The World of Blogs: A view from an addict.

If 2006 was the year of MySpace, 2007 the year of Bebo, and 2008 the year of Facebook then surely 2009 is the year of the blog. Unless you have never been on the internet, then it is likely that at least once (even unknowingly) you have visited a blog site. Popular web-sites such as XKCD.com, PerezHilton.com, Twitter and Fail Blog are all underpinned by blogging technologies.

In the past ten years, blogging has developed from a few paedophiles recording their fantasies in online diaries to a mass used web publishing system that is changing the face of modern media. In the same way that social network has evolved from a few geeks in a university dorm room to a socially accepted norm, modern blogs are vastly different to the online diary which they superseded, and in some ways are the perfect merger of the online diary, discussion forums and Web 2.0 technologies. Most modern blogs have embedded video, music and photos as well as the ability for readers to add their own two cents through publicly viewable comments which often result in flame wars. Today, blogs primarily cover three broad areas: social/personal blogging; political blogging and news blogging.

Social blogging in New Zealand is not as popular or as widespread as in other countries. I was first introduced to blogging in late 2005 by an international student from Malaysia who was very concerned that I, as a major computer geek, did not have a blog nor knew anyone else who did. Upon first reading her blog I was shocked with the amount of personal detail that was revealed; everything from them going to the supermarket that morning to details of her crushes and innermost secrets.

For some people, their blog becomes an extension of themselves, a loudhailer broadcast to the whole world, which naturally has its consequences. What you post online remains forever, so when you get into a disagreement with someone, having what you posted blogged used as ammo against you can sometimes do some major damage.