New kids on the blog
Area teen, mayor among thousands who have found a voice on the Web

Sunday, January 09, 2005

BY JENNA PORTNOY
The Express-Times

TV character Doogie Howser, M.D., personified dorkiness when he sat in front of his computer at the end of every episode and typed out his thoughts.
Keeping a journal isn't unusual. What was unusual about Doogie's routine was his decision to chronicle his teen adventures in such an adult way.
Back then diaries were considered kid's stuff and computers were squarely in the realm of adults.

Today it's all mixed up.

Many young people -- high school-aged and younger -- keep online journals, called Web logs, to document their social lives. These so-called blogs act as virtual scrapbooks for the world to view online.

"Choir rehearsal is really boring so I wouldn't post about that," Freedom High School senior Jose Tavares said. "But if I go out Saturday night and something really crazy happens, I'll put it up Sunday and then Monday we can all laugh about it."

Aside from fun diversions, blogs have all kinds of applications to real life.

In the last few years, political junkies have taken root in what's come to be known as the blogosphere.

Motivated by the recent elections and people's desires to seek sources outside the mainstream media, political bloggers have broken national stories missed by large newspapers and television networks.

They've functioned also as fact-checking watchdogs over mainstream media reports.

The world of higher education has found blogs to be valuable teaching tools. Students and professors can instantly share information and determine its worth. Verifying information often presented as fact represents a huge hurdle for researchers using blogs.

Because bloggers rarely approach their subjects from the impartial perspective that journalists do, their content can be unreliable.

Still, readers say they like knowing where the author stands on a subject. They have nothing to hide; no opinions to balance with opposing views.

Whether lighthearted and full of inside jokes, serious political commentary or coursework, all blogs share a rebellious quality. The rules don't apply to them and they aren't beholden to anyone.

Even that, however, may be slipping by the wayside.

Bloggers likely to be swallowed or seduced

Jack Lule, a journalism and communication professor at Lehigh University, predicts that bloggers, like little fish in big ponds, will be gobbled up by the mainstream media or seduced by the promise of steady work.

"Unfortunately, they will be co-opted into journalism," he said during a December phone interview. That's unfortunate because bloggers cherish their alternative quality, he said.

A New York Times Magazine cover story published Sept. 26 profiled several well-known bloggers at the presidential conventions. One woman behind a political commentary blog was thrilled when MTV -- as mainstream with a capital "M" -- expressed interest in her.

Other blogs are part of a media outlet's arsenal. The insider politics site, The Note, is a division of ABC News.

Some newspapers have set up blogs in a way that lets a reporter covering politics, for example, post tidbits otherwise not right for a full-blown story.

As long as the blogs' best characteristic -- personality -- isn't squashed, they will continue to influence journalism, Lule said.

"That voice tends to get stamped out in the objectivity of journalism," he said. "People still trust that (personal) voice. They know that person's coming from a certain perspective and they want to hear what they have to say."

In class, the value of blogs is the immediacy of communication, said Lule, who in 1997 started one of the country's first courses taught completely online. With blogs, students can find the information and open a discussion with their classmates right away.

"I think that's just a happy marriage of people's desire and technology," Lule said.

Web logs can also serve a practical purpose, too.

Immediately after the devastating tsunamis hit Southeast Asia on Dec. 26, individuals began posting thoughts, observations and even video clips. The BBC set up missing person bulletin boards.

Personal blogs don't necessarily have a specific goal, except to fulfill people's desires to expose their secrets. The Internet has assumed the role of a sneaky little brother breaking the lock on his sister's diary.

Building blogs to reflect who you are

The easiest way for lay people to start their own blogs is through sites such as xanga.com and blogger.com. These free services walk users through the process of setting up a personal site.

Once the site is up and running, users reap the rewards of sharing details about their lives and interests. Users should understand that what they post can be seen by anyone with access to the Internet and must learn to deal with any negative comments their postings garner.

Tavares, a 17-year-old from South Side Bethlehem, started uploading thoughts and images through Xanga last year. His site is full of pictures, links to other blogs and jokes only his circle of friends would get.

"It's an easy way to know what's going on," he said.

Tavares said nothing he had posted has ever gotten him in trouble or has been read by the wrong eyes -- as far as he knows.

He tries to post once or twice a week, but depending on what's happening, he might post daily. About a half dozen people view his site every day, Tavares said.

"You're probably going to be online anyway, so it's convenient to put something on there," he said. "If I want to look back on something that happened in October and laugh, I can. It's more efficient than text messages that you can lose."

In addition to being user-friendly scrapbooks, blogs also can foster a sense of community.

Harry Zikas, mayor of Alpha in Warren County, said many borough residents are turning to blogs and online forums to express their feelings in a public yet anonymous setting.

Zikas has a personal blog at mayorzikas.com.

"I try to be straightforward, instead of candy coating it," he said of his posts.

In September he started a blog on nj.com, called Alpha to Zikas. Those posts set the record straight on Zikas' take on borough council votes and ordinance discussions.

He got the blogging idea from a friend, Kyle Johnston, who ran for U.S. Congress in Louisiana before dropping out of the race at the last minute. The young politicians -- Johnston is 25, Zikas is 26 -- use technology to build community.

Zikas knows a few senior citizens in Alpha who have "joined the online revolution" and have checked out his column online.

"I didn't want to make mine political," he said. "I just wanted it to be my feelings, my thoughts on what's going on in town. I wanted people to know exactly how I feel."

Is it journalism, or is it something else?

Tom Drago, director of technology for the Easton Area School District, can see implications for blogs in public education.

"I do see the value in education," he said. "The idea needs to be fine-tuned and there has to be good staff development on how teachers can use it with the kids."

That vision has come into focus for many colleges, including the University of Houston. The site at awd.cl.uh.edu/blog provides resources for using blogs in the classroom.

Blogs are particularly useful to lay out the steps one would follow to solve a calculus problem, to explain the events that led to a historical event or to clarify the scientific method used in an experiment.

The danger lies in the content, Drago said. Blogs should be read as autobiographical experiences, not gospel.

Verification is the key to whether blogs will rise to the level of journalism, said Rob Hays, coordinator of the journalism program at Northampton Community College.

Hays, a former features editor at The Express-Times, gives blogs a qualified thumbs up.

"The fundamental idea is that journalism is a conversation," he said. "We're going to amplify the conversation by adding more voices."

The proliferation of voices could help dispel fears that large conglomerations will dilute the news. With media ownership concentrating into fewer hands, Hays welcomes new points of view.

The voices may be whispered rumors rooted in truth, as when Matt Drudge on The Drudge Report published details of the affair between President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.

Blogs can be good starting points for reporting but in their rush to get the story out, journalists cannot compromise accuracy, Hays said.

In his classes, Hays looks to the Web sites of established media outlets and sources such as poynter.org, slate.msn.com and cnn.com for accuracy.

Although Hays remains skeptical about blogs, he said they are here to stay.

Reminding the skeptics, Hays says, "When TV first came along, there were people who didn't think much of it."



Reporter Jenna Portnoy can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at jportnoy@express-times.com


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