Blogrolling

As some of you can tell, I started a blogroll, over on the right. I added sights I constantly search and blogs I like to read. Under ‘Class Weblogs,’ I added the weblogs by my classmates in JOUR713 at the University of North Carolina. So, in this post, I’m adding my answers to Deb’s questions.

1) How important is evaluating an author’s qualifications?

I think it depends on the subject being blogged on. Taking myself as an example, I’m not an expert in Mexican politics or the history of journalism in Mexico. But I did grow up on the Texas/U.S. border and saw first-hand how dangerous it is to be a reporter there. For someone blogging on alternative fuel, I’ll be looking at the blog for his opinion and the information he’s found, not because he’s a scientist. But if a blog is talking about an industry, say aviation, I’d like the person to have a good understanding of how the industry works.

2) How is a blogroll different from other media, how similar?

The media is different from blogrolling because they will not be recommending other sources for you. The media succeeds because it’s supposed to be the only source you need for your information. Blogrolling will send you out into the openness of the World Wide Web, in search of second opinions or similar articles. Blogrolling allows you to spread your wings, in a way.

But they are similar in the way that they provide the news. Sometimes blogs are not as trustworthy as a news article from CNN, but many times, they strive to provide the best information they can.

3) How do you think blogrolling will evolve?

I don’t know how blogrolling will evolve. I didn’t know blogs would grow to be what they are today. But I can hope that in this day of uncertainty in journalism, they will provide a stable place to get your news.