I think the future of blogging lies along a similar path. Most blogs are conveyed by writing now, but blogging will be delivered by speech and pictures in the future. The cost barriers to producing video continue to fall, and the capability to produce professional quality work is being honed on YouTube as we speak.
If my vision of the blogging future is correct, it suggests certain dangers. As Neil Postman noted, it is the nature of television (that is, image and sound communication as opposed to print communication) to degrade news reporting and political discourse to the point that we are "amusing ourselves to death." For example, it is the height of irony that critics of Al Gore’s Assault on Reason still focus on his manner and appearance rather than his argument. If increased bandwidth and transmission speeds allow bloggers to emulate the output of the broadcast media, what will prevent them from following the same path?
Rosen notes that in blogging there is strength in numbers. When the Justice Department release thousands of pages of House Judiciary Committee documents, Marshall was able to call upon thousands of his readers to help sift the wheat from the chaff. This is the “open source” approach to journalism research.
Blogging reverses the media flow from "one to many" into "many to one." Blogging in the future may also incorporate aspects of video conferencing, with real time content delivery and response. This ability will allow the blogging information commons to emulate the give-and-take environment that Postman lauds in the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Conversations won’t be limited to 30 or 60 minute timeslots, and all participants will have the ability to post questions and get responses. Instant recall of any video or audio piece from the internet "memory well" will hold speakers accountable for what they say and do and what they have said and have done.
As a blogger myself, I heartily agree with Rosen's assessment. The main stream media doesn't know what's hitting them and when their reading and viewing public disappears almost entirely, they will still be scratching their heads in consternation and wonder.
Article comments
1 - Heather Ames
If blogging moves into the visual and audio media field, there will be some issues other than the content. Many writers do just that--write very well. They convey their thoughts and provoke discussion. In order to do that, they don't have to appear on-screen and that can be a blessing. They haven't had to think about their delivery, their appearance, their ability to charm and audience. Words are their weapons of free speech and empower their emotions. They don't have to take classes in Broadcast Journalism or learn how to have a charismatic on-camera presence, which influences so many of today's viewers. Will the words of someone visually pleasing be held in higher regard than those of someone visually repulsive, or with a lisp or a monochromatic delivery? Will bloggers be flocking to take theatre classes or signing up for Toastmasters in droves? There will be no more hiding in a garret and blogging in private. Bloggers identities and flaws will be there for all to see--warts and all.
2 - Robert K. Blechman
Hi Heather,
Thanks for your comments. I agree that if blog go visual, presentation issues may come to the fore, as they have in television when compared to newspapers or magazines. As Neil Postman noted, all new media favor some and discourage others. Television and film favor those who photograph well, who have resonant speaking voices and know the tricks of appearing on-screen. With written media, "all" you need to know how to do is think and write.
My article could be taken as a warning that the unique characteristics that have made blogging a challenge to established political and cultural institutions may change with the adoption of visual content and techniques. We may still call this new medium a "blog" but it will not be the same animal.
3 - Gray Hunter
Isn't this what vlogs are? Video blogs, right?