The term personal blogging, an element of Weblogging, is described as an online diary or journal, such as LiveJournal and Blurty, that are user and time stamped (Blood, 2000). The layout of personal blogging, namely online journals, makes it possible for the average Joe to create and post their own thoughts, desires, and emotions easily.
All blogging is personal in some sense, differing in context and intensity, as weblogging involves people creating their own blog individually. Although personal blogging has adapted to being used as a research/learning tool it mainly serves as a self-satisfying release, a form of expressionism - consisting of someone’s individual thoughts, ideas and opinions.
Personal blogging is used by some people to reveal their every day experiences; express their emotions and illicit thoughts and to publish their works. Other users are able to look at and comment on different people’s personal blogs, fulfilling to a certain extent Tim Berners-Lee's original view of the World Wide Web as a collaborative medium (Wikipedia, 2004).
Another application of personal blogging is the general history of weblogging, which encompasses how blogging emerged into the Internet mainframe, i.e. who invented it and the first weblog; blogging’s place in today’s society, including examples of popular weblogs and where it is going in the future, i.e. other types of weblogs. The history of blogging is well documented by several ‘famous’ bloggers such as Rebecca Blood and Cameron Barrett who put a personal spin on it.
2001 saw the rise of personal blogging to mainstream media and as a result of this, online diaries began to increase dramatically and become an integral part of the daily lives of many people. A Case Study called “Women and Children Last: The Discursive Construction of Weblogs� states that not only is personal blogging the most popular type of weblog, it is also dominated by teenage females (Herring, Kouper, Scheidt & Wright, 2003) who along with the general category of teenagers use blogging as an outlet. The subtopic described is interested in specific, individual examples from several teenagers with different lifestyles and offers an interpretation of why they use online blogging and how effective it is for their particular situation.
The applications of personal blogging extend much further than an outlet for teenagers. Another aspect of personal blogging is the cultural and social implications. For example, following the terrorist attacks of 911 in America, the downfall of Sadam Hussein and the War on Iraq many people in foreign countries of all cultures, especially women began using blogging to get their voices heard and find freedom of speech in a place, the blogging forum, where they could not be persecuted.
Gender and personal blogging are terms that go hand in hand. The cultural and social application of personal blogging is actually an essential subtopic for gender-based blogging. In the blogging world gender refers to the way that males and females use blogging, what types of blogs they use and the purpose that it serves. The case study on the usage habits of genders, referred to above, will be harnessed for this section.
Personal blogging has evolved in format and meaning from initially being just an online diary/journal to today where its applications serve cultural, emotional and informative purposes. In this case blogging is used as a form of education. People who embark in educational blogging don’t just do so for personal reasons. The main users - educational facilities and the employees, teachers, librarians and scholars - are harnessing the powers of personal blogging and have created several blogging sites that are focused on improving the way that students learn (Richardson, 2004).
For example, the learning place, an Education Queensland site, enables teachers to share their class notes; post questions; chat in various forums and search for information on certain topics – basically everything that will help them to teach more effectively and have confidence in their skills. However educational blogging is not just about the education system. It is also about using other people’s blogs as a source of information, a facility to broaden people’s minds and where they can learn new things – it’s like another kind of search engine.
Personal blogging is an important aspect to the overall topic of Weblogging because it provides a window of opportunity for people of all ages, genders, cultures, social classes, and races to express themselves. It is a way of educating, informing, communicating, confessing and a way to get beyond cultural, social and gender-based boundaries. It provides an insight into the more private things that people do and how other people understand and interpret these blogs. In the blogging world there are no wrong answers and people cannot be judged - it is the perfect outlet.
Hailey Puller 08:17, 28 Oct 2004 (EST)
