Pin It

I blog. You blog. We all blog. Or do we?

Isn’t blogging just “so last century” and hasn’t what we do evolved from the old school blogging to something akin to citizen journalism? 

The old platforms that were created to facilitate “blogging” have become so sophisticated that they can be considered heavyweight content management systems.

Our blogs are getting more and more like online magazines with great content, advertising and promotional tools and interactive elements so our readers can provide feedback engage in dialogue and are a proactive part of the whole experience rather than just a passive occurence.

Wikipedia describes a blog as:

“A blog (a blend of the term web log) is a type of website or part of a website. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order.”

“Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. “

Research And Writing

Now I don’t know about you but I feel those two paragraphs are very simplistic and do not give credit to the amount of hard work we put into our pride and joy. Take my site as an example. I spend a phenomenal amount of time – just ask my wife – researching, reading about and reviewing new cloud computing and social media technologies and services. I then spend time writing it all up and try and make whatever I am writing about as simple as possible, regardless of how “techy” it is so people can understand what I am writing about.

Admission time. I trained as a journalist so maybe a lot of this is second nature to me, but the fact that you may not have any professional writing experience doesn’t detract from the love, passion and care you put into your sites. You are journalists, sub-editors, editors and publishers. You are also marketing managers as you promote our sites through various social media networks. You are advertising managers as you integrate affiliate marketing into the mix. You may well also be the staff photographer. It goes without saying you are the office tea person!

Brutal Honesty

So you say you are a blogger and people assume that you spend time writing inane personal drivel on the Internet. Let’s be brutally honest. There are sites out there that are puerile, asinine crap! These can range from juvenile ramblings on sexual fantasies of the latest large screen vampire goddess to badly written slugs of prose on anything from aardvarks to Zulus.

The people within the Blog Engage community – and many others that haven’t yet joined – are light years ahead of the ground level blogs.  Your sites have great content that are updated regularly. They look exceptional as you have dripped blood, sweat and tears into making sure you provide a great visual encounter. You provide a dynamic, interactive experience far removed from the flaccid, impersonal and one dimensional and conventional paper media. You create communities of like minded individuals who come together to share your passion.

So What Are We?

Is this blogging? I don’t think so. It goes far beyond the commonly held view but if we don’t adhere to this how do we describe ourselves? To call ourselves Super Bloggers provides ammunition to those who would question our arrogance at suggesting such a title. Citizen journalists and internet magazine owners – nah, too much of a mouthful. Netzines, too ambiguous.So, what do you think? Are you happy with being bloggers or do we need a new term?

About Kevin Tea

A journalist and marketing professional for 40 years I became passionate about the Internet empowering of small to medium sized enterprises and the self employed while working on a four year European Commission project. I started Web2 and More as a resource for this market sector. To keep grounded I enjoy fly fishing and exploring the cuisine and history of food from different countries.

Tags: , ,