From Oral Com to the Blogosphere

The emergence of mass media had a tremendous, multi-tiered effect on mass communication. 

Prior to the distribution of mass media, information could not be spread as readily, as widely, or as easily.  Even before this was the emergence of print – another phenomenon that allowed for a significant shift in the absorption and spread of information.

I find all of this particularly interesting as it pertains to blogging, because throughout my lifetime, I have progressed from simply speaking words (starting at eleven months old), to writing words on paper (preschool and kindergarten), to typing on a desktop computer (age five), to sending emails (age eleven), and now, to joining the blogosphere.  How fascinating the impact of blogging becomes when I look back at these progressions over time - especially when I think about how in my lifetime alone, these technological advancements were made.

My favorite part of the piece “From Bards to Blogs” in Chapter 2 of Rettberg's work was his speculation about what Plato might have thought about blogging.  Rettberg says, “Plato complains that a written text is basically unresponsive” (32), but goes onto explain how Plato likely would have appreciated blogs because they allow the audience a unique opportunity to respond to what is written, and in the same way, allow the author of the piece to respond to audience’s comments.

I also appreciated the section of the piece entitled “The Late Age of Print” which described the ownership that authors can now take with their pieces, that before, songs, plays, and stories were dictated orally, and thus changed with every performer.  Now, however, with the effects of publishing, the words and stories and characters within a book belong to its author, and its author alone.

Chapter 3 of Rettberg’s work, “Blogs, Communities, and Networks” describes the role of the blogger as a writer, and also the role that blogs play within the new, virtual public sphere.  Three points in particular stood out to me in this piece: first, that blogs serve a social purpose in the public sphere; that the authors of blogs are looking for followers to read and comment on their work, and also that blogs serve as a form of social media, that can be highly criticized.  Second, the fact that as a result of the first point, no blog can be created equal.  The blogger for an editorial New York Times blog is not necessarily looking to be (and likely never will be) equivalent to a personal blog or a food blog.  Third, the fact that blog posts typically remain accessible on the Internet for significant periods of time, and thus discussions can continue well after a topic that is blogged about has become stale.

Among these points, I was most interested in the section that described the social media role of blogs.  Is this a good thing?  Is it beneficial to the public sphere to have people willing to share their entire lives online?  What are the potential positive and negative effects of blogging?