Blogging vs. Traditional Media


Blogger is a blog-publishing service owned by Google with content read and curated by millions of people worldwide. Being a user-friendly and free service, Blogger serves as a great platform for anyone who wants to begin their journey into the blogging world. The website gives you the ability to change the theme and layout of your blog. You can use your blog as a source of income via Google’s AdSense program. This program pays you to place various ads on your blog in the hopes of appealing to your readers. The website is very fast and secure as it is hosted on Google’s servers. Users should have little worries of their accounts being compromised. The Blogger platform gives readers the ability to comment on your posts and you can monitor traffic (i.e. page views, audience demographic, etc.) on your blog. Blogger has many great features but unfortunately, has some grievances as well. The theme/layout customization could be more in depth. You are only provided with simplistic options and are not given as much freedom over the appearance of your page in comparison to other platforms.  Furthermore, Blogger focuses on “traditional” blogging. As a result, the platform does not operate in real time via social feed like other social media platforms and so, that layer of interaction is lost. 

After searching the Internet for different examples of well-written blogs that suit my interest, I found three blogs written and executed in great taste. The first blog I found was Destructoid (www.destructoid.com). It is a gaming blog that hashes out hundreds of different blog posts. This includes game reviews, gaming news and updates. It is very useful for gaming enthusiasts who like to be updated on all gaming-related needs in one place and hear the opinions of others in the on goings of the gaming community. 

The second blog I encountered was TechCrunch (https://techcrunch.com/). This website facilitates a network of bloggers who report on the business of tech, tech news, the analysis of rising trends in tech and profiling new tech businesses and products. This blog is perfect for anyone who is interested in current technology information and trends in North America and other regions of the world.  
The third blog I came across was Hypebeast ( https://hypebeast.com/). This blog is one of the best destinations for info on men’s contemporary fashion and streetwear. Drop dates for seasonal collections from flourishing fashion streetwear brands like Supreme, A Bathing Ape and The Hundreds are often reported on this blog for enthusiasts to prepare for. Blog writers on this platform also engage in brand new street footwear and music, providing reviews and insight into the trends of today. This blog appeals mostly to the younger demographic of people (teenagers to young adults) who like to hold the bird’s eye view on current street fashion and culture.  

Blogging still holds an important place in the circulation of information today. Blogs are great for taking in long form of information. It is available on the internet and often involves more opinion than the formal tone of traditional formats like newspapers and magazines. There are also many different blogs available to digest, often dealing in many different topics, giving readers the opportunity to engage in any topic they want. However, it does have some disadvantages. Blogs rely on the internet, so those who do not have internet (especially those in developing nations) can not engage in these blogs. Traditional media has the capability to reach those in developing nations where internet is not readily available. Traditional media involves real world communication. You can touch, feel and interact with newspapers in a way you can not with blogs. 

Within the next 5-10 years, blogs will be going nowhere. Many people still rely on blogs to provide them with the information they need on topics pertaining to their personal lives and even their careers. Even though the structure of traditional blogs is changing to become more freeform, they still follow the rules of traditional blogs of the past. Social media is bigger than ever and has become the way to follow news and trends, especially because it is accessible anywhere if you have a device that can connect to the Internet (i.e. smartphones). However, social media only allows for quick thoughts and non-elaborate posts. People still like to read long-form, structured pieces on the topic of their choosing. Blogs give writers the freedom to do this and as long as this is possible, blogs will see stability for the next 5 to 10 years and beyond.


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