Blogs, the long tail of journalism

I’VE recently picked up the book “The Long Tail” by Chris Anderson. It talks about the impact of the Internet on our culture and economy and how it has created more choices (niches) for consumers. But this concept does not only apply to commerce but other aspects of society, including journalism.

This brings me Abe Olandres’ blog entry which I recently read, “Why I’m Into Open Source Consulting?”

It’s an interesting take on the state of the Philippine blogosphere, and how discussions (especially controversial ones) could spark greater discussions and some form of journalism.

Abe writes:

…But that is the beauty of blogging. Everyone wields the power, not just a small group of people. Anybody can express their opinions and be heard. No one is preventing anyone from joining the conversation. It’s all there and you are free to join or exclude yourself from the discussion. That power is so potent that you can even shut it off in a blink by clicking on that small square box with an x at the top right corner of your browser. Out of sight, out of mind.

The exchange of opinions (minus the cussing) is a sign that the blogging space is vibrant. Anyone can add or subtract to it and that choice is solely theirs. What would have been more sad was if nobody cared nor lift a finger. I feel blessed that we are free to express our thoughts and we’re aggressively expressing that freedom. My workshops around Asia opened up my eyes on why some people in neighboring countries are afraid of blogging while others are being jailed for it.

I believe that the recent rounds of debate is a testament of our growth, both personal and as a society.

Blogs have allowed everyone who has a personal computer and a decent Internet connection to say their piece. From time to time, we will see people take on national issues, and derive insights, which are then picked up by journalists.

In some instances, bloggers engage in some form of journalism and find out for themselves the real score. Abe’s recent effort to clarify certain issues was, in my opinion, journalism. As a general observation, bloggers often write opinions about a lot of issues. They also do write about personal experiences, citing news reports they find in blogs and online news websites. But if they go the extra step to dig up the real story from people involved, then I call that journalism.

The long tail phenomenon suggests that bloggers are now part of a group of inviduals involved in producing interesting and sometimes controversial pieces, which in the past are often published by newspapers. The Internet has literally made everyone producers of content (i.e. opinion and news) on almost everything we could imagine.

“The Long Tail’s” author writes::

Although it was the photocopier that first put lie to the aphorism that “the power of the press goes to those who own them,” it’s blogging that has really sparked the renaissance of the amateur publishing. Today, millions of people publish daily for an audience that is collectively larger than any single mainstream media outlet can claim. What sparked blogging was, again, democratized tools: the arrival of simple, cheap software and services that made publishing online so easy that anyone could do it.”

To all Filipino bloggers, let’s keep the conversations going.

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