Bias in the Blogosphere Paraphrase: Weblogging is still controlled by the establishment, no matter how much we believe we're free. I love the style of the linktext, and some of the points and arguments, but I can't agree with the conclusion that "This new medium is the domain of white, middle-class American men, and severe structural barriers restrict access by other groups." I think the conclusions give far too much weight to the circle of blogs that follow Glen Reynolds and Andrew Sullivan. Maybe its just me but I'm exposed to far more left wing women's blogs, than right wing male blogs, and I'm a middle-class male with conservative leanings. I believe what's being scrutinized here is the political pundit blog which of course will have an ideological bias in the current political climate.
As for the severe structural barriers, this issue brings up questions I asked the panel - Is there a type of person more suited to be able to write a long-running weblog? Obviously someone who already spends time on the Web, and a sense of curiousity is required but are other characteristics necessary? Whatever other traits may be needed, they certainly aren't exclusive to the middle-class American male.
And other barriers? The obvious corporate or military restrictions bring up the question of blogging anonymously, which AKMA explained is ethically impossible. So if you can't blog anonymously, how do we personally publish any information that can be potentially damning to the author, be it corporate whistle-blowing or a political view not considered 'mainstream'?
Robert Corr's conclusion from the article: "If the internet is not an inherently democratic technology, what can be done to rectify the situation? Clearly it is in the interests of society to ensure that all groups have a voice. The operation of the propaganda model in the blogosphere, where the influence of power and wealth is not immediately evident, shows that this will not naturally occur."
This question was directed to the panel, in a sense by Kurt Heintz. His question was more related more to how can we create an such an open ecology within a community or organization, rather than towards the entire Internet. The panel was stumped.
Here's a photo of our panel, stolen from me3dia.com. Mouseover on the panel members heads for links to their sites.
Kurt wasn't a panel member, but since we have the back of his head, and he did contribute to the discussion, we'll give him a link.
Anybody want the Powerpoint of the program? This version includes links to the URLs mentioned during the program.
AllAboutWeblogs.pps (3MB)
AllAboutWeblogs.ppt (3MB)
1. Right-click on the download link
2. Select "Save Target As" or "Download Link to Disk" from the pop-up menu that appears
3. Select where you want the file saved on your hard drive.
Go ahead and use it where ever you want.
Thanks to all who came by on Saturday, especially to the panel members for making it a very interesting discussion.
Maybe the Library will schedule other similar programs on rainy days next time, I think the choice between being outside on one of the last nice days of the year and sitting inside listening to me hurt our turn-out a bit.
I'll be posting the PowerPoint for anyone interested. Stay tuned.
A long list of links I reference in my presentation. I promise I'll organize and add to these.
Intro
Soldier's blog, homeless blog
What is a blog?
Camworld: Anatomy of a weblog
Weblogs: a History and Perspective
Jorn Barger's weblog FAQ
What kinds are out there?
My topical blog list
How can we find blogs?
Eaton web portal
Globe of Blogs
DMOZ weblog categories
blogging ecosystem
Blogtree
Ageless Blogs by birthday, with thumbnails
Screenshot list
How do we read all these blogs?
daypop
BlogHop!
How do you start your own
List of software from Larkfarm
Blogger
Radio
DMOZ's list of Weblogging tools
Advanced topics
Really Simple Syndication, good explanation of RSS
How to write a better blog
Um, why are you reading this? You're suppsoed to be at the the Sulzer Branch of the Chicago Public Library at 4415 N. Lincoln Ave. You've got until :00 pm to get there.
It's time to introduce the panel members.
The Rev. A. K. M. Adam is an associate professor of New Testament at the Seabury-Western Theological Seminary. He writes and speaks on postmodern Biblical interpretation, theology and technology. AKMA's deep and eloquent weblog, AKMA's Random Thoughts, often drives many discussions among many thinkblogs on the nature of the weblog and the state of the social Web.
Jim McGee is a Clinical Professor of Technology and E-Commerce at the Kellogg School of Management. Not only has Jim done some of the original research on topics like information architecture, knowledge management, technology-induced organizational change, and electronic commerce, but he has actually designed and built systems and strategies involving these topics in the real-world. Jim runs McGee's Musings, a widely read 'klog' or knowledge management blog.
Nazarin Hamid is a designer, programmer and musician in Chicago IL. He has lived on three continents and loves the world wide web. Naz's Absenter, is a "linear narrative", an online journal crafted with wit humor and a deep personal voice. Naz also runs a photo journal "an attempt to record narratives visually in a lifetime" and contributes to many online projects.
Dan Hartung a network engineer in Chicago, has "been on the internet since you had to explain what it was." Dan writes the 3 year-old Lake Effect, a news and link focused weblog which is one of the better blogs at providing a wealth of resources within the commentary. One of the smarter, more objective political and news bloggers, Dan also participates in numerous other Web discussions and community blogs. Dan's name is commonly seen at the end of many thoughtful posts and comments on Metafilter and Blogroots, where he drives many insightful discussions.
Paul McCann is a Web and graphic designer in Chicago who makes a living building and using the Web. Paul runs 2 weblogs, KIPlog, a 3 year-old link-driven weblog which focuses on knowledge found on the Web, which tends to be extremely general, and Foodblog, a recipe and food related blog.
Why blog? What do we get out of this?
For me the exercises basic to my style of blogging - reading, writing and communicating - are all beneficial for many reasons. They range from expanding my knowledge of the Web to being able to spell beneficial without having to look it up. Writing organizes my thoughts and the entire archive of 3 years of surfing acts as a back up to my memory. We'll be exploring this question in a bit more depth on Saturday afternoon, but until then, here are some quotes from those who have put it more eloquently.
"The release of Blogger unleashed a flood of weblogs from people who had been waiting for an easy tool. Now, there are tens of thousands. Most aren't worth reading by anyone but the author's closest friends and family, but you know, despite what the scorners say ("99% of all online content is crrrrap!") there's nothing wrong with that. I've always thought that even if nobody reads your writings, even if you delete or throw away your words right after you've written them, that act of writing makes you a better person. It organizes your brain connections in such a way that helps you think critically and clearly. It turns the random impulses and emotions running around your head into something that is more organized and tangible, and that is always good."
Eric Wagoner in his post about doing Kestrel's Nest for 3 years
"Shortly after I began producing Rebecca's Pocket I noticed two side effects I had not expected. First, I discovered my own interests. I thought I knew what I was interested in, but after linking stories for a few months I could see that I was much more interested in science, archaeology, and issues of injustice than I had realized. More importantly, I began to value more highly my own point of view. In composing my link text every day I carefully considered my own opinions and ideas, and I began to feel that my perspective was unique and important."
Rebecca Blood, Rebecca's Pocket in Weblogs: a History and Perspective
"I can safely say that a year plus of doing this has excited me intellectually as nearly no other undertaking has done. (Well, perhaps the year I discovered poststructuralism.)
...
I see these potshots and I'm flabbergasted. We're to bury ourselves? We're to wait until we have something Important(tm) to say before speaking? Until our design is an award-winner?
I say, Go to hell. I mean it. Maybe this form means nothing to you. Well, fine, because I am not writing for you. I am writing for me. I am writing for what I get out of the process of thinking about a political issue or a scientific discovery and explaining it to my readers. I am writing for the responses I get from my readers. I am writing for the interplay with the larger community of webloggers. "
Dan Hartung, Lake Effect, In his Manifestito
In my last post I mentioned books about weblogs and how I like my information about the Web to be free. Well, I just bought Rebecca Blood's The Weblog Handbook. Its a good read so far, and is going to be helpful to me for this presentation. It'll probably be an excellent handbook for the beginning blogger, and Rebecca puts the short history of the weblog in prospective for those who have yet to blog.
I'll give a full review when I'm done with it, but so far I'd highly recommend it to new bloggers. There's plenty of good advice on both the technical and social aspects of blogging. So far I've agreed with everything Rebecca teaches, but I have to admit, trying hard not to sound snooty, that I haven't gotten to anything I didn't know yet. But Rebecca will be the first to admit that the advice will be basic knowledge to anyone who's done this for awhile.
"But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much I've learned in three years of maintaining my own site--some of which is so obvious to experienced online denizens it doesn't seem worth explaining, but that as a newcomer I wouldn't have known to ask. Thus the weblog handbook was born."
I should comment on my surprise in finding it at my local Barnes and Nobles. They didn't have any of the other weblog books in stock.
Those of you who feel strongly that information should be free, or for those who can't afford the $14.00, Rebecca's chapter on ethics is available online.