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1.4Newformsofconversation—Internetforums
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3.2millionuniquevisitors,14.6millionpageviews,andgenerates$444000in
advertisementmonthly.Itsworthisestimatedat$36million.Thesenumbers
applyonlytotheA-listofblogs,atop-rankedeliteofbloggers.Neverthe-
less,thetechnologyhasmaturedoverthelastfewyearsandtodayblogs
areverydifferentfromwhattheyusedtobe.Asofthetimeofwritingthe
blogrankingsiteTechnoratiindexes113millionsofblogs,with175000new
blogsbeingcreateddailyand1.6millionpostsbeingpublishedeveryday.
Thereisapopularbeliefthatblogshaverevolutionizedcontemporary
communicationbysuccessfullychallengingthemainstreammediaandpro-
vidingnewformsofexpression.Inparticular,blogsallowforinstantand
collaborativejournalismwhichisfreefrommainstreammediaconstraints.
Bloggerscanexpresstheirthoughtsandprovidetheircommentsonany
givensubjectatvirtuallynocost.Thisfreedomtoexpressbearssignificant
consequences,bothpositiveandnegative.Ontheonehand,blogsenable
journalistsandcitizenslivingundergovernmentsthatviolatehumanrights
toprovideeyewitnessinformationaboutgovernmentabusestotheoutside
world.Often,thisleadstoprosecutionofbloggers,ashappenedtoKareem
AmerinEgypt,whohasbeensentencedtofouryearsofimprisonmentforin-
sultingIslamandEgyptianpresidentMubarak[150].Blogsallowemployees
towhistleblowaboutsuspiciouspracticesoftheircompanies[167].Apopular
genreofblogsarethewatchblogs,whereconcernedcitizensprovideconstant
monitoringofagivenpolitician,grouporcompanybehavior(examplesin-
cludeObamaWatch[154]orWal-MartWatch[164]).Ontheotherhand,
blogsprovideanexcellentplatformforextremiststopromotehatespeech
andorganizesemi-criminalactivities(liketheinfamousRedWatchblog)or
topeddlegossips(anexampleisafamoustabloidTMZ[161])andallegedly
postdefamatorymaterial.Aswitheverypopulartechnology,cautionmust
beusedwhenassessingthevalueofinformationprovidedbyablog.Nev-
ertheless,blogshavechangedthewayinformationiscreatedanddelivered,
promptingthousandsofconsciouscitizenstoexpresstheiropinions,needs
andfears.Withnoconstraintsonsubject,formofthepublication,money,
orparticularinterests,everyoneisfreetopublicizewhatevertheywant,with
allpossibleconsequences.Theycanwrite,paint,recordaudio,recordvideo,
makepresentationsandanimations,aslongastheyfindanyoneinterested
enoughtoread.Weexamineformatsandcharacteristicsofdataoriginating
fromtheblogosphereinChapter2,andwepresentmethodsforminingthe
blogosphereinChapter3.
1.4
Newformsofconversation—Internetforums
AnInternetforumisaWebapplicationforpublishinguser-generatedcon-
tentundertheformofadiscussion.Usually,thetermforumreferstothe
entirecommunityofusers.Discussionsconsideringparticularsubjectsare
