Conclusion

This website has attempted to analyze the role that blogging has played in modern day life and communication. The theme is that blogs have played a large part and is increasingly becoming attached to the needs of information professionals. However, what will blogs and the act of blogging look like in the future? Although there are an infinite number of theories floating out in the blogosphere, they all appear to converge into two schools of thought.

One of them, championed by the likes of Rebecca Blood argues that blogs will ultimately provide a space for change, particularly for marginalised voices. She believes that bloggers, particularly women, will be allowed to talk anonymously about personal subjects that are normally taboo. Therefore, not only will blogging continue to play an important role in human interaction and communication, it will will eventually create a huge cultural shift (McBride, 2004).

A contrasting theory is that blogging will transform into something that would be virtually unrecognizable from its current form. According to Matt Brodie, blogging is merely a crude early version of new forms of Internet interaction that will gradually replace it. As the number of blogs increases, readers (and bloggers) will be unable to keep up with the the amount of content they have to sift through. Consequently, bloggers will be forced to merge together to create the equivalent of an online magazine or journal, with advertising, subscription fees, and content limited to a few peer-reviewed postings each week. Some blogs will become the equivalent of the AP service for specialized disciplines, passing on news and information in terse form while other bloggers will convert to podcasting or videocasting as they expand their brand to new areas. Ultimately, the traditional "blog" - a site with numerous short opinion posts over the course of a day - will inevitably become extinct (Brodie, 2005).

Hence, the large gulf between these two views show that blogging is still in its infant stages. The full range of its purpose and its uses have yet to be mapped out. Which is why there are still a number of questions as to where the technology is heading. Regardless of whether it stays or disappears, the important fact is that blogging as a social activity has already played a large part in human communication. It will only get more interesting as we observe how it will change in the future.