Blog All About It

Written by Mike and Paula Parker

This article is courtesy of HomeLife.

Back in the mid-90s, a small group of Web enthusiasts began posting their personal ruminations online in what were then called “web logs.” The content of these online journals was often political in nature, and the quality of writing ranged from inspired
to insipid. The term has since been compressed to blog, and the participants have exploded to, by some estimates, more than eight million people worldwide with four times that number reading them.

 Blogging represents a revolution of sorts. Bloggers shout their opinions on a variety of topics to anyone with an Internet connection. While some bloggers count their constituencies in the thousands, most have modest followings topping out at a few hundred. But thoughts once saved for the pages of private journals are now posted online for all the world to see — literally. Blogs are read by friends, family, and perfect strangers. They cover a vast number of topics, including everyday life, politics, news, entertainment, and spirituality.

While traditional mediums such as newspapers and television still represent the majority of public opinion, blogs are becoming increasingly influential in post-modern America. Bloggers have never felt the compulsion to provide a “fair and balanced” news account, but they are at least open and honest about their agendas. It was bloggers who incessantly hammered at the scandal that eventually forced Trent Lott to resign his position as Senate Majority Leader. They also hounded CBS over the shoddy investigative reporting procedures that led to “Rathergate.”

Blogging represents a quantum leap in publishing on a scale unheard of since the invention of the Gutenberg Press in 1455. Blogging allows ordinary citizens the ability to present their ideas directly to the public, without the need to please an advertiser or an editorial bias. And many are saying it’s a medium that Christians need to take an active role in. Australian blogger Martin Roth asserts that as Christians, we must be engaged in the culture and attempt to shape it — to be in the world but not of it. Blogging, he says, is a powerful way to do that.

Indeed, blogging provides an opportunity to speak into the current culture — for Christians to have a voice in the conversations society is having as a whole. And bloggers are definitely having conversations about faith and spiritual matters.

Still, with the benefits that online journals can provide, they can also perpetuate a false sense of connectedness and relationship among bloggers and readers. Even with the latest technology at our fingertips, we know that a face-to-face conversation is the best way to speak into the life of another human being.

Mike and Paula Parker write about media and culture from their home in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Visit their Web site at www.wordcrafts.net.

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