Though these blogs cover interests far and wide--endeavoring with scandals, technological innovations, taste tests, and environmental issues--to suit readers with more specific tastes, I feel that some of those listed were a bit ridiculous, and not professional enough for my liking as a journalist.
Take Icanhascheezburger for instance. Ranking ninth on the list, the site entails pictures of cats with humorous captions. While this is great for a few laughs, there is no news or cultural value among the entire blog except a mockery of Generation X. To me, blogging should be used to document our age of history, not pointless nothings.
On the flipside, some of these listed blogs do serve a clearer, news-related purpose. Michelle Malkin, a political columnist and author from the right, found her fame with blogging. In a profession with a predominance of men, she details her take on what Democrats are doing wrong with a conservative bias. The Blogging Age has made Malkin "one of the most influential women online," according to the Observer article.
While most of these blogs are of interest to occasional browsers, the bloggers use strong biases and often write of topics too particular for a person uneducated on the subject matter to follow. It is difficult for me to see how this list is more popular than all other blogs, but I suppose it is because of how often they are clicked and shared.
I agree with you when you say that some of the blogs were ridiculous. And to think that we will be tested on that list...
ReplyDeleteAnyway, your remark about the fact that a lot of the blogs are devoid of any cultural value got me to thinking, could this simple-minded non-culture become our culture? It just seems that between YouTube sensations, shallow reality shows, and public journalism, people’s values, culture, and brainpower are circling the drain. Is this just another case of me being overdramatic, or do we really have a deluge of stupid coming our way? Is there any hope for intelligence?!