The Blog Phenomenon

The recent news scandal at CBS has made me reconsider the way blogs affect society. During the initial 60 Minutes broadcast right-wing blog sites began posting conspiracy theories that called into question the validity of the documents used by the CBS news team to call into question the President’s service record. Later that evening a blogger known as Buckhead proposed the theory that a 1970’s era typewriter could not have produced the exhibited documents. Although this was later proven as false, the suspicions of these lone individuals was enough to start a chain of events that made headlines everywhere. First powerlineblog.com linked to Buckhead’s comments, and then Matt Drudge’s drudgereport.com (arguably an overgrown blog) linked to the Power Line site. By the following day the scandal was in the headlines of the Washington Post and ABC News. The fallout, including Dan Rather’s on-air apology and links made to the Kerry campaign, has created quite a stir in an already feisty campaign season.

The political and ethical ramifications for the media and campaigners aside, I am fascinated by what one person’s words in cyberspace can cause. Like most people, I first saw blogs as little more than a public online journal with little use other than to keep in touch with people or perhaps find others with similar views. Instead it has become a phenomenon and a viable political and social force. Why haven’t similar Internet mechanisms such as chat rooms or instant messaging had such an effect? The answer I’ve come up with is that a blog turns everyone into a journalist. The particular flavor of the blog varies: some resemble newsletters, some gossip columns, some movie reviews, some editorials, some all of the above. But whatever the formula there are suddenly thousands of people out there making their voice heard, even if it’s only to the empty ears of the Internet. And now I’m one of them.