Blogs vs. Reality TV - Guidelines vs. Rules
The classroom discussion today revolved mostly around the similarities and differences between blogs and reality television.
In class, it was argued both that blogs have rules and do not have rules. Many of my coursemates said that blogs must have rules, because of conventions such as content, or the possibility of consequences such as flame-wars.
I, however, feel that blogs have no rules at all.
First, I would like to clarify what sort of rules I am talking about. I do not mean rules such as needing content, style, etc; these things are universally required in writing and most other forms of expression, so of course they are necessary in blogs (you can't write without some amount of content and style creeping into your writing, otherwise it simply would not exist). I mean rules that govern the specifics of what and how a person writes, the little details that make or break a good work of writing.
On a blog, an author can choose to post about anything, from personal intimacies to public opinion. There is little or no structure that determines how entries and blogs develop; it is entirely up to the author. He (or she) gets to choose the design, layout, content, style, and other writing essentials and modify/manipulate them as he sees fit.
Sure, there is the possibility of a flame war, but they do not have to have any bearing on the author's writing. He does not have to apologize or change his content; he should do so, of course, if he wishes to keep his audience and his integrity in their eyes, although it is not necessary.
Keep in mind, these authors are mostly personal, private people, people who would otherwise be unable to express their own thoughts and ideas to the public.
So how does this relate to reality television?
Well, reality TV places those personal, private people in very structured, monitored, and most importantly, mediated situations. They no longer have control over what and how the private aspects of their lives are portrayed to the public, and they must instead fall victim to the editing of mass media giants.
In the end, blogs provide even more reality than those "reality" TV shows do. They place you on the author's level with no mediator in-between, no one to decide what does and does not "make the cut."
It is in this manner that blogs bring us to a personal level with other human beings that simply isn't possible in most other forms of media.
This entry is closely related to the following entries posted by my peers:
Melissa - Blogs and Reality TV
Stormy - Reality TV vs. Blogs
Stefanie - Blogging and Reality, The Perfect Mix