Classification of Blogging and their Communities

Blogs come in a range of different formats therefore, the topic and context and the information written changes with each. Saying that, each blog revolves around a certain topic, in which the author can express their thoughts, opinions and ideas in the topic of interest. When searching ‘Blog’ into Google there are a range of different search options, most being Journals which are Dear Diary blogs and others range from sport to political.

Blog is defined as a ‘type of website which is maintained by an author or just a regular writer’ explained Hidalgo (2007). Entries are updated regularly on any issues to the author’s interest. Some of the most common blogs are informational, personal, corporate, media, music, medical, genre and celebrity.

Blogging communities are formed when people with ‘similar interests or organizations are then able to instantly, easily and effectively create a single point of access and content aggregation. This then leads to the advantages of having a blog community. The advantage of establishing a blog community, either amongst friends, colleagues, or communities of interest, lies in the group effect. Users can benefit by networking, finding new friends, or simply have a stronger communication tool within the blogosphere’ explained Kinkeldei (2007).

Blogs have a tendency to attract a certain age group. The first type of blog that is going to be discussed is the Personal blog, to which most people would know as the ‘Dear Diary’ type. The most common type of personal blog is LiveJournal. LiveJournal mainly attracts the younger audiences and through word of mouth has increased in popularity. When entering the LiveJournal site there are many different subcategories, in which people can relate to. Different topics of discussion, such as music, news, life and technology. Although LiveJournal has a large following, Facebook, which is the latest craze at the moment, has stopped the amount of personal blogs. LiveJournal has now become the main place for people to sell wedding planners, bands and even different celebrity news.





The second type of blog that is going to be discussed is medical blogs, which answers any questions on most problems. The most common medical blog is MedWorm. MedWorm attracts all audiences and is increasing in popularity. MedWorm has many different areas of discussion, ranging from medical conditions to medical discussions.

There are endless amounts of blogs online, they each have a different common interest. These interests are in the readers advantage with the discussions and blogging reaching a wider audience without intention. This happens because people comment and ask questions, most people are a part of a Blogging community.


Image Source: MedWorm

Image Source: LiveJournal

Hidalgo, C 2007, Blogs/blogger/blogging/blog/weblog, viewed 26 October 2009, <http://webweevers.com/blog.htm>.

Kinkeldei, B. 2007 "Forging Connections and Promoting Growth Through Blog Communities", 21publish.com, viewed 26 October 2009, <http://www.21publish.com/pub/21publish/blogging-whitepaper.pdf>.