Monday, November 1, 2010
bakerella.
just so you guys can get a few ideas on what i was talking about, thought i'd post a cute bakerella picture, straight from her blog. christmas soon :)
the ethical critic.
Cameron Woodhead recently published an article which caught my attention on the Sydney Morning Herald website. The reason it caught my attention was because he wrote about many of the issues which accompany blogging which I have considered before.
Let's face it; everyone loves being a critic. There is something exceptionally satisfying in critiquing another person's hard work, making sure they know that YOU think that it could be improved in one way or another. When you're a journalist working in print media, there are most certainly ethics which you must abide by, it's simply common courtesy. However, when you're a blogger it's a completely different story. A code of ethics becomes personal, the blogger can decide when to draw the line and for many, that can be much too far along. In the article I found it humorous to read that the author himself had been critiqued after commenting on critics who blog. After attending a panel discussion regarding theatre criticism, he was asked whether amateur critics whom are consistently blogging their thoughts, were a good or bad thing for criticism. He decided that it was both good and bad, and went on to discuss his thoughts. However, his quotes then went on to be manipulated and his thoughts were completely misrepresented in an article written by a fellow panel member, which in turn, lead to his opinion of blogging critics being, well, critiqued.
The thing I loved most about this article was the way Woodhead discussed the ethics of a print critic - 'The best newspaper criticism works in a tradition that recognises its authority flows from its obligations'. Print journalism is restricted under a code of ethics, and although that code may be stretched sometimes, it is nowhere near the freedom which bloggers have. The blogging critics can be dramatic and over the top, pushing their point across and no-one can deny that it generally makes for entertaining reading.
It really does all come down to personal morals and responsibility. Whilst bloggers might think they're just writing an entertaining opinion piece which will hopefully gain more followers, they must also remember that there are always consequences to anything you publish, and if you're not prepared for the backlash, I advise you don't write it in the first place. Just because you don't have the ethical restrictions a print journalist has, certainly doesn't mean you should push them. As Woodhead says; ''What they [print media & the internet] should not do is race to the bottom, defaming critics and journalists who operate in one medium or the other, discarding critical thinking and the ethical dimensions of public discussion along the way.
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/theatre/if-youre-a-critic-on-the-internet-everyone-can-hear-you-scream-20100923-15ocn.html
Let's face it; everyone loves being a critic. There is something exceptionally satisfying in critiquing another person's hard work, making sure they know that YOU think that it could be improved in one way or another. When you're a journalist working in print media, there are most certainly ethics which you must abide by, it's simply common courtesy. However, when you're a blogger it's a completely different story. A code of ethics becomes personal, the blogger can decide when to draw the line and for many, that can be much too far along. In the article I found it humorous to read that the author himself had been critiqued after commenting on critics who blog. After attending a panel discussion regarding theatre criticism, he was asked whether amateur critics whom are consistently blogging their thoughts, were a good or bad thing for criticism. He decided that it was both good and bad, and went on to discuss his thoughts. However, his quotes then went on to be manipulated and his thoughts were completely misrepresented in an article written by a fellow panel member, which in turn, lead to his opinion of blogging critics being, well, critiqued.
The thing I loved most about this article was the way Woodhead discussed the ethics of a print critic - 'The best newspaper criticism works in a tradition that recognises its authority flows from its obligations'. Print journalism is restricted under a code of ethics, and although that code may be stretched sometimes, it is nowhere near the freedom which bloggers have. The blogging critics can be dramatic and over the top, pushing their point across and no-one can deny that it generally makes for entertaining reading.
It really does all come down to personal morals and responsibility. Whilst bloggers might think they're just writing an entertaining opinion piece which will hopefully gain more followers, they must also remember that there are always consequences to anything you publish, and if you're not prepared for the backlash, I advise you don't write it in the first place. Just because you don't have the ethical restrictions a print journalist has, certainly doesn't mean you should push them. As Woodhead says; ''What they [print media & the internet] should not do is race to the bottom, defaming critics and journalists who operate in one medium or the other, discarding critical thinking and the ethical dimensions of public discussion along the way.
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/theatre/if-youre-a-critic-on-the-internet-everyone-can-hear-you-scream-20100923-15ocn.html
Sunday, October 31, 2010
blog after blog after blog..
it's taken some time for me to gather the info that i needed for this blog post. i had to do my fair share of research, which basically included me stumbling across some fantastic blogs, and procrastinating for hours, scrolling through them and calling it 'research'. there's some pretty amazing stuff out there, including incredible stories about people becoming micro-celebrities from the unique topics they blogged about. whether it be about everyday life, all types of food, bars & restaurants, celebrities, politics, animals, personal lives.. people blog about everything and the public LOVES reading it.
take for example bakerella. Angie Dudley started this blog as a way to keep track of her baking and decorating attempts. then, on one fine day, she posted a picture of 'cake pops' - crumbled cake mixed with frosting into little balls, placed on a stick and intricately decorated. the pictures went viral and since then, she has been creating gorgeous, themed little cake pops for all types of events. she now has contracts with disney, her own business and just released her first cake pop recipe book.
on the other end of the spectrum, there's spain's blogging grandmother - Maria Amelia Lopez started blogging at the spritely young age of of 95, discussing the past and present on going's of her life. she received over 1.7 million hits until she passed away 2 years later, but constantly urged elderly people worldwide to experience the blogging phenomenon; she says it 'changed her life'.
and on the celebrity front, well, who doesn't know perez hilton? he started off blogging as a hobby, and chose celebrities as a topic because he thought following their luxurious lives was intriguing. his blogging style as a critic and 'bitch' was unique, he dished the dirt on celebrity lifestyles and the public couldn't get enough. his blog is now one of the most popular celeb sites and he has a strong following, including many who provide him with information from anonymous sources.
the one thing which struck me most about all these blogs was the followings they received and the way people have responded to them. no matter what is published, the public are given the opportunity to comment - you guys reading this have the right to comment on what i say - whether your opinion be positive or negative! it takes 'freedom of speech' to a whole new level and raises so many questions, and for a young journo student like me, i can't help but wonder if there is a future for journalists, when tv stations have already provided the public with a mobile number for people to txt or pxt any news they come across in the street! citizen journalism has most certainly hit a high point, and it most certainly has something to do with a generation raised on instant gratification. we have to have our news, gossip, updates NOW and whilst we are consistently kept up to date with the society we live in, the quality of the stories and info we come across has to be questioned.
so, while i can see that citizen journalism has it's pro's & con's... i'll leave the definitive answer up to you.
bakerella: www.bakerella.com
maria lopez: amis95.blogspot.com
perez hilton: perezhilton.com
take for example bakerella. Angie Dudley started this blog as a way to keep track of her baking and decorating attempts. then, on one fine day, she posted a picture of 'cake pops' - crumbled cake mixed with frosting into little balls, placed on a stick and intricately decorated. the pictures went viral and since then, she has been creating gorgeous, themed little cake pops for all types of events. she now has contracts with disney, her own business and just released her first cake pop recipe book.
on the other end of the spectrum, there's spain's blogging grandmother - Maria Amelia Lopez started blogging at the spritely young age of of 95, discussing the past and present on going's of her life. she received over 1.7 million hits until she passed away 2 years later, but constantly urged elderly people worldwide to experience the blogging phenomenon; she says it 'changed her life'.
and on the celebrity front, well, who doesn't know perez hilton? he started off blogging as a hobby, and chose celebrities as a topic because he thought following their luxurious lives was intriguing. his blogging style as a critic and 'bitch' was unique, he dished the dirt on celebrity lifestyles and the public couldn't get enough. his blog is now one of the most popular celeb sites and he has a strong following, including many who provide him with information from anonymous sources.
the one thing which struck me most about all these blogs was the followings they received and the way people have responded to them. no matter what is published, the public are given the opportunity to comment - you guys reading this have the right to comment on what i say - whether your opinion be positive or negative! it takes 'freedom of speech' to a whole new level and raises so many questions, and for a young journo student like me, i can't help but wonder if there is a future for journalists, when tv stations have already provided the public with a mobile number for people to txt or pxt any news they come across in the street! citizen journalism has most certainly hit a high point, and it most certainly has something to do with a generation raised on instant gratification. we have to have our news, gossip, updates NOW and whilst we are consistently kept up to date with the society we live in, the quality of the stories and info we come across has to be questioned.
so, while i can see that citizen journalism has it's pro's & con's... i'll leave the definitive answer up to you.
bakerella: www.bakerella.com
maria lopez: amis95.blogspot.com
perez hilton: perezhilton.com
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