blogging- the new global culture!

Cultural expert- Yeo Jia Wen

Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogs

REFLECTIONS

Firstly, let me give you a definition of a blog. "A blog is a website where entries are made and displayed in a reverse chronological order." Blogging is a product of globalisation. As people all over the world start to adopt common lifestyles through globalisation, blogging has evolved to become a new phenomenon, a new global culture.

Many people all over the world with internet access own a blog, and blogging has inevitably become a new global culture. It is no surprise that people predict, by 2007, the number of writers who maintain a personal website will reach 100 million. I guess this is not only due to the growth in popularity of this global culture (probably because it is simple for one to start a blog. This can greatly appeal to internet users to have a blog.), but also because more countries are undergoing modernisation and technology is being developed. This will allow the internet to be more accessible to everyone, and which is likely to lead to an increase in the number of bloggers.

People are also bringing in real life issues into their blog entries. One example would be the Iraq war. It may be the case that in the future, blogs may become a form of historical source to let people understand the past- the historical resources that people study in the future might very well be these blogs!

Blogs can indeed have a large influence in modern society today, as the use of the internet is part of many people’s lives in modern society today. This makes the spread of ideas through blogging extensive and fast. Ideas circulating in people’s blogs can greatly impact society. Even politicians are at risk of being threatened by blogs- As mentioned in the article, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott made controversial comments at a public event, but no major media organizations reported on his comments until after blogs broke the story. This created a political crisis for Lott and he was forced to step down as majority leader. Clearly, this new global culture is rather large scale and can thus be very influential in society. This is probably why some of the world’s politicians and political candidates are harnessing blogs as a medium to express their opinions of things happening around them- a large number of people will read these blogs, understand the intentions of these politicians, and may start to support them. As such, these politicians can win over the support of the masses.

However, people have to be very careful when they choose to participate in this new global culture. This is because information released in blogs is viewable by everyone. Take Singapore’s case as an example. Two ethnic Chinese were imprisoned after posting anti-Muslim remarks on their web blogs, as it jeopardized the country’s stability. As such, bloggers have to have enough social responsibility to be careful of the materials they release onto the net. In a way, this new global culture is beneficial for society as it encourages people to learn to be responsible of their actions in society.

As shown, through globalisation, blogging has become a popular and extensive activity carried out by many in the world today. It has evolved to become a large-scale global culture. As more countries become more developed, allowing the internet to be more accessible by people, and as the integration of culture and ways of living continues in the world, it is likely that more people will participate in this global culture of blogging in the future. The impact of this global culture on the world will thus be greater.