The Blogosphere and Beyond

Blogs have become part and parcel of everyday life that people just take "web logs" for granted, without actually comprehending how powerful this web tool really is. The emergence of Web 2.0 have transformed blogs from typical journal entries about mere anythings to information sources which even threaten the foundation upon the traditional media powerhouses was built on. Dominick (2007, p. 271) believes that 'blogs are a vivid example of how the internet can make anybody a mass communicator', echoing the sentiments that Web 2.0 has allowed anybody's voice to be heard.

The topics for blogs are wide-spread, ranging from the serious subjects like news and politics to the fun subjects like entertainment and lifestyle. For the month of June 2008, 'news' was the most popular tag used by bloggers according to Technorati index data. Take Malaysia for example during last year's March General Elections, readers flocked to blogs, the perceived alternative media, to receive updates and news after being disillusioned by the mainstream media's lack of coverage on the opposition (Moten 2009). This added feature of blogs is beneficial to the readers, who now can discuss pertinent topics like politics with peers as well as receive a multi-faceted view from different sources.

Blogging has also become a money-making platform with advertisers willing to cash in on the bloggers' loyal readers and top-notch content. The interest statistic is that while U.S. bloggers, the pioneers of this whole blogging craze, earn an average of US$5,000 annually, but that is 50% less than the amount earned by Asian bloggers! Nuffnang, Asia's first and leading blog advertising community, allows world-renowned companies such as Nike, Nokia, Honda, and AirAsia to post advertisements on local blogs where the blogger receives income depending on the number of average unique visitors during the advertising campaign (Nuffnang 2009). This emerging trend of blog communities, with plenty of fun events and meet-up sessions, allows bloggers from different walks of life to actually meet up and expand their circle of friends.

With over 133 million blog records indexed by Technorati since 2002, the blogosphere is increasingly and expanding everyday, evidence that blogging is not just a fad, but it is here to stay.

The size of the blogosphere
(Source: Technorati)

References:

Nuffnang 2009, About us, viewed 8 June 2009, http://nuffnang.com.my/about-us.

Dominick, J 2007, The dynamics of mass communication, McGraw-Hill International, New York.

Moten, AR 2009, ‘2008 general elections in Malaysia: Democracy at work’, Japanese Journal of Political Science, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 21-42.

Technorati 2008, State of the Blogosphere, viewed 6 June 2009, http://technorati.com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere/.