Ever since tools like wordpress and other blogging engines have become popular on the web, a lot of people have started writing. It is phenomenal that people, including myself, have discovered that they really wanted to write and be read. I guess there is some vanity in that, as well as pride when other people ‘follow’ one’s blog. But it seems that the majority of such writings are really not much more than a commentary on what’s going on in the world anyway. I come across a plethora of blogs that started with the intention of the author to examine a particular subject in depth, but somehow lost their focus. Instead, they turned to writing about the current news, and their opinions of the news. What is interesting is that their opinions are still not surfaced. In a majority of the cases, they simply report the news, and link to some other reporter’s original blog. However, there is a mad rush among such blogs to jump on a news item quickly.
What is striking though, is that this still instills in the authors a sense of achievement, even though they are neither responsible for the news, nor for the opinions, or even the breaking of the news itself. But if even 200 people read their blogs, it makes the author of such blogs feel a certain amount of pride. This is the result that most blogs turn away from a specific topic, and instead talk more about the various things of interest to the author. This is neither a good, nor a bad thing. The striking point here is that the author assumes that the topics of interest to himself will also be of interest to other people. And it is! As there is more and more power in the hand of the consumer, those consumers tend to go for the things of interest to them. Thus, if the blogger enjoys gardening, celtic music, and packers football, there is a great chance that someone else who is interested in gardening, but not in football will still follow the blog. In doing so, the reader is actually introduced to newer ways of looking at football, as well as a sense of belonging since someone with similar interests in gardening is also interested in football. In this sense, the blog certainly brings the world closer.
Whether authors write original opinions or commentary, there is a lot of information out there. What was considered news earlier is nothing more than opinions, either structured or unstructured. Current trends suggest that both have a place in the act of dissemination of information. However, the real challenge will be in how we can filter information effectively for a specific purpose.
Information Overload 