the posts and provide additional insight.
Lastly, blogs are a boon for the business and advertising sector. The blogosphere demographic is wide and diverse, enabling advertisers to reach a large audience when they conduct advertising campaigns on blogs. This is achieved through blog advertising communities such as Nuffnang, which has 80, 000 bloggers in their arsenal in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and the Phillipines (Nuffnang 2009) and AdSense by Google, which has an even larger audience.
Therefore, blogging is a phenomenon worthy of discussion, and will be further explored in subsequent postings.
(297 words)
References
Herring, SC, Scheidt, LA, Bonus, S & Wright, E 2004 'Bridging the gap: the genre analysis of weblogs', Proceedings 37th Annual HICSS Conference, Big Island, Hawaii.
Nuffnang Malaysia, Our story, viewed 14 June 2009, <http://www.nuffnang.com.my/about-us>
Technorati Inc 2008, State of the blogosphere 2008, viewed 15 June 2009,
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