Happy Blogiversary!
It's been 10 years since the birth of the weblog -- cutely nicknamed blog -- and its effects have been far reaching. It has directed the tide of public opinion, given everyman a place to air their opinion -- be it as complex as the Darfur conflict or as basic as high school cafeteria food -- and it has spawned, what Wikipedia guesses to be, about 71 million offspring.
The blogplosion has positive consequences, especially with fewer and fewer people under 30 reading daily newspapers. The New York Times reported Monday that yet another study (this one spearheaded by Harvard) has revealed newspaper readership by the under-30 sect is still at an all-time low. Thomas Patterson, a professor of government and the press at Harvard who conducted the survey, said these people are not adopting the "news habit" -- or the daily routine of checking the local paper or TV news station that their parents acquired.
Some argue that the proliferation and popularity of blogs offset this disturbing trend. In 2007, Gartner, information and technology research and advisory firm in Connecticut, estimates the 100 million writers will settle down on the blogosphere, commenting on everything from the current political administration to one's love for the slinky.
It's important to remember that not all blogs are as credible as a daily newspaper; some being more comparable to the homeless man ranting about the dangers of pot roast. Newspapers, who fear libel suits, corrections and loss of credibility, maintain the mantra: "If your mother says she loves you, check it out." In the shadier, online realm, attribution may fall by the wayside and rumors can flourish. Meanwhile, many mainstream journalists, disciplined in the school of fact checking, write their own blogs -- well over 300, according to the J-blog list on CyberJournalist.net. But with legal issues, like defamation of character, confidentiality and propriety, still on legal quicksand in the blogoverse, it's clear that blogs are no substitute for accurate and credible news reporting.
But don't miss out on the blogoday! Celebrate, have some cake and meet a new blog.
Here are some of our favorites:
For news and cultural: http://headbutler.com
For pop culture: perezhilton.com and tmz.com
For hippiest Philly latest: www.philebrity.com
For street fashion: thesartorialist.com
For sports humor: deadspin.com and the700level.com
For music tidbits: tinymixtapes.com and stereogum.com
For entertaining conversation: overheardinnewyork.com
For baseball fan fiction: dugout.progressiveboink.com
For TV news: tvsquad.com
For other people's secrets: postsecret.blogspot.com
And of course, check out The Collegian's Get a Nightlife; Snap, Crackle, Pop; Travis' Travels and It's News To Me.