Barlow Chp 2

In Com430z, I was assigned to read Aaron Barlow’s chapter “The Blog in Society” from the book “Blogging America: The New Public Sphere”.

In this chapter Barlow takes a look at just how effective the blogosphere (blogging community) has become within our society today. In doing this a focus is placed on various elements of the growing relationship between the blogosphere and society. Of these relationships it’s shown how the blog presents certain concerns of security for those whom are using it. Some of these security issues included harassment and plagiarism. These issues have come to rise due to the bloggers (blog users) anonymity within these social networks. People violate the norms of communication simply because they feel no one can find them or suspect it’s them doing so. Barlow uses an example of a blogger named Kathy Sierra whom encountered this very problem when a few people decided to post anonymous threatening comments on her blog. Kathy’s story is just one of the many horror stories that sweep the blogging world every day. It’s also stated that a number of people have had their ideas stolen and used by people within the blogosphere without any acknowledgements. In an attempt to combat this growing problem Barlow discusses how some bloggers like Tim O’Reilly have banded together to create a “Blogging Code of Conduct”. This code of conduct would help to eliminate some of the problems that have emerged within the blogosphere. It would also help to alleviate some of the concern many new bloggers feel about making their information visible to the public. It could even lead to more people becoming involved in the blogosphere because they would feel a lot more protected.

After reading this chapter I have become very aware of how fast the blogosphere is growing. I have also noticed just how difficult it has become to regulate the new environment effectively. This chapter does an excellent job at pointing out why some users stray from blogs and why others violate it. I like how the chapter gives great insight into what can be done to combat these worries that many users face with the blog. I also strongly think that what Barlow brings up in this chapter could be very useful to the blogging community if they want to see it expand in the future. All in all I really feel that with the emergence of the code of conduct the blog could actually become a very useful medium of communication.