The benefits of blogging

The Benefits of Blogging One benefit that blogging has over traditional ads and press releases is that it is very inexpensive. While a newspaper like the New York Times has to spend a lot of money on a building, writers, editors, and a press; all a blog needs is one person sitting at home on his or her computer. If a blogger is a good writer and knows the subject matter well, they can gain a following that rivals or exceeds that of a traditional journalist. A blogger who generates a lot of traffic to their website can also monetize the website by placing ads on it that link to other sites. Google Adsense is a very popular website monetizing program that has made it profitable for bloggers to share their stories and opinions online. Unlike traditional media, blogs also have the ability to expand a topic in a short amount of time, something that conventional article writing is unable to do (Palser, 2002). Blogs allow for a more interactive discussion as opposed to a passive reading. Also, hyperlinks to related material is a tremendous advantage for a blogger because the reader is able to easily find other information that is relevant and interesting to them. It is true that the days of waiting for the newspaper to come out and passively taking in formal information are all but over. People like blogs because they can comment and say what they think in an informal manner, which tends to give the blog more of a personality. People can also get the same information from a blog or website as they would from a newspaper a day after the news has taken place. Newspapers have taken hints from the new trend of blogging and many of them now implement their own blogs that feature their journalists. News companies have also hired popular bloggers to join their websites. Additionally, many journalists have created their own personal blogs in order to showcase more of their personality and help to attract a larger audience to their work and their various opinions (Palser, 2002). By taking part in the blogging phenomenon, reporters will be more competitive and relevant to the average reader. Another advantage of blogging is that it is able to bypass to media. More and more, organizations are seeing the importance of removing the media “ middle man” and communicating directly with the reader/customer. The “ Play (Hard) Ball!” article illustrates how this is accomplished in the sports world. By using these public relations methods, organizations are able to control the news that “ gets out” to a certain extent (Weintraub, 2007). Is this a good thing or a bad thing? For the organization it could be a good thing. On the consumer side, it may be preventing transparency because a company would typically suppress bad news because they only want good news to get out. This method could easily backfire if people realize that an organization is suppressing information. However, if an organization is able to divulge all important and relevant information to the end user, it could definitely be an advantage over the traditional system. Of course, the major question with blogs is the trustworthiness of the source. Are they as knowledgeable about a given topic as an expert? Are they supplying you with accurate information? As an answer to this one could easily pose the question, how do you know that a journalist is supplying you with accurate information? There are well known stories of journalists like Stephen Glass who fabricated more than half of his stories. More recently, it was discovered that a New York Times writer was doing the same thing. While these occurrences are likely more an exception than the rule, it shows how a reader can be fairly easily deceived whether it comes from an established source or a random blogger. This is true in the areas of blog advertising and traditional advertising as well. However, despite some exceptions, experts are more likely to be more credible than the average blogger, which is why one of the most critical things to a blogger’s success is establishing credibility in addition to possessing a strong fan base. There are talented and very qualified bloggers out there. The ones that typically rise to the top are those that write good content and advertise their blog effectively. More credibility and effective promotion leads to greater traffic which leads to more money for the blogger/company. References Glass, R. L. (2007). What’s with This Blog Thing? Ieee Computer Society, September/October 2007, 103-104. Palser, B. (2002). Journalistic Blogging. American Journalism Review, 24. 6, 58. Weintraub, R. (2007). Play Hard Ball. Columbia Journalism Review, 46. 3, 14-17.