Wednesday, September 24, 2003
What's a Blog?
I have my academic hat on today.
Dan Drezner posted a definition of a blog yesterday and asked for comments.
A weblog is defined here as a web page with minimal to no external editing, dedicated to on-line commentary, periodically updated and presented in reverse chronological order, with hyperlinks to other online sources.
I'm not sure if that definition gets to the heart of what a blog is. It neglects the democratic aspect of blogging and it excludes other forms of blogging. Drezner's and Farrell's definition may pertain to only one type of blog.
Here's my crack at a definition:
A weblog is a web page written by individuals or a group of individuals with no or very little start up costs that is accessable to anyone with internet access.
The content of blogs varies. Some blogs contain links to information sources (other blogs, mainstream media, other internet sources) and offer commentary on these sources. Some blogs contain information about an individual's daily life. Some blogs have the potential to become a means of political organization. Some blogs are work related (I haven't read any of these, so I can't expand on this category).
Even though this definition requires more thought, I am going to publish this post so that I can get some feedback. E-mail me with ideas.
I have my academic hat on today.
Dan Drezner posted a definition of a blog yesterday and asked for comments.
A weblog is defined here as a web page with minimal to no external editing, dedicated to on-line commentary, periodically updated and presented in reverse chronological order, with hyperlinks to other online sources.
I'm not sure if that definition gets to the heart of what a blog is. It neglects the democratic aspect of blogging and it excludes other forms of blogging. Drezner's and Farrell's definition may pertain to only one type of blog.
Here's my crack at a definition:
A weblog is a web page written by individuals or a group of individuals with no or very little start up costs that is accessable to anyone with internet access.
The content of blogs varies. Some blogs contain links to information sources (other blogs, mainstream media, other internet sources) and offer commentary on these sources. Some blogs contain information about an individual's daily life. Some blogs have the potential to become a means of political organization. Some blogs are work related (I haven't read any of these, so I can't expand on this category).
Even though this definition requires more thought, I am going to publish this post so that I can get some feedback. E-mail me with ideas.
