"It's
not what you know, but who you know" is a phrase I have heard often in my
youth as I overheard adults lamenting about the challenges they faced
"getting ahead in life." I was reminded of this adage as I read Weblogs
and the Public Sphere by Andrew O'Baoill (2004). In the article O'Baoill assessed "the potential
impact of weblogs on the public sphere." Using the definition proposed by
Jurgen Habermas in The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, O'Baoill concludes "that inclusivity of access, a
disregard for external rank, and the potential for rational debate of any topic
until consensus is achieved are necessary criterion for meeting Habermas'
model of an idealized public sphere." In his assessment of these
three criteria, I found his assertions regarding "rank" to be the
most interesting.
O'Baoill makes a point of saying that well written blogs require
well informed bloggers and that the internet offers an accessible venue for
would be bloggers, even those with low levels of technical skills. The
challenge, however, is to acquire a significant following since without
followers, the blogger's voice is not heard, and without the subsequent debate
that is a part of blogging there is little or no impact on the online and
offline communities. O'Baoill says, "Reaching an audience is, of
course, a necessary step in becoming involved in a debate and having one's
ideas have an impact on it." He suggests that there are primarily two ways
to achieve online prominence. They are having fame in the actual world, which
will then transfer into the virtual world, or having a relationship with a
blogger who has a significant following who will place a link to your blog site
on theirs. "Given the personal informal nature of weblogs it is not
unusual to welcome a friend who has started a new weblog with a post from one's
own site. To break into the consciousness of the blogosphere one needs to
already have a reputation off-line or get significant numbers of links from
already prominent bloggers, preferably over a short amount of time."
The internet has been proven to be a powerful tool for sharing
information, mobilizing people, and launching careers, yet its digital
communities seem to not be much different than real world communities in that
you still need connections in some arenas to make an impact. If as O'Baoill states, you need a connection to an
"A-list" blogger to get noticed by the masses, then the blogosphere
does not meet the criteria set forth by Habermas
for public spheres because, even in the virtual world, "it's
not what you know, but who you know".
That's one of the hardships of breaking into anything: how do you get the "A-Lister"'s attention? Especially when our ways of communicating have been reduced to only 140 characters.
ReplyDeleteYes, it can begin by commenting on their blog, and hoping that they take the time and respond. Often these A-List bloggers are very busy people, using their blog as promotion for their primary journalism. As educators we have to try and help students make that good first impression, so that the establishment takes them & their causes seriously, so as not to become apathetic to any type of engagement outside their private sphere.
Life is all about who we know. I also agree blogs are the way we are getting more and more information but the problem I see here is blogs are subjective.
ReplyDelete