I have always carried a blog. It started out as a paper
journal from high school and in college it transitioned into a Xanga and then
into Blogger and now onto Tumblr.
Blogging for me isn’t about expanding my career or writing
about what I know. Blogging for me is personal. I enjoy blogging on world
events, fashion, home décor, and personal events. Blogging has always allowed
me the opportunity to freely express my thoughts without verbally translating
them to someone. It was a way to place thoughts out of my head on into a space
where I was free from judgment of others and was able to just be me. I never
write blog postings to gain followers or to expect people to interact with it.
It was a private matter for me that I allowed the world to view if someone just
happened to stumble into the little online space I had created.
I love reading blogs as much as I enjoy writing. I love that
freedom of speech has transitioned from opinion columns in the newspaper and
published journalists to online blogs and forums. I enjoy reading various
opinions on topics and seeing the world around me be created by individuals.
The freedom to blog ranges from more than just the formally
trained and read experts and stretches to enthusiasts, passions, hobbyists, and
just interest.
Blogging gives the opportunity for those who have experience
or interest in an area to expand their reach into more than just their circle on
influences and allows them to reach hundreds or thousands of readers.
Just as the old saying goes, “You can’t believe everything you
hear” the same holds true for blogs. You can’t believe everything you read on
the internet. With the availability of reflowing information on the internet
one must be cautious of what they read and choose to believe from the internet.
It is up to the reader to do their own research and make their own judgments on
the validity of information. Readers must also understand the difference
between opinion and fact and must be able to distinguish between the two.
These days you can find a blog on just about every subject
imaginable and there are always multiple views to each side. This is the beauty
of citizen blogging. People have the ability to freely express their views and
opinions.
I have a friend who is a Georgia Tech Graduate who is a
guest blogger for several Atlanta Braves baseball blogs. While Kai is not a
professional baseball player and has no experience with the players or
professional baseball his knowledge of baseball and connections in the blogging
world have placed him in a position to be considered an expert on the subject.
Kai is a leader in the field of using statistics to determine baseball outcome
and player positioning within the sport. Kai uses his knowledge in statistics
and baseball to give valuable insight into this new way of thinking about
baseball.
Blogging gives the ability for your average person to tell
their story. It is important to not smoother the freedom and creativity of the independent
blogger. Without bloggers, we are saying that the opinions of others don’t
matter.
Bloggers and journalists are not that very different. Many
people believe that journalists always tell the truth but as we have experienced
with recent events such as Ferguson and Brian Williams coming to light, we are
learning that just because a journalist says it doesn’t make it true. It took
several months for the truth of Ferguson to come out and it took years for
journalist Brian Williams to come to light that he wasn’t really shot down in
the helicopter. Journalists have a unique way of twisting the story to hold
validity without exposing the entire truth. The only difference in bloggers and
journalists is their title. People believe journalists are always right because
someone has to approve their story. Newspapers just like online editorials want
readers and viewers. If the story is going to attract attention so what if the
whole truth is not always there, so what if we stretch things a little, or omit
things sometimes. It’s ok.
At least with citizen bloggers, you have the understanding
that this is one person expressing their views on a subject. The notion that
this may not be truthful is always there.
So listen to me – I have something to say! And what I have
to say is just as important to me as what you have to say. Value the opinions
of bloggers but understand that opinions are just that opinions. And as much as
you want your voice heard, I also want mine heard.
