The Blogging Phenonmenon - Taking the World by Storm

The blogging phenomenon has been getting a lot of attention recently. It is a trend which is taking over the world, and doing so at a prodigious rate. According to Technorati (2008), there is a blog created every second, adding to the total of 133 million blogs tracked by Technorati.

Blogging is popular because it is free and easy to use (BBC News 2005). Users do not have to purchase a domain name, and blogging is made convenient for users with user-friendly templates and instant publishing.

The mainstream trend in blogging all over the world is using blogs as a journal, where anyone can read about a blogger's life from his/her blog. According to Technorati, 54% of all blogs are personal or lifestyle in nature (Technorati 2008).

Blogging trends in Europe seem to be slightly less prevalent.Only 1 in 5 Europeans own their own blog (Deere 2006). Nonetheless, the number of blogs in Europe are increasing steadily.

One powerful force driving the blogging phenonmenon is the social factor. Blogs link people together, be it total strangers, or a community of bloggers with a common interest. An article by Anne Jane Grossman (2008) on CNN.com talks about Stacey Kim, a book editor who turned to blogging when her husband died of cancer. Her ordeal, depicted online through her blog generated a supportive and overwhelming response from the online community, which were mostly strangers. This turned out to be a therapeutic solution in her state of emotional distress, driven by the support of the readers of her blog.

Blogs give us a different perspective from what is portrayed in the mainstream media. It is becoming a source of criticism that cannot be ignored, and a source of information that can be used (Reynolds 2006).

Ultimately, blogs have the power to shape our society.


References

Technorati 2008, State of the Blogosphere. Retrieved Nov 9 2008 from
http://technorati.com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere/

BBC News 2005, One blog created 'every second'. Retrieved Nov 9 2008 from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4737671.stm

Technorati 2008, State of the Blogosphere. Retrieved Nov 9 2008 from
http://technorati.com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere/the-what-and-why-of-blogging/

Deere, G., 2006, The power of blogs in Europe. Retrieved Nov 9 2008 from
http://loiclemeur.com/IPSOSeuroblogs2006english.pdf

Grossman, A.J., 2008, Your blog can be therapy. Retrieved Nov 9 2008 from
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/05/07/blog.therapy/index.html

Reynolds, P., 2006, Bloggers: an army of irregulars. Retrieved Nov 9 2008 from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4696668.stm