"Buzz, Blogs, and Beyond" Try Saying That Three Times Really Fast
I just read a great article on the Personal Democracy Forum's site. It summed up a report, BUZZ, BLOGS, AND BEYOND:The Internet and the National Discourse in the Fall of 2004, put out by Pew.
The gist is that bloggers may not have as much influence creating buzz as they think.
I tend to agree with Cornfield's comments. Blogs are only one part of a host of media and non-media outlets that tend to create buzz. Blogs, Internet stories, cable and network news, newspapers, and Influentials all collectively create it. Take the whole Downing Street Memo. Sure it may have created buzz on liberal blogs, but those blogs are not creating buzz around the country. I'd say a good majority of Americans couldn't tell you what it is. So there you go, a perfect example of blogs generating buzz in their little echo chamber, but unable to generate buzz among the public becuase they are only a small piece of an overall buzz creator.
The gist is that bloggers may not have as much influence creating buzz as they think.
“Bloggers are not themselves super columnists or super advocates,” opines Dr. Michael Cornfield, a senior research consultant to the Pew Internet and American Life Project." Cornfield continues, “Bloggers are as much hosts of the conversation as they are directors of a sort of show or columnists.”
“The difference between [blogs] and a discussion forum and a town meeting is that people were all discussing what they had just seen on the Internet,” remarks Cornfield in reference to the contentious documents. “When they’re all looking at the same thing, that’s when the buzz factor hits.”
I tend to agree with Cornfield's comments. Blogs are only one part of a host of media and non-media outlets that tend to create buzz. Blogs, Internet stories, cable and network news, newspapers, and Influentials all collectively create it. Take the whole Downing Street Memo. Sure it may have created buzz on liberal blogs, but those blogs are not creating buzz around the country. I'd say a good majority of Americans couldn't tell you what it is. So there you go, a perfect example of blogs generating buzz in their little echo chamber, but unable to generate buzz among the public becuase they are only a small piece of an overall buzz creator.
2 Comments:
My only thought is that eventually if those in the blog world don't let a story die, the mainstream media will have to cover it for fear they are missing something big.
By Justin, at 3:52 PM
I read your post and you echo my sentiments of the blog. The blog is great in that it allows for people to intellecutally discuss and articulate points. It's just an avenue for opinions to be heard. As you stated the Downing Street Memo is an excellent example.If our speaker said the blog is as influential as he stated then the Downing Street Memo should be everywhere not just simmering or non-existent except to those who have just happened to hear of it
By DesiPolitico, at 4:45 PM
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