Political Blog: Because I have an opinion

So whats a political blog anyway?

A political blog is a type of written journal (it also can adopt different formats) that focuses on the topic of politics. Whether to rant or rave these blogs provide a unique outlook or point of view that differs from traditional media such as television, radio, and newspapers. Often these standard “uncontrolled media” outlets are criticized for being part of large conglomerations that may have certain political agendas.

the right to vent...

Freedom of speech and the right to pass judgment on the government we live in is a fundamental right. Although sometimes these rights are curbed or limited in lieu of public safety (such as during war time), it is still never the less the right of everyone to voice there opinions.

Bias...

“Political blogs often have a clearly stated political bias. Although mainstream media news is often presented as impartial, bloggers believe that it does in many cases have a hidden political agenda. Stating political bias at the outset is therefore seen as being more honest. On the other hand, blogs are often seen as being too anonymous and lacking in factual reliability to be trustworthy. However, they can serve as a soapbox for opinions not represented in mainstream media.^”

And the blog I chose is...

The blog I have focused on is called Finnerty’s Democratic Blog You can use the following link to get there: http://www.seanfinnerty.com/

Sean Finnerty started his blog in March of 2005. He focuses on local and national politics. As a citizen of New York, his blogs tend to focus on state policies. Finnerty is 28 years old and born in May 21-June 21 (the information on his profile stated that he was a Gemini.) He works as a political campaign staffer, so he is does has some amount of expertise on the subject. I was also unable to get a rank on technorati for this blog.

I was fairly impressed with Finnerty’s blog. It is written clearly and concisely in a rather easy to read format. Although it is obviously slanted (as Sean himself has clearly stated simply by the title of the blog), he does a good job at being as fair as possible. He uses quotes, outside information, and videos to keep the reader interested. He does employ the use of comedy to poke fun at things he disagrees with but he is never outright nasty (which is very impressive.) Excessive mudslinging leaves a bad taste in any reader’s mouth and it isn’t persuasive in the least. (We have all seen the annoying commercials and don’t need them in written format)

According to Alina Thorton’s : Does Internet Create Democracy ?

“Communication in modern democracies can be broadly divided into two main notions (Dahlgren, 1995):

1. a democratized media, or participatory and alternative media including computer-mediated communication; and

2. social movements and groups using these media actively for social change."

I will attempt to argue that blogs absolutely affect local politics:

Since social movements use media for social change, one can argue that a large social movement centers on elections, politics, and new policies. The internet is a form of media and uses things like Youtube, Online Radio, and Written journals (which a blog is) to promote change.

For an example look at the Youtube political debates, this is one example of how the internet affects politics.

When looking at internet blogs it is simply a matter of getting your opinion out to others. In traditional media not everyone is able to voice their opinions. For example with television not everyone is able to have their own show & furthermore biased opinions are often represented. With newspapers you might be able to get an article in your local opinion column but still you have limits on your audience (limited to subscribers and people in your region.) It is still a rarity to get your opinion in the paper. A blog is a wonderful way to voice you opinion because you literally have an unlimited potential audience. It also works great because there is no limit to the amount you post and almost no limit in what you say.

Sources:
Thornton, A. (2002). Does Internet Create Democracy? Retrieved October 23, 2007 from http://www.ublearns.buffalo.edu/com125

Political Blog. Wikipedia. Retrieved October 26, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_blog

Link to assignment 9

Online or Offline : Personal or Impersonal ?

“A virtual community, e-community or online community is a group of people that primarily interact via communication media such as letters, telephone, email or Usenet rather than face to face.” - Wikipedia

Some examples of online communities include:

Facebook, Craigslist, MySpace, and Livejournal.

In contrast an offline community is:

A community is a social group of organisms sharing an environment, normally with shared interests. In human communities, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks and a number of other conditions may be present and common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness. - Wikipedia

Some communities are defined by:

Region (for example the Buffalo community), Guilds for ex: Teachers (if you are an educator you may belong to this), Interest Groups: Art (say you’re a, fan or collector)

What do these communities have in common? COMMUNICATION

“ The structural process that is associated with community is communication. Without communication there can be no action to organize social relations. The intimate nature of this relationship is best illustrated in the words community and communications. Both words stem from same Latin root word, communis, which means common. Communis is a paired formation of the Latin etymons for either apparently there is some disagreement together (cum) and obligation (munis) or together and one (unus). By the time it appeared in English, common had a meaning that was in contradistinction to togetherness.”

Online Communities differ in several ways from offline communities one of these ways is…

Mode of communication:

Online - Generally online communities use internet sources such as listserves, Instant Messaging, and web forums to stay in touch.

Listserves-

Provide contact through email to all members

Instant Messages-

Provide contact via messages that happen in real-time from one or person to another.

Web Forums-

Provides contact where various people in the community can exchange information for others to see and react to.

Offline- Generally offline communities use other mediums of communication such as face-to-face, mail, and telephone.

Face-to-face-

Contact between one or more persons in the group in person ex: a meeting

Mail-

A mass distribution of mail is sent to all group members

Telephone-

One member contacts another through the phone, conference calling is also an option, where more than one member can communicate

Problems w/ communities:

- They may be difficult to form: Maybe you have an obscure passion; it may be hard to find enough people to be a part of your community.

- Communication can become entangled or detached: Especially online, some people may be more Internet savvy than others.

Some issues with online communities:

- Information may be misleading/unlcear – since most of the communication is written ( using instant messaging, blogs, email) it is absolutely necessary to be clear and concise, avoiding loaded terms & jargon.

- People may not be who they claim to be – as we mentioned in other blogs sometimes people assume other online identities so we have to be weary of who we are speaking to and what their intentions may be.

- Information is instant & constant - Unlike most offline communities the flow of information can become endless, for instance you can email the community 24-7 and reply to information at any time or place.

- Communication may be of a personal nature but the physical contact is impersonal. There are ways you can speak to each other via the net and using webcams but it is still different than being in the same room.

Because of the information above-

Ties can be stronger- because you have much more constant communication. You may feel you can disclose more information because you are not face-2-face.

Ties can be weaker- You may never completely trust those on your online community because you suspect them to be misrepresenting themselves or even fear the possibility of this. You do not feel close connections because you have no personal contact.

Sources:

Community. (n.d). Retrieved October 19, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community

Virtual Community. (n.d). Retrieved October 19, 2007, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_community

Fernback, J., Thompson, B. (1995). Virtual Communities: Abort, Retry, Failure?

Link to assignment 7

A case of mistaken Identity...

Online Communities…

There are millions if not billions of online communities on the internet. These communities thrive on a basic trust that people present accurate information and better the community. After a reputation is built the level of trust increases and acceptance into these online communities is gained. Some of these communities are mentioned in Judith Donath’s Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community. Donath mentions the Usenet environment and the various communities ranging in numerous topics such as hacking and wedding planning.

Defining who we are…

There are many clues when looking at our fellow “online-neighbors” as to who their identity is:

E-mail addresses- Donath sites this as one of the most straightforward ways to identify those in online communities. The various aspects of an email address can be particularly informative.

Domain names Example: buffalo.edu- This is obviously someone involved with an educational facility, faculty or student. For example if someone gives you information about a particular medicine and claims they are currently a pharmacy professor at UB, you may find him/her more credible if they have .buffalo.edu at the end of their email address.

Voice and Language – While it is easy to simply profess a sex either male or female, it is another thing to maintain the proper mannerisms. Donath talks about “expressions given off,” these she states are much harder to control. There are subtle codes that can come out in writing. Donath for example talks about a member whose posts have an authoritative tone, occasionally using dry humor etcetera. People who first read his writing may not realize that they come to the conclusion that he is male simply from the fact that his writing contains these subtle characteristically male-tones.

Signatures- The way someone signs a post can often give a great deal of information about them. They can convey professionalism, an inside knowledge, websites and other information that can serve to boost credibility.

Who would you trust?

For example: You are looking for information about nutrition

Person A who’s signature follows:

Sally Smith SSmith@harvard.edu

Assistant Dean at the college of health sciences

www.healthandnutrition.harvard.edu

or Person B whose signature follows:

J2@aol.com

…I’m guessing you would probably choose person A, because they have more credibility using that signature. (***these links are not real)

However we must consider that not everyone on the net is who they claim to be:

Part of the intrigue of the net is that you can be whoever you chose to be. For many who are a part of the Second Life world, the thought of a whole new life is exciting.

Many chose avatars that represent themselves in a different way->

For example you may be one of the second life avatars that attended this virtual second life U2 concert:

My online community & identity:

Besides working at Jack FM I am also a nanny. Before I was able to develop a reputation, I needed a way to be in touch with people who needed childcare. I decided to go on Craigslist and post some information about myself under the childcare section. After I had gained a couple of jobs I received good feedback and more people asked for my services. Eventually I stopped going on craigslist because I had more jobs then I could handle. It would be fairly easy for anyone to steal my identity. Craigslist gives its users an option to use an anonymous email system. Technically all anyone would have to do is to pretend they were me because my email isn’t associated with my posts. I created my identity online, although it happened to be in real life there have been instances where I received some questionable responses from craigslist. I received several scam males from someone who claimed to be a model and single mother who needed a babysitter. She apparently was moving from the UK and needed someone to watch her child in a hotel room. The whole thing sounded very shady. It sounded especially strange when during the second email she changed her child’s name. I decided to ignore the emails. Basically you never really know who people are online. You can hope that people are truthful, but more often times there will be people who misrepresent themselves. Sometimes these misrepresentations are purposeful and quite harmless, other times then can cause some major problems.

Sources:

Donath, J. (1996). Identity and deception in the virtual community. Communities in Cyberspace.

www.craigslist.com

Assignment 6 Link