Blogs, books and why opinions are like fixing engines

I’m sure you have all read ‘Rise of the Mummy Bloggers’ by now and are aware of some people who have nothing better to do than make poorly researched comments and whinge about women who are building careers and making a living from telling their stories. People have been doing this in mainstream media for decades, so why not social media? 

A lot of comments that I read were from people who I imagine wouldnt hesitate to check google if they had a problem with their car engine.

 I would like to point out that they might just come accross a blog  in their search from a bloke who replaced the thingy watsit on the engine but it turned out it didnt fit the way it should but his story tells of how he fixed it anyway using a garden hose and a bobby pin, you know stuff you don't find in the manual.

I have a problem with a teething toddler and I dont want to read give them a teething ring for $4.99 I want to read somebodies personal account of how and why the red star shaped teething ring is better than the blue one and why, and also that yes they are goddamn tired after not sleeping in two days thankyouverymuch.

The key point Im trying to make is we want information that is not just useful but that we relate to, when we relate we feel validated and it makes us feel NORMAL. Blogs give us that somebody to relate to, and its really nice to feel normal especially after 48hrs of no sleep.

The world of mainstream media is slowly catching on to just how powerfully influential the average person armed with a computer can really be. The blog has become a valuable tool for teaching the world that as individuals we ALL have a story. Our own feelings and emotions are just as important as those of everybody else. By sharing our stories with each other we have the ability to create networks of support that span the world over, we have the power to teach people in all walks of life and at all ends of the globe.

We will like some blogs and not others and other people will like the ones we hate and loath the ones we love - thats the beauty of it. There is something for everyone out there, if you don't like it you dont have to take the book back to the store for a refund, you can just move on. Simple.

As for monatising? As long as there is money, there will be marketing and the ads we see in the magazines and the newspaper are really no different to those on the blog, the main difference between the two forms of media lies in accessability and the artical itself.

The magazine or newspaper lays down a carefully edited and re edited story designed to sell to the majority and make a profit for the company. 

The blog gives an oppertunity to view the unscripted world through the eyes of one other person, raw and real.

Like it or not the internet has changed the world, we are more powerful as individuals than we have ever been before, information about anything and everything is literally at our fingertips whenever we want it. We have been given the opportunity to embrace this change, to better appreciate the diversity around us and encourage true equality in this great planet we all live in.

When you blog don’t be afraid to speak up for yourself out of fear of a few negative comments, there will always be people who are validated by your voice no matter how small. Remember, when combined our small voices become large and loud and if we all speak together, we will be heard!