Are Local Area Blogs Useful?

Blogs, basically individual opinion pieces courtesy of the Internet, have significantly grown in number over the past few years. One might say that they have become every man's (this includes women, of course) megaphone to the world. Blogs, while all over the map in terms of purpose, certainly have "democratized" the media!

So, the question arises: Do blogs really accomplish anything? The answer is that they probably do...maybe. And you might ask, "What kind of an answer is that?" On the positive side, blogs are useful since they tend to fill in the gaps left by the mainstream media. Newspapers, magazines, radio and television are wonderful, but limited by their understandable need to make a profit (good ol' capitalism) and their limited staffing and time resources. Blogs can hone in on any particular issue without worrying about the proverbial bottom line of money, time or ratings. After all, it is one individual's time and resources. And more often than not, it is many individual blogs operating independently on an issue which serve as effective time and resource multipliers. On the negative side of the ledger, blogs can be shrill, misinformed rants not based on anything approaching facts.

Using my own blog experience, I can say that I am willing to spend a few hours each week to "publish" at no charge to the reader my opinions (based, hopefully, on a sound knowledge gleaned from my teaching and political experience) on what is happening primarily in the greater Fresno area. To a lesser extent, I comment on state and national political and educational events. I would like to think that my relatively small readership finds my comments interesting and helpful in improving the quality of life in Fresno.

The growth of blogs is particularly noticeable chronicling small-town life. Some of what is being reported is simply local gossip, true or otherwise. People are naturally nosey and love to learn about the foibles of others. Some local blog reporting, however, has garnered major journalistic scoops. While it may be local in nature, these scoops are very important to the people living in these communities.

The jury is probably still out on the value of local blogs like mine. It's almost impossible to determine if they have a significant "value-added" quality beyond the "regular" news or whether they simply add to the noise clutter in the 24/7 news cycles. Blogs are, I believe, a constructive outlet in a democracy allowing individuals to air their thoughts and feelings. In that sense, I would give blogs a qualified thumbs up.

Now let's see what the next electronic marvel brings.

Coming Soon. . .

1. What about an Orchids and Onions Award to recognize the good and not-so-good in Fresno?
2. Stop with the state bonds and start paying as we go!

Comments are welcome. Click on "Comments" below or e-mail me at abriancalhoun@gmail.com.