Thursday, February 24, 2005

Reasons to Blog

Melinda Penner of Stand to Reason Weblog has an interesting post up based on Hugh Hewitt's book Blog. She says:
The real power, as I see it, in what Hugh has to say to Christians is that every individual Christian can blog and have influence. It’s a great way of sharing one’s gifts, knowledge, and experience with people they’d never otherwise meet. It’s a way for someone who’s shy or embarrassed to express themselves with a bit of cover. An individual Christian’s influence may be a half dozen people, but that is probably a half dozen people you didn’t have influence with before. If it’s difficult to share your thoughts and views at work or at school, write them in a blog and send your coworkers and friends there. Christians have all kinds of gifts and expertise that don’t get used well in the local church; take your ministry in your own hands and blog it – always remembering to be a winsome and attractive ambassador.

Jeremy Thiessen, the so-called Normal Rockstar, points to Melinda's post in his introduction to blogging for his fans entitled To Blog or Not to Blog. He says:
Don't let blogging & your desire for influence replace your relationship with the Lord and those closest to you. Blogging is just like ice cream: it's a good thing in reasonable doses, but too much of it can be a very bad thing. Make sure you set guidelines for how much time you're going to spend on it and what exactly you want to say. And have someone hold you to those guidelines - remember that there are real, breathing people near you who need your attention more than those in cyberspace... keep the main things the main things!
Weblights

Benediction Blogs On continues to post many interesting observations on blogging, the blogosphere, God blogging, and internet information. Some interesting info includes:

The State of Blogging in the States cites a Pew Research study on blogging which notes:
6 million Americans (5% of online Americans) get their news via RSS aggregators
8 million Americans (7%) have blogs of their own
14 million American (12%) have commented on other people’s blogs
32 million Americans (27%) read blogs regularly
74 million of Americans (62%) don’t know what a blog is
Bene asks about women bloggers... where are they in the god blogging realm and how can we interest them?

God -blog Demographics 2005 Part 1 takes a look at some god-blog Aggregators and Lists. Just looking at it briefly reflects the lack of a larger or more unified Christian or God blogging portal. It's been interesting to read about developments in this field these past few months around the blogosphere.

But do we need a larger more unifed Christian blogging or God blog portal?

Teens and webpages points readers to Church Marketing Sucks' post on Designing Web Sites For Teens.

Thursday, February 10, 2005

Here and There

Various news items and links of interest from around the Blogosphere:


Dr. Andrew Jackson of SmartChristian Blog posted yesterday about possibly starting a "Christian Blogosphere Portal," and says the following:
...it is becoming harder and harder to introduce the CB (Christian Blogosphere) to new wannabe bloggers, or navigate its many streets and alleys, hills and valleys. Christian Blogosphere Central would attempt to be a comprehensive and informative portal into the world of Christian blogging and blogs.
What do you think of Andrew's idea? You can see the original post and give feedback here. Andrew is also planning GodBlogCon.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project has released 2 recent reports on the blogosphere and the state of blogging.
By the end of 2004 blogs had established themselves as a key part of online culture. Two surveys by the Pew Internet & American Life Project in November established new contours for the blogosphere: 8 million American adults say they have created blogs; blog readership jumped 58% in 2004 and now stands at 27% of internet users; 5% of internet users say they use RSS aggregators or XML readers to get the news and other information delivered from blogs and content-rich Web sites as it is posted online; and 12% of internet users have posted comments or other material on blogs. Still, 62% of internet users do not know what a blog is.
The reports can be accessed here.


Bene Diction of Benediction Blogs On is doing another "God Blogging" study similar to one they completed last year. Read about their new God Blog Demographics 2005 study here.


Blogging awards are growing and becoming a bigger idea. The 2005 Catholic Blog Awards, the 1st Annual Evangelical Blog Awards are just some of the increasing many blog awards.