Some time this spring I came up with this matrix in order to make it more easy to discuss blogs with my students - and I would like to use it in a later paper. I found that I really need some kind of tool that could help students and me place a given blog, not on a scale, but in a matrix that displayed 2 important aspects of the blog: the degree to which the discourse of the blog is personal or impersonal (examplified by f.i. the use of "I think" versus the use of "There is", subjective feelings vs. objective professional opinions expressed), and the degree to which the blog is used as personal publication tool (monologic, low degree of outward links to other bloggers and people) or intended to function as a form of social software (establishing and maintaining relations with other bloggers or types of organisations, "dialogic", high amount of outward links). Blogs can be highly personal and monologic, personal and aimed at networking and socialising, impersonal and monologic (a knowledge portal and link filter with no discussion), or impersonal and aimed at networking (for instance a political blog with a lot of discussion of "professional" political issues with voters).

However, as blogs change over time, it is important to include the development process of a blog in the mapping too. There might be blogs which are imporsonal in the beginning, but become more personal over time, or the opposite.

Below is an image of the matrix, with an exemplary blog "mapped" onto it.

Do you think it is useful? What should be changed?


# posted by Lisbeth at: 12:13