Taken From skyfallblue.com
Wikipedia defines a “blog” as a discussion or informational site published on the World Wide Web and consisting of discrete entries (“posts”) typically displayed in reverse chronological order (the most recent post appears first). To understand what a blog is you need to read them on a regular basis, much like watching a television series.
Which means that a “blogger” is a person that writes content for a blog revolving around a certain topic either from his/hers own experiences or from deriving information from other sources.
For a long time I was one of those people that did not understand how can one trust any information obtained from a blog. I mean how can you trust that the person posting this information is credible, or that they entirely understand the topic they are posting about.
Yet this all changed very recently as I came to understand the benefits behind having certain blogs across the globe and the affect they have on the lives of those that acknowledge their contributions.
Which raises the question: why do readers trust bloggers?
An obvious reason is that bloggers tend to be more transparent with the information they publish. Moreover, they take responsibility for any mistakes done on their behalf which helps gain the trust of readers.
Also, the majority of blogs are subjected to peer reviews by other bloggers, which generally helps in improving blogs and allows for lines of communication to be established. As well as, the fact that most blogs are not controlled by corporations which makes them more trustworthy seeing how regular individuals are sharing their content with other individuals.
Hayes et al. (2007) wrote in their article Shifting Roles, Enduring Values: The Credible Journalist in A Digital Age, about how bloggers are taking on the role of rectifying any misleading information the media has to offer along with establishing the idea that the pursuit of truth is better done collectively and not by journalists alone. This helps shed a light on the efforts bloggers are hoping to achieve with their words and thoughts.
Taken From travelbloggerspodcast.com
While on the other hand, Lazaroiu (2011) argued in his article The Language of Journalism Ethics, how online citizen journalists and bloggers are not obligated to uphold standard journalism ethical codes which renders them not to be trusted 100%.
Of course a clear example of the influence bloggers had on a current media issue was represented in the events taking place in Ferguson, Missouri. And how the efforts of bloggers working to uncover the story behind Michael Brown’s Death contributed in a much more positive manner than those of traditional media outlets.
While Rettberg (2013) argues in her book Blogging, particularly in chapter seven The Future of Blogging, about the notion of how people nowadays are keen on participating, sharing and contributing to the media. And that with the many and evident advances in technology the concept of “Participatory media” will only spread to reach all social media platforms the web has to offer.
Of course there are many factors that play a role in making a blogger more trustworthy to readers which helps them establish a credible image, for example having their bios, a photo of them preferably smiling and their contact information posted on their blog pages so that readers can feel more connected to them. Of course there are many other useful tips bloggers can use in order to help them establish an online influence, such as identifying clusters of interested readers and being able to reach them.
Taken From endlessblissblog.com
On a different note, Social4retail.com provides an infographic that revolves around various blogging statistics from the year 2014, ranging from how a blog can be a good asset to your business, the amount of money different bloggers earn and the ten highest earning blogs.
Finally, being a blogger enables you to reach a great number of people with the message you have, for it allows you to spread your thoughts and ideas freely. But having such power comes with great responsibility and it is the duty of bloggers everywhere to make sure that they reflect a positive image on blogging for readers all around the world.
haithem7 