What Is A Blog?
A blog is a form of online diary or memo that is published on a blog website for the world to see. When the user wishes to express their thoughts and feelings on virtually any subject they desire, they leave what is called a “post”. When the posts are submitted on the individual’s blog, they are arranged in chronological order so the latest entry is at the top of the page for quick and easy access. Each of the posts can be completely interactive if the blogger desires this, which means anyone that accesses their posts can leave a comment containing their opinion on the subject discussed.
A blog can be used as a “political” or “personal” soapbox. This means that the blogger can post entries that are about: current news, political opinions, economics and a vast range of subjects. They can also post personal entries about their life and views, such as their work, college life, home life, or anything they wish to express and discuss.
Another use for a blog is the ability to post “breaking news” if you are connected to the entertainment or business industry. For example, if a celebrity has an important event that has happened in their life or work, they can discuss it on their blog before the media has a chance to publish the same information that is likely to be out of context.
Components of a Blog Page
Blog pages usually consist of a “blog title”, which is the heading of the page that contains the name and summarises the subject of the person’s blog. Under this, there is a “post title”, which is there to inform the reader what the latest entry is about. For example, if the blogger wishes to post an entry about the war in Iraq, they will add a “post title” so the visitor knows what the article is about.
Each blog also contains a date that accompanies the posts; this is because the blogger and visitor knows how recently the story or article was published. Once the introduction to the blog has been created, the main text or body of the blog is produced. This contains the blogger’s personal feelings and opinions or anything the person wishes to publish.
Blogs and the Nature of News
Over the past decade society has become so dependant on technology that most people have resorted to using the internet to access the latest news and events from around the globe. The main problem with news organisations such as CNN and NBC is that they all broadcast current news in a manner that tells the story from only one perspective, as opposed to allowing the reader to form their own opinions.
Over the past few years, blogs have had a tremendous impact on the way society can access and interpret the news. Most blogs allow the user to publish any news story they desire accompanied by their opinions and facts. However, unlike “professional news”, blogs allow anyone to express their thoughts and opinions and then these subjects can be discussed. The use of blogs in this way has made society take much more interest in news and political issues from across the world, which has resulted in society becoming more informed and aware of the world around them. The main thing that makes this form of news effective is the fact that anyone with access to a computer can become a blogger. There have been many groundbreaking news stories broadcasted by non professionals covering a wide variety of subjects.
Advantages of Blogs
There are many advantages to maintaining a personal blog as a communications channel that can be accessed by the public. Firstly, setting up a blog to begin with is very easy and there is little knowledge of computers needed to do so.
There are thousands of blog sites that are available to use and most are free to the user because they rely on advertising to make them money, so this means the person has no fees to pay. However, some blog sites do require the user to pay a small fee for various reasons. The best thing about creating an online blog is the ability to express your opinions and feelings on any subject you desire, such as news stories, politics, religion, music and a limitless amount of other subjects.
Once the user posts their blog; they are there for the whole world to see, so it is a good way to encourage debates on the discussed subject because anyone can leave a comment on the person’s blog entry. In recent years the development of blogs has resulted in the news becoming much more interesting to the public because it is not always broadcasted by large news organisations such as the BBC and NBC anymore.
With more and more people contributing to blogs worldwide; the very nature of the news has been changed for the better because each individual can come to their own conclusions based on the evidence presented to them by other users and not influenced by one sided and biased news reports broadcasted by the media.
Disadvantages of Blogs
Although blogs are usually beneficial and a safe way to express your opinions and post news stories; there are occasionally some dangers and problems that can occur. The problem with propaganda is it is used by governments, organisations and religious groups to influence and control the opinions of other users of the internet for their own benefit. When a political party wishes to win over the general public they often use propaganda in various forms to manipulate the opinions and evoke certain feelings of the reader.
Confidentiality is a major problem when it comes to posting information on a blog because the blogger can include almost any information they desire. For example, an individual’s personal opinions, contact details or details of their personal life can easily be posted on any blog where anyone with access to the internet can view it. This can also result in rumours or harassment taking place because someone’s opinion may be offensive to another person.
Because of the personal nature of the content published in online blogs, there is a high risk that someone could be physically attacked by someone that knows the whereabouts of the blogger. Religious and political groups are a potential target because the messages and arguments they express can be very thought provoking and offensive to opposing groups.
Blog Post 1
Over the next several months I am required to produce six diary entries that chart my personal development and knowledge gained throughout the time spent at college. The following blogs contain my personal opinions of the eight units I am learning.
Unit 1: Communications and Employability Skills for IT
Over the past several weeks I have learned a lot about what personal skills are needed by employees and how to identify each one. The main subjects we focused on in the first month of the unit were personal development and the use of blogs. I have learned about what blogs are used for and the advantages and disadvantages of blogs. This unit has been relatively easy for me because I am fully aware of my skills and personal qualities, which results in me being able to identify my good and bad points and write about them effectively. The main problem I have found with this lesson is the constant interruptions from other students, but this is not a big issue for me.
Unit 2: Computer Systems
This lesson is a relatively easy subject to understand because it deals with the hardware and software aspects of modern computing. In the first few weeks of this unit I have learned basic information about the different components of a computer system and what they are used for. I have also learned some interesting facts about the history of computers. I find the teacher of this subject to be very interesting and clearly has a great deal of knowledge of computer systems.
Unit 5: Advanced Database Skills
This is also an easy lesson for me because using Microsoft Access is a relatively easy task; however, learning some of the fundamental rules regarding entity relationships can be a little complex. Most of what I have learned in this lesson I already had previous knowledge of, but it has been a long time since I have used it so it was still a good learning experience for me. Again with this class I find it to be one of the most disrupted out of all the lessons.
Unit 15: Organisational Security Systems
This lesson is also an easy subject for me to understand as computer security is of great interest to me. In the first few weeks of this lesson we were taught about the basic principles of protecting a computer system and the numerous threats that can cause an organisation a lot of money, such as hackers, viruses, worms and various other issues.
Unit 18: Software Design & Development
This lesson is possibly one of the hardest units I am studying at the moment due to the complexity of some of the programs that I have to design. For this unit I am required to complete various tasks set by the teacher which are given out with basic instructions on how to create the programs. It is then up to me to design and create the code for the programmes to work properly. Although I am not particularly interested in a career in software design, I find certain aspects of this unit rewarding.
Unit 21: Website Management & Production
I have found this unit to be slightly harder than most of the others on this course because it is something that I have never had much experience with. In the first few weeks of this lesson I learned the basics of writing code for a webpage and the good and bad points of various web pages. Although my tutor for this lesson is very good, I find I have a lot of trouble remembering some of the basic rules on writing code, which is becoming a serious problem for future lessons
Unit 27: Principles of Computer Networks
I have found this Unit to be the hardest on the course due to the amount of technical information that is required to be studied. Although the very basic principles of computer networks are easy enough to understand, this lesson goes much deeper into the technical aspects of the use of networking. I feel that in the several weeks I have been studying this subject I have learned next to nothing because the teacher of this unit does not break down the subjects into more simple terms and presents way too much information for me to absorb at one time.
Unit 42: Networking Basics
As with unit 27, this is one of the hardest and most stressful lessons for me to attend. As the unit title would suggest - this lesson should be about the basics of networking, however, I have found that this lesson is even more complex than unit 27. This unit is assessed by a series of online tests that have material relating to them on the website; however I have found that the material on the website has hardly any relation to the accompanying test. This has resulted in me doing very bad in the few tests I have taken.