The World of Blogging

Debashish Chakrabarty http://www.debashish.com [email_address] The World of Blogging

Conversations Circa 1995 Usenet, Forums

Conversations, Circa 2007 Blogs

So what’s this fuss about?

A Blog (short for "Web log") is a Web site,

usually maintained by an individual

Having regular entries of commentary with photos, graphics, video, links

Entries commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order (Wikipedia)

Blogosphere = ecosystem of interconnected communities of bloggers and readers at the convergence of journalism and conversation*

Lines between blogs & mainstream media site are blurring.

Both are assuming characteristics, styles and formats from each other

Most Newspapers opting for online presence and showcase reporter blogs

Why do companies care?

90% Bloggers post about Brands, Music, Movies & Books they love (or hate)*.

Blogs are evolving

Countless "microblogging" platforms

Lifestreaming aggregators: FriendFeed, Facebook

Why Blog?

Speak your mind, Have Fun, Share Expertise/Experiences

Network, Build Friends, Communities & Business

Rewards: Interviews, Book Deal, Career, Personal satisfaction, Freebies/Money.

* Source: Technorati

Jan 1994: A Student Justin Hall creates first blog ever at Links.net April 1997: Dave Winer launches Scripting News Sept 1997: Slashdot begins Dec 1997: The term Weblog coined by Jorn Barger. Peter Merholz called it Blog (both a noun & a verb) in 1999. Timeline of Major Blogging Platforms Source: White African

Structure of a typical blog

Characteristics of Blogs

Filter information

Add Context

Related links, Easier explanation

Source: The Weblog Handbook, Rebecca Blood

Promote Media Literacy

Research several sources, Point Flaws

Provide alternate view

Personal op-ed, No stockholders to please

Invite Participation, Generate Dialog

What else?

Common Terms

TrackBack

Commenting System

Spam

Permalink

Feed (RSS, Atom)

Ping

Statcounter/Referrer

Splog/MFA

Troll

Blogosphere/Blogdom

Blogroll

CSS

Widget/Plugin

Sidebar

Sideblog/Asides

Microblogging

WYSIWYG

Streisand Effect

What do people write about ?

Music is more popular and politics is less popular in Asia

Sincere, Conversational, Expert and Humorous are top blogging styles

Asian bloggers tend to be more motivational and confessional than confrontational

Source: Technorati

Some Numbers

70% users prefer reading in Indian languages. ( Juxt Consult, 2008 )

15 mn Indians read blogs online (Lodestar)

5 lacs Blogger.com profiles with location India

133 mn blogs in 81 languages, 1 mn posts daily (Technorati)

Asian Bloggers: 73% Male and in 18-34 Age range (Technorati)

37500 Monthly Unique visitors (Sept 08) on BigB’s blog

Popular Blogging Styles

Insight Blogging

Sharing insights, original ideas, commentary or trends on a particular topic.

Meme Blogging

Starting a thread of discussion and then challenging other bloggers to answer it on their

Piggyback Blogging

Writing about a topic that is currently popular in the news media, on meme sites like Tailrank

Brand Blogging

A post about a brand or product focused on sharing positive attributes or an “inside look”

Detractor Blogging

Share a passionate hatred for a product/brand

Announcement Blogging

Break news about an announcement or news that was not previously available elsewhere.

Video Blogging

Creating original video and putting online in a blog post or embedding a video

Photo Blogging

Post photos as main blog posts

Review Blogging

Offer your expertise or personal opinion to review a product or service.

Evangelist Blogging

Sharing an affinity and support a social cause, organization, product or individual that you believe in.

List Blogging

Highly popular format of the top ten (or any other number) lists about something.

Guest Blogging

Authoring a blog post intended to be published on a blog other than your own.

Interview Blogging

Conducting an interview and publishing either audio or video files, or creating a transcript of the interview to write into a blog post.

Source: “The 25 Basic Styles of Blogging” on Slideshare.net Many more: Survey Blogging, Link Blogging, Live Blogging, Life Blogging and so on…

Corollary to blogging Localization, Sarvagya Wiki, Anugunj, Hindi Yugm, Aggregators

Code & Ethics

Never plagiarize. Identify and link to sources whenever feasible.

Never distort the content of photos without disclosing what has been changed.

If publishing questionable information, make it clear it's in doubt.

Distinguish between advocacy, commentary and factual information.

Distinguish factual information and commentary from advertising.

Be sensitive with interviews/photo of those affected by tragedy.

Recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of information is not a license for arrogance.

Private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than do public officials and others who seek power, influence or attention. Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone's privacy.