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Blog: Understanding The Information/Reformation That's Changing Your World Hardcover – January 1, 2005

by Hugh Hewitt (Author)

2.8 56 ratings

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Offers an overview of the importance of the blogosphere and provides instructions on starting a new blog or improving an existing one.

Print length

223 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Thomas Nelson Inc
Publication date

January 1, 2005
Dimensions

5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches
ISBN-10

078521187X
ISBN-13

978-0785211877
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thomas Nelson Inc; First Edition (January 1, 2005)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 223 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 078521187X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0785211877
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches

Customer Reviews:
2.8 56 ratings

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Hugh Hewitt

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Hugh Hewitt is a lawyer, professor, and broadcast journalist whose nationally syndicated radio show is heard in more than 120 cities across the United States every weekday morning. An analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, he is the author a more than a dozen books. Hewitt is a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, and has taught Constitutional Law at Chapman University Law School since it opened in 1995. He is a partner with the Los Angeles law firm of Larson O’Brien LLP and writes daily at HughHewitt.com.

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2.8 out of 5

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loulou

disgusting

Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2005

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the mad rants of a fanatic neo-con disguised under the title"blog". I feel cheated.

13 people found this helpful

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Dr. Jones

Blogging is so Beta tape

Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2011

Hugh had a good idea here, but it was idea that was quickly surpassed by tweeting. Blogging had the potential of becoming a bigger deal in our social lives, but it was quickly surpassed by another innovation. Hewitt was at the edge of the innovation in blogging, so far on the edge that he missed the fact that it was open to being challenged by another technology. I give him kudos for being on the edge of things, and writing well. However, this book sadly is too far out of date to be of use any longer.

One person found this helpful

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Dr. Richard G. Petty

Essential Reading for Anyone Who Wants to Know What Blogging is All About

Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2006

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This is an excellent and insightful overview of a growing phenomenon.

The current state of the Blogosphere seems to be much the same as the Internet was 8-9 years ago, when it was very broad, but lacked depth, and was still heavily populated by people eager to talk about themselves or their favorite hobby horses. Of course, many of them are still here, but the Internet has deepened and matured as will the Blogosphere. I say that despite all the porn and paranoia that pops up everywhere. Both the Internet and the Blogosphere are powerful tools for research, representation and empowerment.

One of the most interesting aspects of the Blogosphere's development has been the similarity to the way in which neural connections form in the brain. And I think it likely that, as in the brain, less useful pathways will be pruned over time.

The reviewer who likened the current state of blogging to graffiti is quite right as things stand now. But over time neurological systems tend to be self-regulating, as I suspect, the Blogosphere will be. Indeed, I think that many of the examples in this book point to self-regulation that is already occurring.

Be very clear that this is not a "How To" book, of which there are plenty of good ones. It is instead a cultural and sociological analysis of something new that is evolving extremely rapidly, and is already impacting all our lives.

This is arguably the best overview of blogging currently available, but I hope that Hugh Hewitt knows that he's going to have to update the book with monotonous regularity!

Highly recommended to anyone who wants to know what blogging is all about, and whether they want to be involved in it.

3 people found this helpful

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E. Dillenburg

Hugh is great, as always

Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2014

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But he takes himself a bit too seriously here. Blogs are great, yes, but they are going to change the world? The world remains unimpressed.

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Tim Challies

I Wanted To Love It...

Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2005

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A couple of weeks ago I was browsing through my pastor's library and remarking on the number of people who lay claim to "the next Reformation." Over twenty years ago, Robert Schuller told us it would be a Reformation of self-esteem and more recently his protégé Rick Warren that it will be one of purpose. Other books tell us the next Reformation will involve breaking the church body into small groups, essentially giving the church back to the people in the same way that the first Reformation gave the theology back to the people. And now Hugh Hewitt has entered the fray with his latest book Blog, predicting that the next Reformation will be blogging. The book is subtitled "Understanding the information Reformation that's changing your world" and the front cover adds, "Why you must know how the blogosphere is smashing the old media monopoly and giving individuals power in the marketplace of ideas." This is a book about the power and importance of blogging. If you are looking for a "how-to" guide to get you started or a book that will explain the pros and cons of commenting or tell you what a trackback ping is, you will have to look elsewhere.

Blog is divided into four sections and I will briefly outline each of them. In the first, Hewitt shows the power of "blog swarms" and provides a historical parallel for this new Reformation. To illustrate the power of blogs, Hewitt traces four of the blogosphere's greatest success stories: the toppling of Trent Lott; Catching the New York Times and reporter Jayson Blair in a lie; John Kerry lying about Christmas in Cambodia; and the Rathergate scandal that toppled Dan Rather. He outlines how these stories broke and how the MSM was usually far behind the blogosphere. In fact, had it not been for bloggers, it is likely that none of these stories would ever have broken in the way they did. And there is no doubt that these are only the first of many similar stories.

Following this, Hewitt risks what some Protestants would consider near-blasphemy by drawing direct comparisons between the first and (supposedly) impending Reformations. It is a twelve page "Coles Notes" summary of the Reformation and critical role played by the newly invented printing press. To summarize, without the movable type printing press, there would have been no Reformation simply because it was a popular movement that was championed by the common man who was provided information via this new medium.

In the second part of the book, Hewitt sets out to prove that Mainstream Media (MSM) is facing impending doom and that the blogosphere will be the benefactor in MSM's long-overdue demise. He believes that the overbearing issue in the dissemination of information is trust, and our society is rapidly losing trust in MSM. "The key to keep in mind is that trust drives everything. To build and maintain trust is a tremendously difficult thing, requiring patient attention to detail and discipline over long periods of time ... In a world changing as rapidly as ours is, only those who have earned and continue to earn trust will be in a position to influence the choices of third parties. Blogs can earn that most valuable commodity. Which is why you have to get started. Your competitors already have" (page 155). The blogosphere offers readers a wide variety of authors to choose from and provides ample opportunity to regain the trust that is so lacking in MSM. This section (and, in fact, the whole book) is firmly slanted to the right (as one might expect if they read Hewitt's blog or listen to his radio program) and Hewitt takes every opportunity to criticize the Democratic Party and every media outlet other than FOX. I suspect this will hinder the potential impact of this book, as it alienates much of its potential audience. If you can see through this slant, you'll find that it is worth your while to keep reading.

I understand that the MSM is declining in so far as people no longer watch the nightly news and buy newspapers as they once did. However, what Hewitt does not do, is trace the number of readers at sites such as cnn.com or cbsnews.com. Is it possible that MSM is merely evolving in the media it uses to present its information? I would suggest that as fewer people tune in to CNN on their television, growing numbers are visiting cnn.com. Thus it seems that Hewitt may be missing the point. Could it be that blogging is merely a symptom of the change that we are seeing as people gravitate towards Internet-based media? Blogging is clearly one of the most exciting and most important aspects of this, but I would suggest that it is merely one aspect of a wider change.

I also wonder how plausible it is that MSM will die off. After all, bloggers do not usually create the news. Instead, they interpret the news that the MSM has already reported. Without the MSM, what will bloggers use for source material? What upper level organization will gather the news to disseminate it to the blogosphere so that it can be examined by the growing numbers of pundits? These are questions Hewitt does not adequately address.

The third section of the book suggests ways that blogging can be beneficial to individuals and organizations. The author suggests that every CEO should begin a blog to champion his company and his employees and that every hobbyist should be blogging about his hobby. Every major organization needs to secure blog-related domain names, so, for example, General Motors needs to acquire gmblog.com and use it to market their products. And on the whole I agree. Blogging has tremendous potential in a wide variety of applications.

The book concludes with two lengthy appendices that comprise almost 30 percent of the book. Appendix A is a disjointed collection of some of Hewitt's early writings on blogging and Appendix B is an assortment of emails sent to him from his readers which describe their blog-reading habits. Some of this is interesting, but most adds no significant value to the book.

As I read Blog, I was continually struck by how self-serving the book seemed. It struck me as being almost like the biography of a proud, self-made billionaire, except with site traffic and recognition in place of dollars and European models. If you do not know how many visits Hugh has to his blog in an average day, a busy day or an election day, you will before you have finished the book. You will know how many blogs have been started because of his influence and just how useful a link from his blog to yours can be. I came to realize, though, that in a sense the blogosphere is built on just this sort of self-importance. Bloggers succeed by driving visitors to their sites by whatever means possible. The most important person in the blogosphere is the one with the greatest readership, just like the most important person in my hometown is the one with the most money. And lest I sound hypocritical, I will admit that I have a blog of my own and that I have no right to cast the first stone.

Another reviewer commented that, "The book reads like it was cranked out over a few long weekends." I suspect that may be the case. Reviews of this book were posted on Amazon as early as December 28 of 2004 and some high-traffic bloggers reported receiving copies as early as December 24, yet the book discusses Hewitt's site traffic during the Presidential elections of that same year, which took place on November 2 (only seven weeks earlier). Some have suggested that the frantic pace of the book owes to the frantic pace of technology in general and the blogosphere in particular. I would suggest that the frantic pace comes from a frantic writing and publishing schedule. Several of the chapters, especially near the end of the book, are so short (several are less than two pages) that it almost seems like the author just never got around to finishing them.

I have long since grown tired and skeptical of people claiming to have discovered the next Reformation. I don't believe blogging represents the next Reformation any more than did self-esteem. At the same time, there are some interesting and undeniable parallels between the availability of information at the time of the rise of the Reformers and our time where we are witnessing the rise of the bloggers. Blogging is already going mainstream and, especially in a fast-paced society like our own, it is never good to be left behind.

This book has much to say that is valuable, especially in regards to the importance of trust and the application of blogging to corporations and organizations. Unfortunately, I found it frantically-written and poorly-organized. I wanted to love it, but in the end just could not. Yet I still do give recommend it, especially to those in positions of leadership. Its alarmist tone may convince some of the value of blogging, but I suspect just as many others will be put-off. I agree with Hewitt that the blogosphere is giving individuals power in the marketplace of ideas and agree that this is generally a good thing. I think there is great future for the blogosphere.

In the end, Blog is a 155-page book, padded with appendices to 220 pages, but one that to treat the topic properly needs to be about 300 pages (with no appendices!). It is, no doubt, a valuable contribution to our understanding of the power and importance of blogging, but it is incomplete. I know Hugh Hewitt has the knowledge to do justice to the subject matter - it just seems that perhaps he was not given the time.

15 people found this helpful

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P. S. Braterman

A right-wing rant; no useful advice

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 14, 2007

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The author is a right-wing American radio commentator, whose blog is eagerly followed by the like-minded. His situation is untypical, as is his perspective (in an earlier book, he predicted that the 2006 US elections would see the consolidation of a permanent Republican majority). There is a lot of chest-beating, but the cultural analysis is superficial and narcissistic, and there is no practical advice on how to start or develop your own blog.

Whatever your individual perspective, you will learn much more about blogging from "The Weblog Handbook", by Rebecca Blood.

2 people found this helpful

Victor Wong

Hugh Hewitt's Blog: A Trade Paperback in a Hardcover Jacket

Reviewed in Canada on February 23, 2005

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Yes, it's a must-have book on the growth and power of the blogosphere, but I'd be lying if I said there were no flaws.
Hugh is, of course, an opinionated guy. And in chapter 1, as he chronicles the impact of blogging on Trent Lott, the New York Times, John Kerry, and Dan Rather, we learn his opinions of CNN, the New York Times' Paul Krugman (he calls him "unbalanced and frothing" even though Krugman quotes a blogger approvingly), the mainstream media and Barbra Streisand. (To his credit, he does try to be fair to the blogsites Atrios and DailyKos.) If you can get past the slant, you'll find he has quite a bit to say.
Hugh seems a bit apocalyptic in his view of the MSM, which is perhaps why some of them are dismissive of this book. But at the same time he outlines in plain language some of the reasons why mainstream journalism is in a crisis of confidence, and why the blogosphere aggravates it.
Chapter 7 describes strategies for dealing with the blogosphere, intended for businesses that could be potential targets. For the most part it's common sense, but this is one chapter that can and should be longer, particularly in outlining policies on employee blogging.
Chapters 8 and 9 deal with starting and maintaining blogs for business, from leaders to managers to subordinates, as well as the use of blogs for gathering corporate intelligence. And Chapter 12 lists typical examples of blogs that types of people could start.
There are nice concrete suggestions here, but the chapters could have benefitted from real-world examples. For instance, Hugh could interview TV producer Rhett Reese, who maintained a showblog while his series Joe Schmo 2 was airing on Spike TV.
And yet these latter chapters are perhaps the most important contributions Hugh makes to the blog literature, because they attempt to show how the blogosphere can be mined and exploited for better corporate behavior.
My recommendation? If you don't know much about blogs but want to use the Net to help your business, you should buy this edition. If you're already a blogger, you might want to wait for the paperback.

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