The Power of eCommunication

“The blog is yesterday’s parachute pants. It’s here now but it’s gone tomorrow”.
--Jared Leto of the rock band 30 Seconds to Mars

Those were the controversial words of musician-rocker/actor Jared Leto who has made public his aversion to blogs and presumably everything that the new media represents in an interview published in a popular video gaming website. Click here to read the entire interview.

The crux of Leto’s beef with blogs is that he thinks blogs are not journalism and offer a distorted view of reality. He believes there are a lot of irresponsible bloggers out there with their own agenda and to consider their work as news is absurd. He thinks that bloggers’ main preoccupation is the pursuit of advertising dollars and fame.

Regardless of what Leto thinks as well as the others who dismiss blogs as merely a fad, the reality is otherwise.

According to www.technorati.com, as of the date of this entry, there are now 56.9 million blogs. And the number of blogs and bloggers is growing by leaps and bounds.

It is interesting to note how blogs have progressed thus far, considering its humble beginnings as merely a means to provide commentary on a particular subject or issue. Blogs of today are a ‘universe’ – wide-ranging in content and purpose. More than just a means to react, modern blogs have evolved to become a space to chronicle, broadcast, view, listen, share, react, interact and connect. All of this has changed the face of the so-called ‘blogosphere’.

In my own researching and ‘googling’ for blogs, a few interesting ones have come up.

Blogging has taken the ‘extreme’ – from cyberspace to outer space! Blogs are now being used by expeditioners to document their adventures, allowing the public to get first-hand information on their experiences, in almost real-time. Apparently the earliest blogs of this sort – ‘space blogs’ – consisted of diaries of US astronauts posted on the NASA website.

With news and events happening within one’s own backyard having the most appeal, it is no wonder that local community blogs are now also gaining popularity. This U.S. blogsite features local community news and provides community members and locals with space for articles such as weddings, births, seminars, garage sales, etc. Even road traffic that everyone had to go through during the day can be a topic for discussion.

Want to help ‘fuel the social music revolution’? This hobbyist-social networking blogsite allows its members to find their ‘musical soulmates’. It’s basically a site where you can post your music and meet and interact with others who share your own musical tastes. Exchange tracks and tidbits on your favourite artists, and if you’re single and looking, you could find a date in there with someone whose preferences would approximate yours.

For the many aspiring writers out there who are waiting on their first big break to get published, this blogsite may be the answer. It’s a site where you can write your own book, then share, publish and sell them! And no, you don’t need to find a publisher who will be willing to invest in your manuscript. You don’t even need to be a writer or a novelist in the strict sense of the word – all you need are a brilliant idea and story to write down, and you’re on your way to getting published and selling your literary creation.

The almost limitless possibilities for interaction that blogs can create give us reason to believe that blogs are not a flash in the pan, contrary to what Leto thinks. Given the rapidly changing technology, blogs may further evolve in form, usage and purpose.