Is the written word within a Blog considered - first and foremost - public communications or artistic expression? This one has all the makings for an interesting debate.
The advent of Social Media has delivered to us all a huge number of Blogs on the Web - nearly 150 million. The intellectual argument centers on how might we categorize/classify the Blog in the twenty-tens? What is it and where does it fit best? Can it be considered a literary art form in its own right or is it simply a "folder" and "tool" (e.g. WordPress, share buttons, SEO strategy) for various kinds of new media communications? In that case, does it fit better with a foundation for the arts or as part of the world of editorial and public communications?
It is of some importance that we know the answer to this question, so that we may understand the proper way to categorize and value that which composes the average Blog. For example, is it appropriate to expose our children to the Blogosphere during their early education without - first - providing them with some scholarly analysis and practical advice about being somewhat more discerning with regard to Blog writing and content? Do we want impressionable young people to consider the overall quality of Blog writing unquestionably acceptable to emulate? Do we really want a world filled with 8!@#$%^&*+ for them? We can all agree that not everything that looks professionally published is fully credible and devoid of all informational, grammatical and spelling mistakes. Most adults have learned not to be fooled by the fancy formatting and slick graphics that often accompany inaccurate and poorly written articles and posts. So, what we have before us is a basic communications concern. This, before we can even consider if there is any built-in literary value in what we are reading.
Blogging is Changing the Way We Read and Write - for Better or Worse
What is the overall perception of "the Blog" in the world of today? We all have our favorite Blogs, published by those we may admire like Arianna Huffington (Huffington Post) and her team. But for every respected Blog, there are many more failures - if not in longevity, than certainly due to their poor quality. Does the Blogosphere carry with it a built-in air of sophistication equivalent to say the more respected intellectual journals or does it offer the same light weight appeal of - say - an edition of Captain Billy's Whiz Bang? What form and quality of human expression exactly is the Blog?
A closer look lets us see that Blogging is certainly altering the way we write as the Bloggers - themselves - adjust to the changing reading and viewing habits of those of us using laptops, tablets, E-readers and mobile devices to read their posts. We all seem to want this written "stuff" quick and easy to read on an eye-straining machine, so many Bloggers shortcut and shortchange on the way to satisfying us. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing will - over time - be decided by any noticeable upward or downward shifts in the gross number of writers and readers influenced by new media to produce and consume more or less written content, respectively. But, does all of this answer the question of whether the average Blog should be considered the shell of artistic expression or a communication tool? Yes and no. It's mostly about what the individual Blog aspires to be and whether or not it succeeds. Regardless of any outcome, a Blog still belongs to the family of Blogs. It must dwell in that category and be considered part of this unique genre. The question remains: is that genre part of the world of artistic expression or the editorial and communications world? Obviously, the latter usually calls for more integrity and accountability surrounding the written word.
Graphic Design is Part Art and Part Technology
Let's consider a similar question; is graphic design a technology or art discipline? If one is designing a web site for a business client is the work considered an art form or a commercial project/product?
Many graphic artists work on strict production deadlines as do editorial free-lancers and Bloggers. They are all paid by the project and/or the hour to get the work out the door. They are often pressured to compromise and adhere to pre-set production schedules rather than to insist on their own expressions of artistic perfection. The true artist (visual or literary) has no such constraints. In fact, time is actually their ally. Consider that it took Michelangelo over four years, from July of 1508 to October of 1512, to finish painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Why did it take him so long? Michelangelo was a true artist. He wouldn't and couldn't be rushed. He intended to (and did) work in buon fresco, the most difficult method, and one which only true masters undertook. In the modern world, he may have been asked to forego his artistic preference and choose a different style of painting to finish the work much sooner. After all, the work was commissioned by the Pope. Still, artistic expression won the day and the ceiling of the Sistine chapel remains one of Michelangelo's greatest art works.
Depending on the situation graphic design CAN be considered BOTH an art form and a technology? The same rules apply as with the written word. When graphic design is used primarily for artistic expression it can be considered an art form. However, when the effort demands commercial production, it becomes something very different. That "something different" is technology, especially since the knowledge of computer software applications is a pre-requisite. And, this is regardless of the reason for whatever is being designed and for what purpose.
The Blog IS Really "Something Else"
Getting back to the Blog (regardless of its contents), under what category does it belong? Is it an art form? Is it more editorial and a communications tool? Or, might it even be something else, entirely? That something else is Social Media. Social Media is really about all of the things we have already discussed rolled into its own eco-system. By definition, "Social media are works of user-created video, audio, text or multimedia that are published and shared in a social environment, such as a blog, wiki or video hosting site. Text is a coherent set of symbols that transmits some kind of informative message. Informative message? (Wikipedia)" Hmmmm...
There seems to be no distinctions when it comes to text. Text is simply the written word. Period. Text is the written word - communications - "consisting of multiple glyphs, characters, symbols or sentences; a book, tome or other set of writings; a brief written message transmitted between mobile phones; an SMS text message; data which can be interpreted as human-readable text (all Wikipedia)." Text forms communications and any sort of writing - fictional or otherwise is communications first and foremost. We must understand what is is being written about and what thoughts and ideas are being expressed BEFORE we can appreciate these written words as an art form. If we can't read and understand the communications, there is no art to be appreciated. There are only multiple glyphs, characters, symbols or sentences. There is text. There is communications. And, communications shared over the Web is what we now call - Social Media.
So the written word and Blog - whether they are intended to share artistic expression or just serve as informative text (e.g. non-fiction) ALWAYS have communications at their core and belong to the worlds of communications and Social Media. And, by the way, Graphic Designers also fits nicely in the domain of Social Media, too. In graphic form they often illustrate those points being made on the Web.
The advent of Social Media has delivered to us all a huge number of Blogs on the Web - nearly 150 million. The intellectual argument centers on how might we categorize/classify the Blog in the twenty-tens? What is it and where does it fit best? Can it be considered a literary art form in its own right or is it simply a "folder" and "tool" (e.g. WordPress, share buttons, SEO strategy) for various kinds of new media communications? In that case, does it fit better with a foundation for the arts or as part of the world of editorial and public communications?
It is of some importance that we know the answer to this question, so that we may understand the proper way to categorize and value that which composes the average Blog. For example, is it appropriate to expose our children to the Blogosphere during their early education without - first - providing them with some scholarly analysis and practical advice about being somewhat more discerning with regard to Blog writing and content? Do we want impressionable young people to consider the overall quality of Blog writing unquestionably acceptable to emulate? Do we really want a world filled with 8!@#$%^&*+ for them? We can all agree that not everything that looks professionally published is fully credible and devoid of all informational, grammatical and spelling mistakes. Most adults have learned not to be fooled by the fancy formatting and slick graphics that often accompany inaccurate and poorly written articles and posts. So, what we have before us is a basic communications concern. This, before we can even consider if there is any built-in literary value in what we are reading.
Blogging is Changing the Way We Read and Write - for Better or Worse
What is the overall perception of "the Blog" in the world of today? We all have our favorite Blogs, published by those we may admire like Arianna Huffington (Huffington Post) and her team. But for every respected Blog, there are many more failures - if not in longevity, than certainly due to their poor quality. Does the Blogosphere carry with it a built-in air of sophistication equivalent to say the more respected intellectual journals or does it offer the same light weight appeal of - say - an edition of Captain Billy's Whiz Bang? What form and quality of human expression exactly is the Blog?
A closer look lets us see that Blogging is certainly altering the way we write as the Bloggers - themselves - adjust to the changing reading and viewing habits of those of us using laptops, tablets, E-readers and mobile devices to read their posts. We all seem to want this written "stuff" quick and easy to read on an eye-straining machine, so many Bloggers shortcut and shortchange on the way to satisfying us. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing will - over time - be decided by any noticeable upward or downward shifts in the gross number of writers and readers influenced by new media to produce and consume more or less written content, respectively. But, does all of this answer the question of whether the average Blog should be considered the shell of artistic expression or a communication tool? Yes and no. It's mostly about what the individual Blog aspires to be and whether or not it succeeds. Regardless of any outcome, a Blog still belongs to the family of Blogs. It must dwell in that category and be considered part of this unique genre. The question remains: is that genre part of the world of artistic expression or the editorial and communications world? Obviously, the latter usually calls for more integrity and accountability surrounding the written word.
Graphic Design is Part Art and Part Technology
Let's consider a similar question; is graphic design a technology or art discipline? If one is designing a web site for a business client is the work considered an art form or a commercial project/product?
Many graphic artists work on strict production deadlines as do editorial free-lancers and Bloggers. They are all paid by the project and/or the hour to get the work out the door. They are often pressured to compromise and adhere to pre-set production schedules rather than to insist on their own expressions of artistic perfection. The true artist (visual or literary) has no such constraints. In fact, time is actually their ally. Consider that it took Michelangelo over four years, from July of 1508 to October of 1512, to finish painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Why did it take him so long? Michelangelo was a true artist. He wouldn't and couldn't be rushed. He intended to (and did) work in buon fresco, the most difficult method, and one which only true masters undertook. In the modern world, he may have been asked to forego his artistic preference and choose a different style of painting to finish the work much sooner. After all, the work was commissioned by the Pope. Still, artistic expression won the day and the ceiling of the Sistine chapel remains one of Michelangelo's greatest art works.
Depending on the situation graphic design CAN be considered BOTH an art form and a technology? The same rules apply as with the written word. When graphic design is used primarily for artistic expression it can be considered an art form. However, when the effort demands commercial production, it becomes something very different. That "something different" is technology, especially since the knowledge of computer software applications is a pre-requisite. And, this is regardless of the reason for whatever is being designed and for what purpose.
The Blog IS Really "Something Else"
Getting back to the Blog (regardless of its contents), under what category does it belong? Is it an art form? Is it more editorial and a communications tool? Or, might it even be something else, entirely? That something else is Social Media. Social Media is really about all of the things we have already discussed rolled into its own eco-system. By definition, "Social media are works of user-created video, audio, text or multimedia that are published and shared in a social environment, such as a blog, wiki or video hosting site. Text is a coherent set of symbols that transmits some kind of informative message. Informative message? (Wikipedia)" Hmmmm...
There seems to be no distinctions when it comes to text. Text is simply the written word. Period. Text is the written word - communications - "consisting of multiple glyphs, characters, symbols or sentences; a book, tome or other set of writings; a brief written message transmitted between mobile phones; an SMS text message; data which can be interpreted as human-readable text (all Wikipedia)." Text forms communications and any sort of writing - fictional or otherwise is communications first and foremost. We must understand what is is being written about and what thoughts and ideas are being expressed BEFORE we can appreciate these written words as an art form. If we can't read and understand the communications, there is no art to be appreciated. There are only multiple glyphs, characters, symbols or sentences. There is text. There is communications. And, communications shared over the Web is what we now call - Social Media.
So the written word and Blog - whether they are intended to share artistic expression or just serve as informative text (e.g. non-fiction) ALWAYS have communications at their core and belong to the worlds of communications and Social Media. And, by the way, Graphic Designers also fits nicely in the domain of Social Media, too. In graphic form they often illustrate those points being made on the Web.
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