The Interactive Canvas »
At least one blog is created every second. That is over sixty blogs in a minute, three-thousand six-hundred an hour and around thirty million blogs being created per annum. The world is becoming a blogging tapestry built on worldwide contributions — a global village of sorts.
What are the commonalities and differences between each blog, and what standards and ethics define them? Bloggers are painting the interactive canvas, a detailed picture of how the internet is changing the way we as humans interact and express ourselves. I would even say that it already has changed how we live.
Do you think blogs have had a profound effect on the way we live or our modern culture? Has blogging changed you personally?
I haven’t delved into post-modern philosophy since I graduated in June, so my brain is quite rusty.
Anyway, I think the standards or ethics the guide today’s blogs are heavily dependent on the niche the bloggers belong to. For a ‘make money online’ blog, plastering the layout with abs is acceptable. For a designer’s blogfolio, it’s not always the best thing to do. This niche standard is heavily reflective on society, since each blog is manned by someone who has a certain unique background.
From a PR perspective, this change in social media has changed the way organizations ’speak to’ the public. It is no longer top down, but a mutual conversation. The balance of power will surely change as a result.
I don’t think blogs itself have changed the way we live. It is social media as a whole (blogs, facebook, flickr, youtube etc) that has changed us. Our ‘reality’ has now been replaced by a virtual reality. There is less appreciation for tangible things like snail mail (appreciation other than seeing it as a relic of nostalgia)… or so says Arthur Kroker.
As for our personality, there is a tendency to display a facade online. Some try to create another personality, others reveal their shadows (I’m referring to Jung). And I’m sure that there are some that stay the same. Personally, I think I’m still the same, except that I censor some things. Think of it this way: you would never completely reveal yourself to a stranger, so why would you to a million strangers online?
Anyway, I’m fine in the virtual world or tangible world. It’s all the same to me. After all, I still laugh when I hear a funny joke – be it over Skype or over dinner.
This is a bloody long comment. I shall stop here. Gonna look forward to your next entry.
First and foremost, this is possibly one of the most visually impressive blogs I have ever visited.
4 months ago, I knew nothing about blogging whatsoever, so the fact that I am ‘wowed’ by this is testament to the way blogging is impacting people on a daily basis.
On the topic of testaments, I would like to argue that maybe Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were in fact founders of the original blog.
Sam
Blogging hasn’t changed me dramatically on a personal level, but I’ve been blogging in various places for about 5 years now, and I just genuinely enjoy it – especially reading back on stuff from a long time ago, it’s amazing to see how much I’ve changed as a person. On the other hand, I’ve always been intrigued by other people’s lives, so therefore reading others’ blogs kind of open up my eyes to the variety of lifestyles, etc of people all over the world; and I like reading about their ideas and plans about things, it keeps things interesting :).
“Dunbar’s number is the supposed cognitive limit to the number of individuals with whom any one person can maintain stable social relationships: the kind of relationships that go with knowing who each person is and how each person relates socially to every other person.” (Wikipedia)
The number cited is usually 150. All this social networking and “communication” going on, but how much of that is actually meaningful?
I think my limit is more like 50 online people. Yeah, blogging has changed my life – it made me realize that some OFFLINE relationships are more meaningful and satisfying FOR ME than ONLINE relationships. And that I have to spend more time cultivating those offline connections – family, friends, co-workers.