Monday, December 03, 2007

Blogger

Starting from a certain time, it seems that we all began to write blog, which turned into a common social phenomenon from a fashion gradually.

Take my family as an example, my parents, who present mid-aged people have their own blog in qq space, my little sister, who is a high school student, has a blog in msn space, and I myself have four blog addresses, in one of them I write for my parents and relatives to tell them my life in UK, one is used for daily communication among friends, and one of them is a private space which is secret for others, the last one is this blog, which is built for course assignment.

I always think blog is a tool for people to express themselves and communicate with their friends, except some professional blog. People feel free if they write articles in their own way and always begin with the word “I”, and they have the freedom to write anything they’re experiencing, feeling and thinking, they have the freedom to write everyday or just leave it there for a long time, they also have the freedom to tell anyone they trust and be willing to share with, or keep it in secret.

Apparently the appearance of blog changes people’s lifestyle in some extent, but can we say that bloggers are all journalists?

I don’t think so. The definition of ‘news’ or ‘Journalist’ is strict. For example, some experts define ‘news’ as ‘information about recent events or happenings, especially as reported by newspapers, periodicals, radio, or television’, and they describe ‘journalism’ as ‘the collecting, writing, editing, and presenting of news or news articles in newspapers and magazines and in radio and television broadcasts’. The traditional definition is made in the context of traditional media, without including blog.

Well the appearance of new media, as web, indeed put lots of pressure on traditional press, but the newspaper, radio or television is irreplaceable in short term. As a blogger, I enjoy the freedom to express myself and practice myself through writing, and as a journalism student, I have to study hard to be more professional.