(c) Classification of blog

How would you categorize me?


Blogs are all over the place in the web. You see people sell clothes, share pictures, life, opinion and doing so many things on their blogs. But how, to categorize them? Obviously, it is by their content.

According to Technorati. Inc (2009), there are 6 big category for blogs:
1) Entertainment
2) Lifestyle
3) Business
4) Sports
5) Technology
6) Political

Here rise the issue, how would you define 'entertainment'? Should a movie review blog go under 'entertainment', or 'lifestyle'? Miller & Shepherd (2004) strengthens my argument in their discussion of categorizing blog, "It is difficult to generalize about the content of blogs because they are so varied".

Margaret Simons (2008) on the other hand, categorized blog in a much more complicated way:

1) Pamphleteering blog
- Author voice out his/her opinions on any issues they find worth discussing
2) Digest blog
- These are sites where the blog owner summarize or just collect materials from elsewhere, often other blogs
3) Advocacy blog
- This is similar to pamphleteering blog, but the owners are usually people with vested interest, trying to influence
4) Popular Mechanics blog
- This is by far the most practical blog. It serves as a guide or manual, giving out information on how to do certain things
5) Exhibition blog
- This is where artists, writers and craftspeople share their work, showing the creativity of people to color life
6) Gatewatcher blog
- Serves with a purpose to 'watch over' media
7) Diary blog
- Personal online journal where you share life with peers, or to keep your darkest secrets
8) Advertisement blog
- To promote products by commercial companies for business purpose
9) News blog
- They break the news, with the freedom of participatory democracy

Technoraty (2009) and Simon (2008) has classified blogs in their own different way. It has however, one thing in common, both of them shown the importance of the forms of a blog, serves the functions of the blog. Technoraty (2009) concluded that bloggers are "not a homogenous group where Personal, professional, and corporate bloggers all have differing goals and cover an average of five topics within each blog" to serve the function of their blog.

For example, when one choose to be part of a blogging community, he/she will immediately indulge in his/her passion, such as Samuel Phua, who loves music. Through the blog, he will engaged to others who share the same passion, and build up a blogging community who loves music.

SpeedM (Source: speedm.blogspot.com)

He blogs about music, recommend, review and provide songs and lyrics to the audience. This shows that blog serves function, cater to the audience's need, while satisfaction to the owner too.

References:

1. ABC.net.au 2008, A taxanomy of blogs, viewed 16 June 2009, at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2008/2372882.htm#transcript
2. SpeedM, n.d., SpeedM, viewed 16 June 2009, at http://speedm.blogspot.com/
3. Miller, C. R. & Shepherd, D. 2004, Blogging as Social Action: A Genre Analysis of the Weblog, North State Carolina University, viewed 16 June 2009, at http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogospher/blogging_as_social_action_a_genre_analysis_of_the_weblog.html
4. Technorati 2009, Blog Directory, viewed 16th june 2009, at http://technorati.com/blogs/directory
5. Technorati, 2009, State of the Blogosphere 2008, viewed on 27th May 2009, at http://technorati.com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere