"All of which (blogs) differ in the type of content they share, as well as the way that the content is delivered or written."A personal blog is a blog that is seemingly like a continuous diary or form of commentary by an individual—this happens to be the most common form of blog. A corporate or organizational blog can be seen as public or private and in many cases, used for business purposes. This form of blog is often used internally within a company or business in order to enhance communication and culture within employees. This is also like a club blog where clubs, groups, or societies will use a blog to post messages and inform their members of activities and information. Blogs by media type tend to vary in their content; A blog which encompasses videos is called a vlog, a blog that includes many links is called a linklog, or one that includes photos is referred to as a photoblog. Blogs by device are defined through the type of device that is used to compose it. For example, a blog written through a mobile device could be referred to as a moblog. And finally, blogs by genre are blogs that focus on one particular subject. These following blogs I am going to introduce are blogs I would classify as blogs by genre. They range throughout a variety of different categories because they each hone in on something different: From “Arts and Entertainment” to “News and Political” to “Journalistic” to “Life & Style,” each are interesting in their own way.
Perez Hilton's blog was my arts and entertainment blog of choice. Out of the five blogs I evaluated, I would have to say that I was biased in selecting my favorite blog because I happen to read Perez Hilton’s blog religiously. However, My Mom on the other hand who happens to be a Celebrity publicist is nauseated by my appreciation for Perez and his brazen comments regarding celebrities. I enjoy reading all of his gratuitous posts where he literally draws sarcastic comments on photographs of specific celebrities. However, I can understand why she would be disgruntled when a person like Perez Hilton is calling her in order to gather information on celebrities like Mariah Carey or Jessica Simpson with the sole intention of trying to exploit them for his own benefit.
Image courtesy of Perez Hilton
The journalistic blog that I chose to evaluate was The Huffington Post. However, when this website has its writers posting about celebrities and entertainment, they do so in a way that is quite different than Perez Hilton’s; they are unbiased and are not quick to make judgments, they are more polite, and they are more sophisticated. What makes this site especially unique is its wide array of news coverage, politics, media, and original content. And before researching more about it, I had no idea that The Huffington Post was the first online newspaper, which was originally created as a
“commentary outlet and alternative to news websites like the Sludge Report” (Moezzi-Freebase.com)and really revolutionized the way we access and read newspapers. I enjoy reading regular newspapers, but this online newspaper just seems so much more economical and feasible. There definitely seemed to be a good incorporation of both visuals and text.
The journalistic blog that I chose to explore was The Daily Beast. For some reason, I had this innate feeling that I was going to be interested in this site; maybe because of its catchy title, or maybe because it seemed to be related to journalism? I really don't know. However, I do know that any site that is going to provide me with both Blogs and Stories, is definitely going to keep me interested. Its top tags include Politics, Entertainment, Arts, Business, and Technology.
Each of these tags relate to very different audiences. Due to the wide array of topics that this blog covers, thanks to its founder Tina Brown, the readers are given an opportunity to explore outlets that are new and different from what they are normally exposed to. For example, someone who is interested in finding the latest news on the President's State of The Union address, could also be intrigued by the 2011 Oscar Nominations. This amalgamation of media elements is a great way for readers to explore outside of their comfort zone.
My News/Political blog of choice blog was the blog titled Hot Air. This blog captured my attention from the moment the page first loaded. What first caught my eye was the “Top Picks” section, which displayed a picture of Congressman Eric Cantor, with a caption beneath it which said “rejection” in response to the title of the article,
“Heart-ache: Pelosi turns down Cantor for SOTU prom.”
Image courtesy of HotAir
I felt the comment "rejection" was succinct and quite suitable. After browsing through the rest of the site, I found that most of the headlining stories had one-word comments, which attempted to sum up their point. Overall, I felt this website was very visually dominant. I am going to guess and say that the designers try and choose pictures that will enable the readers to sense a story before reading the full-text. I think this is a good technique if and only if, the picture encompasses a stimulating caption. What do you think? Would you rather see a picture with a stimulating picture rather than just the text itself?
The final blog I analyzed was a blog that I thought was very creative. This blog, I don't know, what do YOU want to eat?, is the answer to the seemingly impossible question which many of us know so well,
"What do you want to eat for dinner?"To be honest, it's really quite sad when there aren't any interesting suggestions as to what one should eat. However, this website is seemingly the cure to all food-related indecisiveness. Before I found this website, I am not embarrassed to admit that I had definitely asked myself that question multiple times. With its twelve regularly contributors, each of whom who have their own unique recipes, the whattoeattonight blogspot is a great way to learn about new and exciting concoctions. It is meant to try and eradicate those repetitive meals we know and love so well, by replacing them with innovative cooking ideas. It gives its readers a new meal every day, sometimes, multiple times a day. With labels ranging from Appetizers, to Eat on the run, to Cocktails, to Dinner Party, this website strategically links other blogs who help share cooking suggestions that are feasible to the everyday consumer.
I think the question that you finish off this post with is an important one. The amount of blogs on the internet is staggering. There is one for every possible interest, and for every part of the spectrum of that interest. For instance: if I casually partake in Football, there is a blog for my amateur interest; but if I am a die-hard gridiron follower, then there are more intensee blogs that can appeal to my level of devotion. I bring this up because I wanted to call upon one of the points that you discussed, which as the difference in style of celebrity content between Perez Hilton and the Huffington post.
ReplyDeleteConsider you are trying to scour the internet for information on Justin Timberlake's newest girlfriend, odds are your first choice for content will not be the post. The post offers dense analysis and essays about celebrities rather than the to-the-point postings that you get on perez hilton. Now lets consider why someone wants to read about a celebrity. Odds are they want juicy gossip, and they want it fast. This is why perez hilton is good at his job, he realizes why people read about celebrities and he knows how to present the content. I think this raises the question of ranking of blogs. Are there good blogs and bad ones? For those that say that perezhilton is a lesser site because it is "trashy" should consider that maybe the authors of the content are catering the style of presentation to their audience. The huffington post isn't a greater blog because it has the news and proper grammar, because in the arena of celebrity gossip it is certainly worse than perez. In the end, certain blogs have strengths that others lack. There is no better or worse in my eyes.
Sydney,
ReplyDeleteYour analysis of Hot Air with it's visual dominance and minimal text reminded of the Satorialist, but in a much more concentrated form. Each picture on the Satorialist had a few words as the caption accompanied by an image, which is the exact strategy of Hot Air. To answer your question, I would much rather see a stimulating picture than just text itself. From my perspective, pictures can generate a different kind of thought process in determining the context and implications of the event. Readers are able to make up their own minds rather than having information immediately pushed at them.
In your final question, you ask what type of non-academic blogs are we most interested in. While it definitely pertains to our immediate interests, I think that the links many blogs include in their posts can expand these interests. One of the main types of blogs I typically check are music blogs. I'm always searching the internet for new blogs that feature songs I've never heard of or remixes of favorites. I typically go to a music aggregator like the Hype Machine and then find other blogs that have been cited. When I go to other blogs, there are always links to that blogger's favorites sites, so as you can tell, its a constant cycle. While this linking of blogs to other blogs generates authority, I think it also creates an interactivity among bloggers and readers. In my opinion, this connectedness between internet users is really one of the hallmarks of good blogging.
Food blog: I don't know, what do YOU want to eat?
ReplyDeleteSydney-
Your analysis of "What do you want to eat for dinner" brings up an interesting point. You state "this website strategically links other blogs who help share cooking suggestions that are feasible to the everyday consumer." I couldn't agree any more. The recipe on the chickpea salad led me to a link on the "SeriousEats" blog, the comments of which allowed me to access a variation on the recipe by the "Indian Culinary Center," which then led me to a video of how to cook the meal itself. Needless to say, the hyperlink-chain from recipe to recipe left me starving and hungry for more.....blogs. After reviewing the site for another hour, I began to make notes of what recipes to make, primarily based upon the comments that either praised or vetoed the recipes. The food blog quite literally catered to the user's interests. By means of user feedback, it has communicated exactly what every cook questions once looking over a recipe: Will this food actually taste good? It is one thing to look at the instructions of a product, but a far more important to find out how it will turn out once cooked. "I don't know, what do YOU want to eat?" provides just that. Fun, creative, user-friendly recipes that gets at the heart of what food blog-consumers desire most: delicious dishes and reasonable results.