Roles in the Blogosphere – Part 3
Dear Reader,
Salutations and welcome to part 3. For those of you just joining the discussion, at the top of the blogosphere totem pole are the Authors; those who create new content. Just below them are the Librarians. They collect the original content and help us organize it. They add value to the content. In this weeks installment of Roles in the Blogosphere we are starting to move into those groups that make up the long tail. For the most part, Authors and Librarians make up the majority of the big name blog sites. These are the people we turn to to tell us how to think or what to think about.
Sliding down the totem pole a bit we come to the next role, the Journaler. (Note: A Journaler is not a Journalist. Most Journalers have more integrity than Journalist’s because they at least admit that their posts are biased towards a specific point of view.)
Journalers are people who for whatever reason are journaling their life and times. In most cases a Journaler doesn’t care if you read their blog or not. This makes a Journaler one of the more honest members of the blogosphere. The lack of concern over such issues as readership or monetization free the Journaler up to explore areas that other blogs shy away from. However, some of these areas are off-limits for a reason. Some of these areas are just boring.
Don’t get me wrong, some Journaler’s blogs are fascinating. Those who are journaling a once in a lifetime event, those who are journaling an event that the majority of us couldn’t attend, those actually journaling a journey of some kind; these all have the makings of an interesting blog. At that point it’s really up to the Journaler to present the information in a format they that the rest of us find interesting or at least mildly entertaining. These “Event” Journaler are one sub-role in the Journaler role. Another sub-role is the “My Life” Journaler.
A “My Life” Journaler simply records their life for all to see. Many will include intimate details of their life, their health and innermost fears. Exposing themselves on their blogs in ways they would never do in person. The voyeuristic tenancies in most of us make us keep coming back for more. Like a never ending soap-opera, we will continue to read as long as they continue to post.
Journalers, both Event and My Life, are an important part of the blogosphere. Whether you are getting to experience first hand an event like Burning Man” or you read just so you can say, “At least my life isn’t as bad as theirs”; Journalers provide us with entertainment and insight outside of our little worlds.
Until next time,
(l)(k)(bunny)
=C=
