To blog or not to blog that is the question

There was an interesting article in the Weekent Australian (August 4-5) 2007 ( Disentangle it now, this web of deceit) on whether web 2.0 and the democratise of the interent is actually doing anything to improve our society. Is it democracy or just trash with millions of self indulgent people talking to themselves wtihout anything useful or constructive to say. ( I have to admit I do wonder about this now that I have become a blogger).

The author, Andrew Keen is concerned that authorative information and insightful discussion is being overwhelmed by wikipedia type websites and cutting and pasting. and copying of ideas. He said many corporate identities are now blogging to give their scew on things without people realising where the information is actually coming from. He is also concerned about the cult of the amatuer, killing out the mainstream professional media.

I can see his point, although I have loved the idea of the democratisation of the Internet. We still need people who are qualified and doing indepth study and research of various topics to be giving us their views to help balance and give depth to our knowledge.

It falls back to the old idea that it is important to look at many sources for your information. It is also important to have your opinon heard and not be afraid to share it. Blogging allows amatuer and porfessionals to do that. It encourages people to develope viewpoints and think about why they believe in certain issues. Hopefully it will encourage people to hone their skills and become more insightful. However I still need the opinions of the experts for guideance and understanding about a huge range of issues, before I can even begin to develop any sort of opinion or comment.

Class system in Online communities

Saturdays Age Insight August 4 had an interesting article on a class system developing in Internet communities. The ideas came from Danah Boyd, An American PHD student studyng online communities. She is speaking in Australia next week on what young people are doing online.
Her articles discuss the differences in class developing between Facebook and Myspace. One example she uses is the American Military ( where myspace but not Face book was recently banned) Can we draw comparisons with anything in Australia.
She says her article is purely based on observation rather than academic research. She hopes to complete academic research in the area but believes it is important to start the discussion now. It makes you wonder about the Department of Education ban on such spaces.
http://www.danah.org/papers/essays/ClassDivisions.html