ging away. Some, such as Williams, blog
about their lives; others about their special
interests, for their businesses or as citizen
journalists.
A blog — short for “Web log” — is
nothing more than a series of articles, or
postings, put online in reverse chronological order. Blogs can be written by one person or several, password protected or open
for anyone to read. Some allow comments
from readers, and many include photos,
video clips and links to Web sites and other
blogs.
“For every interest, for every sub-inter-est, you can find a set of blogs,” says Fred
Stutzman ’00, a doctoral candidate in
UNC’s School of Information and Library
Science who studies how people use social
networking Web sites such as My Space
and Facebook. “Blogs can be anything
from following the daily life of someone to
a way for experts or those deeply interested
in something to share. ... There are blogs
about nonfiction and about record collections. Political blogs are a vanguard of the
blogging movement. And then there are
the sports blogs — if you look for Tar Heel
blogs, there are tons of them.”
Most people blog for their friends and
family, Stutzman says. “You’re blogging
ostensibly to be read, and knowing your
readers is a unique and interesting experience. Most bloggers don’t get a lot of
feedback, but people love getting comments.”
Stutzman himself keeps a blog called
Unit Structures on his research interests.
“In the type of program I’m in, a blog
becomes sort of necessary. When you study
information science, you’re studying the
dynamic changes that go on in this information environment, and blogs are a great
place to reflect and figure out where you
stand and where the community stands on
ongoing developments.”
Leigh Brown ’ 96, a Concord real estate
agent who keeps two blogs for marketing
purposes, says the medium suits Gen X
buying preferences. “We gather information from each other and from online
Blog Savvy
Blogs have been around long enough “To me, it offers a bit
now that bloggers have worked out ways to of redemption to be
protect their privacy, their reputations and able to talk about
their employability. these things. I don’t
“The reality of 2007 is that people are think I would want a
going to Google you,” Fred Stutzman says. job that would fire me
“You need to realize that a blog is a market- because I was so honing tool and be smart about it.” He recom- est on the page. But I
mends that job-seeking bloggers stay fully understand that’s
focused on their topic of interest rather than a luxury other people
their personal experiences. “Blogs that say ‘I can’t afford.”
got stuck in traffic, my life sucks so bad’ — Though he’s not
those types of blogs aren’t going to help concerned about guarding his private life,
anybody get a job.” he has worked out some rules for his blog.
Leigh Brown, who uses her blogs to pro- “I don’t give my addresses out,” he says.
mote her real estate business, is careful “There have been a couple times I’ve won-about the messages they convey. “Before I dered if I should keep a baseball bat by the
post, I try to think, ‘How would this strike bed. I made the prediction several years
me as a consumer? Would I want to read ago that someone would be stalked,
this?’ There are inherent limitations to any assaulted or worse because of their blog,
type of writing. You can’t hear sarcasm, and but I’m not worried about it for now.”
there are only so many emoticons you can He doesn’t mention anyone in his wife’s
put in without looking like a 15-year-old.” family by name. And though some others in
On the other hand, Ian Williams recog- the blogosphere frown on the practice, he
nizes that his career as a writer lets him be quickly removes any posting that hurts
unusually uninhibited on his blog. “I can someone’s feelings. “One of the most
speak freely about my drug use in the past important self-imposed rules is that I’m
and what a cad I was to women,” he says. never going to leave something on a blog
Bloggers
Revealed
■
12 million American adults keep blogs.
■
54 percent are under the age of 30.
■
55 percent use a pseudonym for their
blogs
■
84 percent say their blog is a “hobby”
or “something I do, but not something
I spend a lot of time on.”
■
59 percent spend one or two hours a
week tending their blog.
Source: Bloggers: A portrait of the internet’s new storytellers, July 19, 2006. Pew
Internet & American Life Project Surveys.
sources,” she says. She also likes the fact
that blogs encourage potential clients to
come to her. “My generation doesn’t like
to be sold to, we like to buy,” she says.
Continued on following page
that bums someone out.” Once he accidentally outed someone he thought was already
out, but he managed to take the post back
down before it caused any harm. “The only
people I don’t worry about bumming out are
fundamental Republicans,” Williams says.
He does wonder how his daughter, Lucy,
will react when she’s old enough to read
what he’s written about her babyhood. “I
think there are a few things she might be
embarrassed by, especially in grade
school,” he says. “But I hope my daughter
will see the blog has been a continuous
love letter to her. Also it’s useful. If I get in
an accident and lose my memory, my blog
is a primer on who I am.”
