Blogs and the Blogging Communities

"You know, some of the good part of blog theory was that blogs would be like diaries that the world could read"

-Gregg Easterbrook-

As of year 2008, the blog search engine, Technorati was tracking more than 130 millions blogs . These blogs often deals with subjects regarding to politics, entertainments, arts, fashion, food and others. Wikipedia (2007) classified blogs that focus on :

• Art ( artlogs)


• Video(vlogs)


• Sketches (sketchlog)


• photography( photoblogs)


• Mixed media (tumbleblogs)


• Hyperlink (linklogs)

Blogs can also be categorized into other types which fairly share the same functions as the one stated above. As Simons said in an interview with the ABC net(Media Report, 2008) , blogs can also be classify into other media type such as Exhibition blogs, which share the same function as artlogs. Bloggers usually post their artworks and creative work in these blogs for display purposes.

Besides that, There are also the Pamphleteering Blogs and Diary Blogs which bloggers share their perspective on issues such as politics and bits that evolve around in their personal life. These blogs often includes snapshots, videos, and others which can be called as a tumblelogs as well.

Check out these blogs :
Exhibition blog : < http://artclubcaucasus.blogspot.com/ >
Pamphleteering Blog + Diary Blog : < http://bojack.org/ >

Building a Community:
The cybecommunity is very amusing, when they like what they are reading, it is very likely that they will bookmark it and return to view it every now and then. These communities often share the same interest; they tend to interact with one another (White, 2006). For example, the fashion blogging community often shares their point of view on the latest fashion trend and posts snapshots regarding the hottest Milan fashion designers shows. Usually there are permalinks that links to other fashion websites.
Besides, the members can also leave comment for each post; they can even upload images on the blogs. E.g : the blogging community that built from the “I am Fashion’ blog <http://iamfashion.blogspot.com/ >

Although there are so many blogs type around the Net. However, all of them share almost the same principle. These blogs often involve three signifying systems, all serving to structuring text, bringing a multimodal page and being informative as well as a meaningful whole. It can also be identify as three concepts which is Salience, Framing and Information value. ( Kress & Van Leeuwen, 1998, p.187,188)

References:

• Kress, G & van Leeuwen, T 1998, ‘Front page : (the critical) analysis of newspaper layout’ , Approaches to Media Discourse, Blackwell, Oxford.
• Media Report : A Taxonomy of Blogs 2008, online, retrieved 12th June 2009 , from <http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2008/2372882.htm#transcript>
• Technorati: State of the Blogosphere 2008, online, retrieved 12th June 2009, from < http://technorati.com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere// >
• Wikipedia: Blog 2009, online, retrieved 12th June 2009, from < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog >
• White, N 2006 , Blogs and Community – Launching a New Paradigm fro Online Community , online, retrieved 13th June 2009, from < http://kt.flexiblelearning.net.au/tkt2006/edition-11-editorial/blogs-and-community-%E2%80%93-launching-a-new-paradigm-for-online-community >