“What is the difference between Blogging and Journalism?”

Before we continue we must first of all find out what the two really are and then we will be able to identify the difference between them.

So then, what is blogging?  Blogging was actually created by Justin Hall. It all started in 1994 when many witness the   birth of the first blog. According to creative blog,  It was  called  Links.net  – a place where  creator  Justin Hall could share his musings and  his favorite  links  with the world .  It was a page where he could express himself, share his ideas and content on the web (Creative blog).

As years went by and technology progressed   in 1997 ,  many people started using their own personal websites as a place  to spotlight their ideas, the term “ weblog” was coined and  shortened to “ blog”   in 1999( Creative blog) .

People needed a place to share ideas, thoughts, express their feelings, and experiences. They found that having a place where you could share ideas and express yourself was an ideal way to share intimate information with people who are very close to you, friends and family.

According to creative blog,   when people first started blogging   they did not have to share it on Facebook or join a content network   or outwardly promote it. It was actually private   and people shared it with people they knew and they knew where to find them.

Before, blogging grew to what we know it today,   early blogger’s hosted contents on sites like Xanga. It was founded in 1998, and live journal in 1999.  Both were simple to use,  but  were  mostly  only able  to swap  out colors schemes  and minor  layout pieces, but very  effective  at allowing users to publish  quickly  and easily( Creative blog).

Many people became very interested in this new thing that they started looking beyond their intimate circle for more information to read. They started exploring, looking for the best blog and content on the web.    Blogging actually gained it roots when Charlotte Observer set up its blog and used it to share information in mainstream news something that had not been done before.  They used it and kept people informed. The Bonnie Blog set   records for page views on the observer’s site. They also set the stage along with Drudge reports breaking of the Clinton –Lewinsky scandal, for a major shift in the way blogging platform were used (Creative Blog).

Soon people started showing interest in blogging and online news.  They needed to find new ways on how to manage the content and share these ideas with the public.  According to creative blog, I n 2003 Google launch AdSense, this allowed bloggers to earn income for their work.  Soon many people were blogging. This gave them the opportunity to earn an income for the work that they do. Now it has become a profession for some people whereby they learn how to blog and make money. As we have seen what was once consider to be expression of people’s feelings , passion, ideas , thoughts and what was  going on around the world, like current events has evolve to a whole new phenomenon. Blog is abbreviated of “Weblog,”   it is used to describe websites that maintain an ongoing chronicle of information.  A blog is like a personal diary type commentary and links to articles on other websites.   It ranges from personal to political and can focus on concerns of the people. It is a place where most people feel very free to write and share their concerns.

Add context to a story by linking and commenting on other material found online.  Basically  when journalist blogs , they express their view about the issues surrounding whatever they are reporting on and even does it better because there are no restrictions  like when they are actually doing journalistic work.  To be a journalist one needs an academic training or formal training from a reputable school of journalism.  To be a blogger one needs a website and need to know how to express him or herself by writing.

Simply, blogging is viewed by many as unreliable because it’s someone’s opinion and the other one is viewed as reliable because one has to verify the source of the information before it can be broadcast the world. However, I think it is a perception issue of what the public view as reliable or unreliable and I say this because when we look at the evolvement of blogging over the years we can infer that blogging has become a huge deal that even major companies are using blogs to promote their businesses on their websites  and different forums. It has become one of the reliable sources that most people rely on to read and make decisions about whether they want to do business with the firm, purchase from them or inquire about what they do and what it entails.  As mentioned before, even journalist  and others have taken to blogs in order  to share information with others.