Q & A: My Final Post

Steve Cawthon said...
Heather,I must admit, I am not a big fan of blogs myself. In most cases, it seems they cast aside objectivity and become nothing more than a set of amateur editorials.However, with that said, the media has paid a great deal of attention to the "Blogosphere," as it has been colloquially referred to. What importance can you find for the dissemination of opinions in blogs vs. the media, and what blogs show the best examples of this?


Steve,
Wikipedia.org defines the Blogosphere as a universal term of all blogs together as a social network or as a community. The idea of a blogosphere is significant in understanding blogs. Without the blogosphere, blogs are nothing other than an author’s thoughts written down on the internet. The cultural network of the internet is influenced by the blogosphere. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogosphere
There are many people who seem to have preferences of reading and writing blogs over traditional print. (See: http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2007/01/19/reading-blogs-versus-reading-traditional-print-media)


Jeffrey Steichen said...
Recently many famous people have begun to create blogs. Is there anyway to authenticate who is writing the blog or can anyone assume another identity with no penalty?


Jeffrey,
In the United States, the First Amendment Freedom of Speech allows us to speak anonymously, or to speak under a pseudonym. An author is, as a rule, allowed to decide whether or not to reveal his or her identity. “Accordingly, an author's decision to remain anonymous, like other decisions concerning omissions or additions to the content of a publication, is an aspect of the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment."
Even though one may prefer to blog anonymously, there is always the fear of one’s blogging service provider being subpoenaed for one’s identity.
It is important to remember that the most common reason for being sued is defamation of character. Most things posted to a blog site are protected under the United States First Amendment, however, one must remember that a blog will be potentially viewed by the entire world and lies should not be posted.
http://www.eff.org/bloggers/lg/faq-overview.php


Jessica Ellison said...
So, maybe blogs do have a purpose... maybe they are almost theraputic in a sense because people are using them as a "confessional"- a way of expressing themselves? Is there any research that suggests this?


Jessica,
There is a nursing student in England who writes a blog and she addressed the idea of using the blogosphere as a form of self-help therapy. She describes the fact that the term “blog-therapy” is used frequently on the blog sites even though it is not widely used in every-day life. She goes on to write about her ideas about how blogging online is therapeutic and how she finds it to be so on a personal level.
http://thinkingnurse.blogspot.com/2005/03/blog-therapy-evaluation-of-online-self.html


Zack Yaguda said...
You stated that many people use blogs as an online diary. People seem to post just about anything on their blogs and your right they can get very personal. while these blogs can be read by anyone, are there any cases where people have gotten in trouble for displaying thier thoughts on their blogs? Also, how do peoples comments effect the person who wrote such personal material?


Zack,
There was a case reported in the South Bend Tribune that stated that a teenager in middle school had been placed on probation for posting a rant to her MySpace page and committing harassment, identity theft and identity deception. The article goes on to state that the teenager was upset over a school policy regarding body piercings and wrote crude things about the school principal on her MySpace page.
The case was overturned by a panel of three judges and stated that the teenager had had her civil rights violated. They said that her posting was protected under the constitutional right of political speech. Many of the original charges were dropped but the obscene charge was instated and the teenager was placed on nine months of probation.
http://education.zdnet.com/?p=982