Submission ( May 2, 2012 11:40:43 PM PDT )
Submission Materials
Submission Field :
Alissa Gray
Spring 2012
Comp 447
Term Paper
Due Date:
May 2,2012
Blog vs Newsgroup
Considering that I have been writing blogs for the last couple of years, I thought that this was the best topic to choose for my term paper. Blogs became popular in the mid 1990s with OpenDiary, and later followed with LiveJournal, and our beloved Blogger (later bought by Google in 2003). It was first called Weblogs, short for web journals or journals on the Internet, to share or even keep private. Since then technology has expanded to the point that we can even blog from our phones, almost instantly.
Usenet (a mix between the weblogs and newsgroups) is basically a worldwide system of discussion boards, (sometimes called ‘Online Bulletins’) where users can submit articles and reply/post new article, commenting on those articles. It was very similar to what we call weblogs or blogs, with less control to the individual users. Usenet allows for phenomenal discussions on a global scale.
There are many similarities between blogs and Newsgroups, like posting via client and web, secured posting, threaded discussions, client apps to read information, galleries/categories, and more. They have simple aspects in common like anonymous posting and posting via web because they both use http and standard web browser. Secured posting, blogs and newsgroups have in this common but newsgroups have application-based security versus the usual implementation of network credentials that blogs provide. When posting client apps, blogs implement the post via http, which helps those behind firewalls more than newsgroups, which just have nntp. Newsgroups are threaded discussions, which are online discussions that resemble virtual conversations. Blogs similarly try to implement this idea with comments, but the end user may have to go back to the blog site to read the comment...and usually the author of the post receives the comment in an email, then has to launch their blog client to respond. Another feature in common is searching and archiving but newsgroups are much less comprehensive in this area. Blogs have categories and galleries but newsgroups just have categories you subscribe to on the news server; picture a blog as a news server, and the categories as the newsgroups.
There are a lot of differences between bogs and newsgroups, from how you read them to how you write them. As a writer of a newsgroup, you can make a decision of what you want to read and stay current on the latest discussions. The downfall is that you have no choice but to read through all threaded posts, whereas with blogs, all you need to do to keep updated is to subscribe, and there will be a new updates and posts sent to you to read whenever you want. You can subscribe or unsubscribe to any feeds or postings from groups, people, places, etc. You can market and brand blogs, unlike with newsgroups where you can’t really brand discussion or groups. New readers usually ruin discussion and groups if they don’t know what they are doing, and you can’t kick them out or get rid of them. With blogs, new readers and comments look good, because it makes your blog look much more enticing and interesting (like supply and demand), and if you don’t like what someone has to say, you can ignore them. In Newsgroups, the value of the group diminishes as fewer and fewer personalities join into the group discussion, and the discussion gradually dissipates. Most newsgroups have a similar pattern of being extremely valuable when they start out, because they are usually highly motivated conversations stimulated by passionate leaders, but over time, the threads become irrelevant. When this happens, discussions become loud noise that pollutes other discussions, and eventually leads to the death of the group. Unlike blogs, which grow in value and get refined with every new post, feed, reply and reply. If blog content ever deteriorates, you can always unsubscribe, because it is only one voice of many of a community.
Blogs have the power to illustrate enpowerment and increased availability of information, but they can also illustrate the avalanche of gossip and inaccurate, as well as, useless information on the Net. Blogs are useful in all areas of life, from large companies, to virtual classrooms, to your very own mini journal of you life, ‘”L ike the life of a 29 year old CSU Channel Islands Student”. There are thousands of incorrect blogs out there, and yes, many quickly transform into gossip or what you would consider an “Avalanche of gossip”, but I truly believe that as long as people have something to say, blogs will exist and thrive. It’p s like freedom of speech at it’s finest, worldwide. One can tell their life story and their hard struggles: for instance, battling with cancer, or having a horrible traumatic childhood. It also could be a way for people to discuss foreign topics, or even share jokes. Blogs are like your own personal palette, you can either choose to taste yummy stuff, or yucky stuff. Some choices are empowering, and others are ridiculous. With blogs, you can report the truth in a juicy trivial way, considering it gossip, or you can deliver the truth in a serious, vital for your everyday life, kind of way and consider it truth. That’s the wonderful thing about blogs, you can go any way you want with them.
"One Thing You Don't Need to Be an Entrepreneur" by Fred Wilson (founder of Union Square Ventures and ave.com) is definitely a noteworthy blog to read. It was very inspirational and motivating. He has written several postings on how to successfully thrive without even getting a degree. Everything is possible, you don’t have to be an entrepreneur and/or have a degree to be happy and successful. For example, "Entrepreneurs don't need degrees like lawyers and doctors do. They are credentialed by virtue of their track record."
"First, ten" by Seth Godin (founder of Squidoo and sethgodin.typepad.com) is another noteworthy blog I came across on when I was training for my last job thatintrigued me. Seth Godin has a way with his writing that makes him one of the most popular bloggers out there. With his thought provoking wit and sense of humor, I’m always thoroughly entertained by his blog. The content is about online marketing (boring) but he explains everything in a much more interesting way! I appreciate how funny he is as he explains such a boring topic as search engine optimization (which I offered to companies in my last job as a SEO Account Manager). A good part from one of his posts was, “This, in two words, is the secret of the new marketing. Ten People. Find Ten people who trust you/respect you/need you/listen to you...Those ten people need what you have to sell, or want it. And if they love it, you win. If they love it, they'll each find you ten more people (or a hundred or a thousand or, perhaps, just three). Repeat."
"Facebook Firing" Seen Aiding Worker Free Speech", by CBS news,
This article explains the employer action against Dawnmarie Soouza for blogging on facebook about her terrible job, and how she got fired for it. This woman and Facebook changed US history forever.The freedom of speech rights expanded to the web, and you can vent and write anything you want about your job, and your workplace can't use it against you anymore. Say good bye to Workplace-Blackmail using Facebook!
Works Cited
Annoyous. "History of Blogging." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 Jan. 2012. Web. 02 May 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_blogging>.
Godin, Seth. "First, Ten." Seth's Blog. Typepad.com, Apr. 2009. Web. 02 May 2012. <http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/04/first-ten-.html>.
"Newsgroups and Blogs." Inc.com. Inc.com, Jan.-Feb. 2005. Web. 02 May 2012. <http://www.inc.com/encyclopedia/newsgroups-and-blogs.html>.
"When Did Blogs Start? Who Was the First Person to Blog?" Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo! Web. 02 May 2012. <http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060920000740AA2Ftvn>.
Wilson, Fred. "One Thing You Don't Need To Be An Entrepreneur: A College Degree." AVC:. AVC.com, 26 Feb. 2009. Web. 02 May 2012. <http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2009/02/one-thing-you-dont-need-to-be-an-entrepreneur-a-college-degree.html>.
CBS NEWS. ""Facebook Firing" Seen Aiding Worker Free Speech." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 12 Feb. 2011. Web. 03 May 2012. <http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500202_162-7340921.html>.
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