The importance of blogging has become more and more noticeable as the years have gone by since the introduction of the blog to the world in 1997. ‘Blog’ being a portmanteau of ‘web’ and ‘log’, it is the 21st Century internet version of a public diary or journal. Growing in popularity since about 2004, blogs provide personal commentary on diverse topics, sometimes just the personal life or random opinions of the author. Some blogs are interactive, allowing users to post their own comments or communicate with the author, providing an important dialogue. Blogging is fundamentally about giving the individual (or group) the ability to regularly update the public on their thoughts on a given subject, rather than rely on aggregate news sources.
The importance of blogs was first noticed in the early 2000s when many bloggers began to express their opinions on political events or politicians, both domestically and internationally. This was a change from the old way of spreading information and opinion, through the traditional print and television media, to a way of allowing the masses to give voice to their thoughts. Blogs allow a diverse range of opinions to surface, whereas a typical newspaper can only lend a narrow few, or perhaps just one, viewpoint on a subject. Even in a general consensus of opinion on a topic, there can be divergent opinions within the blogosphere because its highly personalized and individual nature gives each author a forum to express their unique ideas. This is the strength of blogs.
Mainstream media has incorporated blogs to increase their coverage of news and opinion. New commentators who wouldn’t be given space in a newspaper might find themselves to be quite popular on a newspaper’s electronic edition. Or more in-depth or varied coverage can be given to subjects and events than would ordinarily be allowed. Also, established reporters sometimes maintain a blog separate from their day-to-day journalistic enterprises to allow them to explore topics of their choice in-depth. Blogging is important because it has become the new form of media in the realm of news and opinion, alongside television, newspapers, and magazines. Since some blogs have readerships that eclipse major newspapers, the importance of blogging cannot be underestimated because of the huge reach that this new media has.
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