Even though it often seems that most people don’t really know what blogs are, blogs are changing the way we receive information, what information we receive, and who we receive it from. In Blog, Hugh Hewitt puts forward the case that this “information reformation” will completely change who has power in the “marketplace of ideas.” |
In Part One, Mr. Hewitt recounts a few stories of how the blogosphere has impacted our world including the fall of Trent Lott, the exposure Dan Rather’s forged memos, and the investigation into John Kerry’s “Christmas in Cambodia.” Without the blogosphere, these stories would never have had the impact they did. This is followed up by a history of the Protestant Reformation and an early history of the blogosphere.
Moving on to what’s going on now, Mr. Hewitt examines why people are transitioning from television and newspapers (“old media”) to blogs for their information. It mostly has to do with the loss of credibility by folks like Dan Rather and the New York Times. He believes that bloggers blog for two reasons: “to persuade, and to leave a record of having been there.” (105)
The third part of the book deals almost exclusively with blogging for businesses and organizations. Mr. Hewitt offers tips for starting and maintaining blogs on multiple levels especially for internal and external (primarily promotional) uses. The first appendix is an archive of Mr. Hewitt’s writings on blogs from articles and chapters of previous books. In the second appendix a series of emails are transcribed from his radio listeners explaining what blogs they read and how often.
Hugh Hewitt makes an analogy between this reformation and the Protestant Reformation with Luther and his use of the printing press. While blogs certainly are changing things, which is evident from the impact it’s already had, to draw too close a parallel between the reformations seems a bit ridiculous. There’s no significant evidence that the blogosphere will change culture and history to the extraordinary extent the printing press did.
For someone wanting to understand what a “blog” is and how blogs have already made an impact in our world, this is a valuable book. It’s also good for easily finding out which are the most popular conservative and theological blogs out there. As usual, the writing style is easy to follow and accessible to any reader, however, it’s also a bit disjointed and shallow. Particularly in the areas of practical tips for new bloggers and companies it felt as though Mr. Hewitt just wrote from the top of his head without really developing his ideas. Overall this is a useful book for those who don’t know much about blogs, however, those who currently blog will not get much out of it.
