A very good analysis in the Guardian newsblog on the role blogs have played in the Asia tsunami disaster and the long-term catalyzing effect this will have on the significance of blogs in the future …
“The tsunami may have a profound effect on blogs. These self-published sites have played a huge role in the telling of the horror that struck – and continues to strike – south-east Asia, and it seems inevitable the impact of their role will reverberate on long after the disaster, and subsequent relief effort, have faded from our newspapers and TV screens.
[] For the first time, powerful coverage of a huge news event was not brought to you purely by established media. An army of “citizen journalists” played a new role, perhaps all the more vital considering the effect vivid reportage, online and off, has had on the subsequent fundraising efforts.
[] It would be obscene to remember this tsunami as anything other than a huge natural disaster, a human tragedy on an unimaginable scale. But for those watching this small, comparatively insignificant world of media, this may also be remembered as a time when citizen reporting, through the force of its huge army of volunteers and their simple type and publish weblog mechanisms, finally found its voice, and delivered in a way the established media simply could not.”
Seeing blogs as part of the new media landscape is also a complementary view to that Shel and I discussed in our podcast on Monday – how this awful tragedy may be seen in the coming months as a catalyst for the globalization’ of blogs – connectivity and linking in far more meaningful ways.
Neville Hobson is the author of the popular NevilleHobson.com blog which focuses on business communication and technology.
Neville is currentlly the VP of New Marketing at Crayon. Visit Neville Hobson’s blog: NevilleHobson.com.
