News flash: Blogs are more than journalism

Stop the presses: Blogs are written largely as a hobby, according to a new study, not for the sake of journalism. Blogma has a couple of opinions (to no one's surprise, we're sure) on this research by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

First, the perception that blogs are used mainly for "journalism"--as defined by mainstream media--has been created by, well, the mainstream media. Blogs are simply a newer form of online communication that began with newsgroups, bulletin boards and Web sites in earlier stages of the Internet's evolution. Old media organizations have portrayed blogs as journalistic outlets after getting scooped badly by them in some high-profile stories, a myopic definition that excludes the full spectrum of the blogosphere.

Second, and more important, who cares about the definition of "journalism" anyway? News organizations are the ones hung up on this label, not bloggers. It's all about information, not some editor's definition of "news," and that means just about anything to anybody.

Blog community response:

"Blogging then, for most of The People, is about expression, being creative, and conversation. It is only about journalism when the blogger decides it should be--and only about a third have made that decision."
--The Constant Observer

"There were some things I wished they had asked. For example: of all those bloggers getting their news from newspapers (the majority, surprising because of the youth of the group), how many actually read it on paper?"
--a thaumaturgical compendium

"The racial diversity of the blogosphere really surprised me. I wonder why minorities in the US are more likely by percentage to blog than whites. As your typical white, Anglo-Saxon male, I don't know the reason, but I'd be curious if you, Neville, or any other readers out there have ideas."
--John Mims on NevilleHobson.com