If you want information on anything these days, from the latest in the Palestinian / Israeli conflict, to which celebrity couples split up before the start of the new year, where do you go? Some of us, who still remember the good old reliable hard-copy newspaper days, may still take a walk down to the nearest store or corner to get one, and some of us (really ancient folk) may still head off to the nearest library for a source we can trust. But, more and more of us are googling up everything we want to know.
As a self-described confined person (confined sounds better than lazy, doesn’t it?), I love that I can get on the internet and in a short time find what I want, and more often than not these days, I can rely on my internet sources. All the newspapers I trust and respect are online, and I have several bookmarked journals and websites where I get well-documented, credible information. Internet research is a worthy activity, which I spend several “confined” hours doing every day.
So where do blogs fit into this? Are blogs a credible source of information? In a recent episode of Boston Legal, one lawyer belly-ached about our reliance on “smut” for news and information, and he listed bloggers as part of the smut. He sounded like a true old fart who has never experienced the power of gathering information beyond the superficiality (some call it sanitization) of Primetime news, or he could have been voicing the pain of someone whose company was caught on the wrong side of a viral internet campaign.
The reality is, blogging is a force to be reckoned with, and those who keep in the know are respecting this still relatively new media, and taking advantages of its benefits. Bloggers were allotted their own media space during political conventions last year
Why is it that West Indians are more open to voice their opinions behind closed doors but when it comes to the Internet, for example, they will not put a name to their opinions? Instead they will use “anonymous, reader”, etc.
Makesense, may be you can help us out with that. Why is it that you use “makesense” instead of your actual name. ..lets start off there…
For one west Indians, if you’ve notice are very limited in shared voice…this is why this forum is open ..to give people the opportunity to voice themselves openly and hopefully someday like yourself, you would feel comfortable enough to disclose your name..atleast your first name will do,
excellent article valere! Love the subject discussed.
Thanks Andrew.
And I believe the reason why some Guyanese comment or blog anonymously is because they are afraid of the repercussions of what they say, particularly when they speak out against societal wrongs. Free speech is still very much an unrealized ideal in some places.
Haha @ Andrew. I think that further illustrates my point.
Very true Charmaine!
BTW my name is Trevor. I post as Trevor sometimes. I post as “Make Sense” when appropritae.
Makesense?
When is it that you deem appropriate to post as Makesense instead of Trevor and why? Does an alias make you feel protected etc,,,,
Excellent introductory post Charmaine! This fits perfectly with our goal to open up dialogue.
I hate the fact that most think blogs are simply some kind of personal diary. Yes, it may have started as a form of personal diary entry years ago, but it has evolved into so much more today. The term “blog” doesn’t lend itself as credible information, but as Charmaine said, it is definitely a force to be reckoned with.
Blogging is also a source to get information that’s not immediately available on most media sites. Take a look at the recent Mumbia attacks for example, mirco-blogging sites such as Twitter was the first to report on the attacks and provide frequent updates.
I also agree with David Meerman. Most companies fail to see/realize the importance of today’s technology and never use it to interact with their customers. A blog not only provides company/product updates to customers but it also provides feedback by engaging customers on the site.