Blogging Phenomenon

You know blogging has become a big thing when politicians are using them. According to Feld cited in Technorati.com (2008), in 2004 when Technorati started, hardly anyone knew about blogs, but now, even presidential candidates have blogs. In only a couple of years, Technorati is already tracking over 70 million weblogs, with the creation of 120 thousand blogs daily (Sifry, 2007). Phenomenon is the best word to describe the growth of the blogosphere.

(Source: Technorati)

Asia contributes as one of the largest blogging societies in the world. In Asia, the majority of countries have limited freedom of speech as government restrictions are a factor. The rich culture in Asia also provides an interesting platform to blog. For example, one of the most famous bloggers in Asia is one Miss Wendy Cheng or more famously known by her blog followers as Xiaxue. Xiaxue is an example of how Asian bloggers blend their diverse cultures. Xiaxue, a Singapore- based graphic arts student, is famed for her extreme Japanese dressing style, “popping off expletives” like a trucker and in possession of a Judy Tenuta- type sense of humour (Yang, 2005). However, not all blogs are written for entertainment purposes. In Malaysia, over 16% of the top 50 blogs are written on politics (Gaman, 2007). One of Malaysia’s most famous political-type blogs is by one of the biggest names in Malaysian history, Dr. Mahathir. Even after his retirement from the political scene, the ex “top gun” continues to give his take on politics in Malaysia through his blog, cedet.co.cc.

(Source:Cedet.co)



Reference List

Gaman 2007, ’50 Most Influential Blogs in Malaysia’, Sabahan.com, viewed 8 June 2009, < http://www.sabahan.com/2007/02/06/50-most-influential-blogs-in-malaysia/>.

Technorati.com 2008, ‘State of the Blogosphere 2008’, Technorati.com, viewed 8 June 2009, < http://technorati.com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere>.

Yang, J 2005, ‘Asian Pop: Blogging Asia’, San Francisco Chronicle, viewed 8 June 2009, <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/g/a/2005/05/05/asianblogs.DTL>.

Sifry, D 2007, ‘ The State of the Live Web’, Sifry.com, viewed 8 June 2009, <http://www.sifry.com/alerts/archives/000493.html>.