Special K

Visual Blogging

Blogs aren't always full of text and links. As seen in Meredith Badger's "Visual Blogs", images are also used. Some visual blogs do more to reveal the identity of the blogger while others use images to tell their story.

Some bloggers use personal pictures of themselves on the front page to give the reader a more personal connection. However, when the blogger posts a picture of herself, she is taking away some of her "blogging mystique". Sometimes it is better to not know how the person looks who is writing the blog. Readers do not always want to share such a personal connection with the blogger- they just want to read what she has written. So much of today's society is based on looks and people make (somewhat) irrational judgments from one's appearance. A reader might enjoy reading a blog of a wonderful writer, but due to past discriminations, may stop after he sees that the writer is a minority. (These are not my feelings. I would never stop reading a blog based on what the blogger looks like. Please do not flood me with flames. I am just writing hypothetically. I know people out there are prejudice and might stop reading another’s blog based on that.)

Badger stated, "Often, however, the images contained within blogs do not show the blogger at all but we can still construct an impression of who the blogger is based on the subject matter they choose. Viewed over time, photographs in weblogs create a composite image of the blogger, a portrait that builds incrementally." True, what pictures a blogger posts does reveal parts of his or her personality. If I had the knowledge, I would probably decorate my blog with all sorts of pictures. And by viewing them, the reader would get a getter sense of who I am and what I like. I may not come right out and say “I like this!”, but readers would know that I posted the photos for a reason- because I enjoy them.

Badger’s article included several links to other blogs that featured visuals. Again, these pictures reveal more about a blogger than one may think. The most interesting visual blog I found was American Elf. Instead of merely using text to describe his life with the occasional picture, the author uses a combination of the two to create a comic. For me, this is where visuals work well. It is much more interesting (to me at least) to read this humorous comic of the author’s day than to read his descriptions. From this comic, I am learning more about the author too. I am drawing conclusions from his comics that he is creative, funny, and somewhat sarcastic. It allows me to know more about the author than if he would have just used text.

So are visuals in blogs helpful or not? Depends on how much the blogger wants to reveal. If she wants to world to know what she looks like in hopes that others will identify more with her, than visuals are fine. If not, than they should not be used this way. Like it or not, what pictures a blogger puts up tell a lot about who they are. Want to remain in the “blogging” mystique- don’t use photos.