Blogging today is simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself. It has penetrated into our lives with its easy access and flexibility to express any message that we wish to convey across borders and boundaries.
McLean (2009) explains that the 2009 State of the Blogosphere survey demonstrates, the growth of the blogosphere's influence on subjects ranging from business to politics to the way information travels through communities continues to flourish. It is difficult to count the exact size of bloggers due to so many platforms, types and metrics, but according to Social Media Statistics (2008). Blogger.com was seen to alone have grown by 68% compared to 2007 and 184 million people started a blog. Micro-blogging site Twitter grew an unprecedented 752% with 4.43 million monthly visitors. Hence 2009 was projected to continue to grow and be accessible to more individuals.
In European countries, Brown (2008) claims that blogging attracts the business-minded and sets a forum to discuss social issues, whereas in Asian cultures, blogs are used to voice political opinions. The Star (2009), quotes Utusan Malaysia that blogs in Malaysia ranked amongst the highest in the world. It has about 500,000 bloggers after Indonesia and the European Union.
In Iranian context, according to Rowse (2009) 40 newspapers were banned over the last 5 years and during electionslast year, it banned journalists from moving around the country and blocked Facebook, Twitter, and other sites. In this setting, disenfranchised Iranis have often turned to the blogosphere to engage in commentary critical of the regime.
This benefits the community that the blogs provide as a breakthrough for the medium and deeming the blogosphere as both a key driver of the protests and a source of news more reliable than any other source in the country.
References:
1. Brown, S 2008, Leading Average: Top Blog Trends, Modern Life, viewed April 12th 2010,
2. McLean, J 2009, State of the Blogosphere 2009 Introduction, Technorati.com, viewed April 12th 2010
3. Rowse, D 2010, Blogosphere Trends- What are bloggers writing about, Problogger.com, viewed April 12th 2010
4. Social Media Statistics 2008, Austin's New Media Lab, viewed 12th April 2010
5. Sussman, M 2009, Day 5: Twitter, Global Impact and the Future Of Blogging- State of the Blogosphere, Technorati.com, viewed April 12th 2010
6. The Star 2009, Blogging in Malaysia ranks among highest in the world, Star Online, viewed April 12th 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment