Week 1: What is the biggest issue facing blogging, citizenship and the future of media?

Increase and growth of blogs in the past few years has raised many issues regarding blogs. The accessibility and ease of using blogs has contributed to their popularity. People are able to communicate their thoughts and opinions without being restricted by society and norms. But like all types of media, blogs have their share of criticism and problems. Some of these issues of blogging are free speech, anonymity, credibility, quality, bias, and ethics.

I feel that accountability is the biggest issue facing blogging because it is the heart of all the problems. All the issues brought up can possibly lead back to accountability and the ability to state something and not be responsible for it. As we all know, the Internet is extremely deregulated and what we read or view on the Web can possibly be fake or biased. When a blogger says something on their blog, we know very little of their motives or personal view of the world.

By not having the responsibility to be correct and accountable, bloggers can say whatever they please. This leads to issues of quality, free speech, and ethics. If a blogger says something offensive or bias, they can get away with it without having to suffer from the repercussions that journalist must face when they write their columns. In the real world, journalist may lose their jobs due to not being accountable and they must maintain good quality in their columns in order to keep their jobs. However as a blogger, being not accountable and having poor quality posts don’t affect them other than lower visits to their blog. They can filter comments and feedback and edit their posts whenever they please while journalist must stand by what they write.

Though being unaccountable is a major problem, there are many blogs that offer very insightful and though out content that is backed up by reliable sources. The blogs that aren’t accountable can be viewed as a source of entertainment rather than information. Viewers keep revisiting blogs that create controversy and even though they may be bias, it is entertaining and that is reason blogs continue to grow.