Uses of Blogs (Digital Formations) [Paperback]

Axel Bruns (Author), Joanne Jacobs (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0820481246 | ISBN-13: 978-0820481241 | Publication Date: June 1, 2006

Uses of Blogs brings together scholars and practitioners from a wide range of fields to offer a broad spectrum of perspectives on current and emerging uses of blogs. Blogging is rapidly developing into a mainstream activity for Internet users, but beyond the popular headlines, there has been very little serious research done on their actual application in specific, everyday contexts. One reason for this is that the variety of styles of blogging—news blogs and political commentary blogs, marketing blogs, corporate dark blogs, fictional blogs, educational blogs, to name just a few—make it difficult to generalize and to imagine how blogs might be used in particular environments. This pathbreaking new book demonstrates the application of blogs and blogging in the full range of industrial and social contexts.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"This is a broad, but deep look at the social, political, business, and academic effects that blogging is having on our society. Highly recommended!" Robert Scoble, Corporate Blogger, Microsoft Corporation

"We blog, therefore we are players in our own future. Jacobs and Bruns have provided an exciting and useful map to the practices, ethics, and potentials of this most encouraging Internet phenomenon. Highly recommended." Pat Kane, Consultant, Singer, Activist, and Author, The Play Ethic

About the Author

Axel Bruns teaches in the Creative Industries Faculty at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. He is the author of Gatewatching: Collaborative Online News Production

Product Details

• Paperback: 267 pages
• Publisher: Peter Lang Publishing (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0820481246
• ISBN-13: 978-0820481241
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,014,059 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars rise of corporate blogging, October 19, 2006

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Uses of Blogs (Digital Formations) (Paperback)

The attraction of this book is that it goes beyond describing the most common usages of blogs, like for social or political commentary. Bruns and Jacobs explain how blogs have also taken on corporate functionality. Some companies are building "dark" blogs, which are accessible only to its employees. But within this group, the blogs might typically allow the usual free for all contributory mode. One key idea being to encourage as much informal "conversation" as possible, across the company hierarchy. Unlike generic blogs, where authors can come from anywhere, in the corporate context, there is this hierarchy, which can often stifle participation in conventional face to face group meetings.

The book takes the reader beyond the often superficial explanations of how to use blogs. The latter can sometimes be focused on the mechanical aspects of getting to blog, or of finding interesting social blogs.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Average, not academic, April 2, 2007

By 

Christina P. (Laurel, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Uses of Blogs (Digital Formations) (Paperback)

Although some blog researchers wrote sections, I find this very average. Most of the chapters seem to be opinion pieces instead of reporting on research. Some of the sections seem really trite at this point.