Defining “Blog”
November 2nd, 2005 by Christopher HarrisThere has been some great meta-blogging over the past couple of days:
Alex Halavais – Blogging in the plural
2 Cents Worth – Why do we have to “learn how to blog”?
Weblogg-ed - Blogging vs. Journaling
Though they all arrived at various points in my aggregator, I encountered some of them through the inter-linking nature of the blogosphere before I got to that point in the chronologically sorted Google Reader. In fact, as Will Richardson pointed out in a link in his post to a previous post he wrote on defining blogging, it is this connectivity that makes these blog posts about blogging…well, blogging. He separates blogging from other online practices using a number of descriptive examples. In the end, he arrived at a definition of writing that “Links with analysis and synthesis that articulates a deeper understanding or relationship to the content being linked and written with potential audience response in mind. (Real blogging)” and more advanced writing that includes “Extended analysis and synthesis over a longer period of time that builds on previous posts, links and comments. (Complex blogging).” So, to model complex blogging, I wanted to reflect and synthisize on the practice of blogging as seen in reading the posts referenced above.
What is a blog?
I know Will has strong thoughts on this, but I am going to politely disagree. As I noted earlier, I encountered an interesting little book by Robynn Clairday, Confessions of a Boyfriend Stealer [A Blog]. Is it really a blog? Will would probably say no, as it is more of a journal recounting past issues related to the theft of a boyfriend. But wait…in this book, the author/character has “extended analysis” of her relationships that “synthesizes” new information into an ever changing world view. The author/character also “writes with a potential audience in mind” and “builds on previous posts, links and comments” as she interacts with and responds to reader/characters who are commenting on her posts.
Do we condemn “Confessions of a Boyfriend Stealer” because it is journaling? Or do we praise it for its insightful, reactive, and analytical? Just because most pre-teens and teens are not yet engaged in professions (how much can you blog about flipping burgers?), politics, or other intrigues, are their world-events less valid? As Will writes, “Blogging is read, think, write (and link) and read some more.” The author/character of “Confessions of a Boyfriend Stealer” read, thought, wrote – and linked, to the pop culture websites you might expect – and then read some more.
So, is it a blog?
Will referenced Alex Halavais‘ post, “Blogging in the plural,” which I would have gotten to eventually as I subscribe to his feed to keep up on the happenings around the schoolof.info server that he maintains and which I rather enjoy free blog hosting from (disclaimed enough?). Alex’s examination of blogging centered around four themes: “the networked nature of communication, the opportunity for engaging in ongoing conversation, easily produced microcontent, and transparency.”
Blogs as networked communication – This is very deep, but what Alex seems to be saying here is that blogs can allow an author to broadcast to either a very narrow or a very broad population. “Confessions of a Boyfriend Stealer” was a blog written in response to the threat of a tell-all blog from the supposedly wronged party. “I’ve got to tell my side, or people might actually believe my ex-best friend’s lies. I guess I’d better tell the whole story, background info and all.” This is a very narrow audience, with a narrow topic, and yet it wasn’t just a serialized journal.
Blogs as reciprocal communication – The author/character of “Confessions of a Boyfriend Stealer” spoke directly to her readers on many occasions. As the book/blog progressed, she asked them for their opinions as the story progressed, she begged for understanding, she addressed their suggested alternative actions. Even if the author/character started out as what Alex refers to as a “mumbler,” she couldn’t remain distant from her readers as she would have had this been a journal/diary and not a reciprocal conversation within a blog.
Blogs as micro-content – What made the creation of a blog/book possible? Posts as chapters of thoughts. In this case, the posts/chapters were much more interconnected than on many blogs, but not unseen. Think about the very connected and chronological blogging of a trip or a conference. “Confessions of a Boyfriend Stealer” was possible as a blog because the author/character could add entries in between episodes of a secondary plotline dealing with a current family situation.
Blogs as thought-in-process – Our example certainly exhibits this trait. The blog was created as a pre-emptive strike to protect the author/character from an “ex-best friend’s” threat of a blog. And yet if we look at thought-in-process as a growth and development of new ideas, that was present as well.
Teaching to Blog
I think, given the analysis above, that “Confessions of a Boyfriend Stealer” is most likely a blog. Perhaps not an educationally significant blog, but it is a blog all the same. Actually, it is probably a very common example of a blog for teens and pre-teens. So do we need to teach how to blog? Well, as I also noted in my earlier reflection on the book, we certainly need to teach students how to become engaged in professional blog community. We need to remind them that posting nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves is not a good idea. We need to remind them, as David Warlick reminds us, that this isn’t about the technology but rather about the communication. Blogging is the current tool, but some of the “hows” of blogging also apply to podcasting, vlogging, skyping, im’ing, and even writing narrative essays (NOTE: ELA curriculum connection!).
At the same time, though, we have to be aware that “blogging” as a concept is very much in the public perspective. What local news show hasn’t done a piece on blogging just because it is one of those cool words that news anchors can talk about with a thinly disguised snicker and self-deprecating remarks on their cluelessness about blogging. When a teacher comes to me and asks to learn about blogging, I don’t think they realize they are speaking about a tool. For them it is a concept; it is maybe the only word they know to conjure up all the things they have heard about the potentials of Web 2.0. It is the guideword created by us infomancer adepts who understand the “terms, queries, and actions related to the retrieval [and creation] of information from arcane sources.” So, to answer Cherrie’s question as related on 2 Cents: Yes, we have to be the infomancers who blaze a trail for those who are learning “how to type it up and click the submit button.”
If we want blogs in an educational setting to grow to fully represent Alex’s four themes and move beyond Will’s dreaded journaling, then we need to teach blogging-as-communication every chance we get. A recent flurry of requests for blogs within teaching and learning and in support of teaching and learning shows me that there are payoffs…
November 2nd, 2005 at 9:22 pm
Great post. And great blogging. Just a couple of points of clarification. It must be me, but I separate blogs and blogging pretty easily. Most people don’t. So I’ll keep trying. Blogs can be used for journaling, posting, exposition, letter writing, any number of different writing genres, all of them potentially wonderful depending on the intent. And I don’t think journaling is something to be “dreaded”…quite the contrary. I look back very fondly on my own journals. But journaling is, well, journaling, right? My point is that blogging is more along what Alex describes. And that because of the nature of blogs (n), blogging (v) is a distinct and, perhaps, new way of writing. I haven’t sorted all of this out yet, but I do not mean to say that anything on a blog (n) has to be an intellectual exercise. I’m just saying that we should call journaling journaling, not blogging, regardless of where it is done.
November 3rd, 2005 at 12:46 am
Hi Chris,
I’ll echo Will’s comments, Chris. Great blog.
As I replied earlier to Webblogged, I’m having a tough time getting my head around blog as a verb or a noun – as an act or an entity.
I’ve always worked under the understand that a blog (and blogging – the creation of a blog) is a medium, a technology, or an application, not a genre.
Let’s look at a more familiar technology – newspapers. Is the WSJ or NY Times a newspaper? Yes. Is The Weekly World Reader or National Inquirer a newspaper? Looks like one, printed, displayed and marketed as one. How about a high school newspaper put out by our local high school? How about he paper the local conspiracy nut distributes on the street corner?
Obviously a newspaper is not a newspaper is a newspaper, but on a fairly high level of abstraction, the Weekly World News and WSJ can both be called newspapers (not magazines, not letters, not websites, not radio programs.)
I think Will is making an error saying only web logs with content that meets his quality standard qualify to be called blogs. Perhaps we need to be more explicit when we talk about the medium by simply saying “personal blogs,” “professional blogs,” etc.
Keep up the conversation!
All the best,
Doug
November 3rd, 2005 at 1:48 am
Will, I guess what I have been trying to wrap my mind around is maybe blogging as a state of mind or an intention. Doug, thanks for a great metaphor. Let me try again without using blog (n.) or blog (v.):
If the intention of the author is to communicate internally, i.e. to write for the cathartic nature of writing without an intention of an audience or interaction then that is “closed writing” shall we say. If, though, the intention is to write for an external audience so that said audience can read, interpret, respond, and otherwise interact with the writing then we could call that “open writing.” Open writing has to be carefully examined because it may appear to be closed due to a lack of interaction because of a failure to reach an audience, a lack of skill, or just a lack of response. [Conversely, closed writing can become open, think a leak to the press!].
So, to add back in our confusing word…
Blogging is blogging if the intention is to engage in an interactive conversation with the audience. Blogging is, in a word, open. I think as the medium stretches, we may have to stretch our definitions along with it. What is the difference between NPR and podcasts? Podcasts are more of an audioblog in that they are intended to be an open conversation that others respond to. I think the same holds true for vlogs. Sure, NBC can broadcast their nightly news via the internet, but that is NOT a video blog. NBC is broadcasting a closed conversation.
Someone who is surprised that their blog is read by others is also thinking in a closed sense. He or she is NOT blogging. If though, a teenage girl writes about her date of the night before with the express intention that others read it and respond to it, then it is open writing. It may be trivial for us, but if it is written with the intention of sparking a conversation then it may be blogging.
December 8th, 2005 at 9:45 am
[...] who have joined the conversation… A couple of example posts: Infomancy by Design, Defining “Blog” ” 3. Joyce Valenza’s NeverEnding Search Joyce Valenza “ [...]