Blogger Trap

The virtual network I have joined is Blogger.com. Blogger is a creative outlet, an avenue in which any person can use to express their creative identity or just everyday thoughts.  It provides the user the ability to create a profile, with the choice of disclosing as much or as little personal information. I decided not to provide all my personal details, simply because I do not wish to have my identity and personal information embossed in a website that is so easily accessible. After creating a profile, the user is free to turn this blog page into anything she or he chooses. Nowadays blogs are seen as an easy way of achieving success in their chosen field of work, this comes as a result of the more popular blogs turning into book deals and even films, blogs are now the shortcut to becoming a published writer.

The most interesting thing I found is the way Blogger is designed to trap the audience into an endless series of blogs. This is effect is created quite cleverly through the use of one button located on the top bar of every page and says “next blog”. Anyone can start out looking at one blog, however the more they click “next blog” button the more addicted to the cycle of reading other people’s thoughts. However this does not end there, the website like many others, recognises a pattern in likes and dislikes. So if I spent more time looking at fashion blogs, then every time I press the “next blog” button it will give me another fashion blog, and another, etc. This concept is addressed by Wood, D. et al. when discussing mapping and the use of maps to only show the information needed for the recipient to reach the destination (Wood 2001, pp 1-4). In the case of this blog site the map is created by the website and only shows the audience the information needed to keep them on the site for longer.

Reference:

·      Wood, D. Kaiser. W.L & Abramms, B. 2001. Seeing Through Maps: Many Ways to See the World. New Internationalist Publications Ltd. Oxford, UK.