Bloggers invade the news sphere
The fall of newspapers and the rise of technology means that there is something getting in the way—blogs. From the more well-known Perez Hilton’s to the stay-at-home mom divulging family recipes, blogs are taking over the internet and, arguably, journalism as we know it.
Blogger.com is a website that gives people their own space to create whatever kind of blog they want, for free. On their homepage they explain, “A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world. Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules.” This description encompasses everything, which is why blogs are so popular—they appeal to everyone.
Blogs are popular because they break the conventions of journalistic writing so that people can simply hyperlink to their favourite stories, ramble about how their day went or comment on the latest news headlines.
A recent survey conducted by PR Week and PR Newswire looked at how bloggers perceived themselves. The survey revealed that 52 per cent of bloggers actually consider themselves journalists. Out of those 52 per cent, 20 per cent make money off of their blogs.
The evidence of blogging power can be seen by browsing your favourite newspaper’s website. Most, if not all newspapers have traditional stories on their websites as well as bloggers to give their own opinions. These blogs have proven to be very successful, often very heavily trafficked and commented on by readers.
Alex Williams, a writer for The New York Times, concludes, “The lines between ‘reporter’ and ‘blogger,’ ‘gossip’ and ‘news’ have blurred almost beyond distinction. No longer is blogging something that marginalized editorial wannabes do from home, in a bathrobe, because they haven’t found a ‘real’ job. Blogging now is a career path in its own right, offering visibility, influence and an actual paycheque.”
Some of the most famous bloggers have broken big stories and have been able to get them out to the public faster because of the immediacy of the internet. Perez Hilton, though nasty at times, has developed close relationships with celebrities who have given him inside scoops and access to some of the biggest award shows. He has created his own brand and become a celebrity himself.
Blogging has become so much of a career that people aren’t necessarily chasing the big jobs down anymore—they just want to be successful bloggers. Williams adds, “As more gossip action in a variety of fields moves online, young writers who might have hungrily chased an editorial assistant job at Condé Nast a few years ago now move to New York with the dream of making it as a blogger — either launching their own blog into the big time, à la Perez Hilton, or getting snapped up by a prominent blog network like Gawker Media or MediaBistro.”
Since blogging has become a business there are several websites dedicated to perfecting the craft. Problogger.net provides insight and tips into how users can make the most of their blog so that it gets traffic.
Darren Rowse, a contributor to problogger.net, says that when it comes to choosing a blog to write about, you have to pick your niche and something you’re interested in. Here are some other major things to consider:
Popularity: It doesn’t have to be the hottest thing going, and Rowse suggests that it isn’t because there will be too many similar blogs. However, you want to make sure you’re blogging about something that other people care about so that people will read what you have to say. If you check trending topics on Twitter or trends on Google, you will get an idea of what’s cool these days.
Competition: You don’t want to choose something that is already being written about and that is very popular. Put it this way—no one is going to look to your blog for the latest Lindsay Lohan drama. Think of something you already know about and can provide a good spin on, but don’t compete with Perez Hilton.
Sustainability: Make sure you choose a niche to write about that can still be written about in weeks and months to come. Don’t pick something too narrow that will be old news tomorrow. A successful blog will have something that can be written about every day so that your readers won’t get bored and so you won’t be feeding them something they’ve already read.
Following these three tips won’t make you an automatic blogging guru, but it will ensure that your blog will make it past week one.
According to the survey conducted by PR Week and PR Newswire blogs are also sources of research for other bloggers and journalists. People use blogs to check facts and read different opinions on whatever it is they’re interested in.
So if you’re good at writing and have a strong interest in something, why not write about it? You never know, someone could be tweeting about it one day.
