Charles' Webliography

What are some of the ethical and practical issues around citizen journalism and blogging?

Introduction

Over the past few years, the phenomenon of blogging or creating weblogs has effectively been woven into the social fabric of our modern day society. The exponential growth of blogs in the virtual world is testament to the fact that there is now a substantial and ever-growing number of people utilizing the Internet as a form of expression of self. However, this growth of blogging also comes attached with a myriad of questions about identity, authorship and also certain ethical issues. In order to offer a better context for looking at those issues, I have used the blog of a London call girl, Belle de Jour, as a point of reference. Not only does the blog highlight some distinctive ethical issues, it also provides an important insight into the practicalities of blogging from a female perspective. Subsequently, the task was to find the research articles that would help me understand her blog better.


Writing from Experience: Presentation of Gender Identity on Weblogs
By Niels van Doorn, Liesbet van Zoonen & Sally Wyatt

Primarily, the article critically examines the presentation of gender identities on weblogs by discussing the various methods through which gender is expressed online; keeping a focus on the expression of self through the blogging of activities in everyday life. However, it also touches on the differences between how women and men present themselves online in their weblogs.

For example, the authors cited Miller and Mather by stating that “men’s pages were shorter, that there was more variety in length and self-reference on women’s pages, and that women made more reference to the reader and seemed to be showing more awareness of those who could be viewing their pages then men did” . Interestingly, an examination of Belle de Jour’s blog would indeed illustrate the above-stated practical differences in blogging style.

By comparing a small sample of Dutch and Flemish weblogs, the authors of the article have demonstrated the clear existence of practical differences in blogging between women and men. As such, the article has most certainly provided me with a better understanding of the practical issues of blogging and also a greater insight into the issue of identity in cyberspace.


Confessing our Sims: The Construction of Gender and Sexuality Among Women Ages 18 – 22 on MySpace
By November R. Papaleo

The article cited is actually a research thesis for a postgraduate degree. However, it does not discount the fact that it is a thoroughly researched and highly informative article. The research is centred around the construction of gender and identity by women on the social network site, MySpace; specifically looking at women between the ages of 18 and 22.

At first glance, the article seemingly has no reference to blogging but on closer analysis, the similarities of blogging on a weblog and blogging on MySpace become irrefutable. What is most interesting, however, is that by the end of the article, the author has arrived at the conclusion that sites such as MySpace, and probably other blogging sites, do not function “as a forum for women to challenge conventional gender roles” but instead, “gives women an opportunity to perform femininity” .

This contrasting point of view argues that the act of blogging or managing social network sites such as MySpace or Facebook serves to reinforce traditional values of femininity and this contrasts distinctively with the notion that blogs serve to break down feminine norms by offering a greater degree of freedom of expression.


Why We Blog
By Bonnie A. Nardi, Diane J. Schiano, Michelle Gumbrecht & Luke Swartz

The article provides the necessary information pertaining to the fundamental reasons behind, as the title suggests, why we blog. In order to tackle the practical and ethical issues of citizen journalism and blogging, it is apparent that we must first gain a basic understanding of the reasons and motivations behind blogging.

Perhaps the most interesting point is the use of blogs as a form of catharsis. As stated, many “viewed blogging as an outlet for thoughts and feelings” . Arguably, this point provides us with the basic premise behind the expression of gender and identity in weblogs. If anything, the article certainly provides the general background information that would then allow us to focus on specific aspects of blogging.


Interactivity and Prioritizing the Human: A Code of Blogging Ethics
By Martin Kuhn

Evidently, the article provides a detailed analysis of the ethics behind blogging. It critically discusses the ethical issues brought about by blogging and subsequently offers an ethical guide for bloggers to follow.

Of particular interest is the proposed clause of “Be as Transparent as Possible” . Under this clause, it specifically states that he blogger should reveal his/her identity as much as possible. This should be done through the usage of names, photos, backgrounds and personal information. However, while this may sound ideal on paper, what exactly is the practicality of such a proposed practice? Issues of anonymity clearly conflict with any of such supposed ethical issues. More importantly, would such a practice help express gender and identity more easily or would it, in fact, hinder the freedom of expression?


The Identity of Bloggers: Openness and Gender in Personal Weblogs
By S.Nowson and J.Oberlander

The article functions primarily to provide a quantitative analysis of gender in blogging. It offers detailed samples of detecting gender in weblogs and also explains clearly the rationale behind their analysis.

After examining the article, it is striking to discover that it is not hard to distinguish between female and male bloggers based purely upon the use of language. While such a result is not unexpected, it is the ease of distinction that makes it rather amazing. Such an article definitely provides a better insight on identifying gender in weblogs.


Conclusion

Through the course of research and the usage of the references cited, one would be able to first understand the background of blogging and the reasons of partaking in the activity. Subsequently, one would then be able to deal with specific issues regarding gender, identity, ethics and practicality. For one thing, I have indeed gained a deeper and better understanding of the subject.

Undoubtedly, the blogging phenomenon would continue to persevere and thrive. What then becomes imperative is to better understand the intricacies involved and thus, ensure that this extension of our lifeworld is properly utilized and never abused.


Bibliography

Kuhn, Martin. “Interactivity and Prioritizing the Human: A Code of Blogging Ethics”, Journalism of Mass Media Ethics, Vol 22, Issue 01 (April 2007).
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a787960686~db=all (accessed 03/09/2008).

Nardi, Bonnie A, Schiano, Diane J, Gumbrecht, Michelle & Swartz, Luke. “Why We Blog”, Communications of the ACM, Vol 47, Issue 12 (December 2004).
http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=1035134.1035163 (accessed 03/09/2008).

Nowson, S & Oberlander, J. “The Identity of Bloggers: Openness and Gender in Personal Weblogs”, University of Edinburgh (2006).
http://www.ics.mq.edu.au/~snowson/papers/SS0603NowsonS.pdf (accessed 03/09/2008).

Papaleo, November R. “Confessing our Sims: the Construction of Gender and Sexuality Among Women Ages 18-22 on MySpace”, Oregon State University Scholars Archive (2008).
https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/dspace/handle/1957/9153 (accessed 03/09/2008).

van Doorn, Niels, van Zoonen, Liesbet & Wyatt, Sally. “Writing from Experience: Presentation of Gender Identity on Weblogs”, European Journal of Women’s Studies, Vol 14, Issue 143 (2007).
http://ejw.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/14/2/143 (accessed 03/09/2008).