The rules of blogging...

Blogs are funny things.

They’re an interesting mix of observation, conversation, analysis, opinion, news and sometimes art.

The writer doesn’t have to be witty, nor does the topic have to be all that interesting for Internet controversy to start brewing.

Earlier this year I attended the Southeast Journalism Convention at Emory University in Decatur, Ga. Blogs, or “web logs,” were the hot topic of many sessions. I heard from college professors who analyzed the importance of blogs in modern news reporting and their pros and cons for the average web user.

Overwhelmingly, blogs were seen as a positive force. Yes, blogs were responsible for their fair share of publicizing rumor and urban legend. But they make it simple for anyone who knows how to surf the Internet to upload his or her own content. That fact alone has shifted the way
information gets to the public.

Before blogs, newspaper editors and publishers set the agenda and spread information. Now regular people can do the same thing.

But the other interesting thing about blogs are their ability to record real-time feedback from readers, who can mostly choose to remain anonymous. Sure, letters to the editor are a great way to voice your opinion, but anything you say has to be tempered by the fact that your
name is attached to it.

People get mighty brave under the guise of anonymity. I’ve read some pretty nasty things posted on blogs, and even directed toward me personally, that would never have been said to my face. But that’s the price you pay when you put your thoughts on the digital page.

My recent posts about Britney Spears on hammondstar.blogspot.com have garnered a few snide remarks. Personally, I think it’s everyone’s right to have an opinion on Spears, but a few of my readers think otherwise. I’ve gotten responses that range from, “Who the hell cares about Britney?” to “Who gives a flying flip about Britney?” So I might have been mistaken when I thought readers would care about her. If not for the blog, I might never have gotten those responses.

And there’s been a tiny bit of controversy as of late over something I want to clear up. Someone answered my “should Britney move back to Kentwood?” question with a command to become more “informed” about what our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are going through for the promise of a free education.

My columns are entertainment-related and are not about war, death and international diplomacy for a reason. The Daily Star (and for that matter, numerous Internet news sites) does a great job of reporting on those serious issues. Just because I don’t write about “serious” topics does not mean I don’t care about them.

On that same note, please keep in mind that The Daily Star does not upload everything to its website. So please do not think that just because something is not on the website that we have not included it in the paper.

So with that said, I want to invite you to enter the blogosphere. From time to time I’ll be posting some “real news” opinion questions for readers to answer. I’ve already posted a few. There’s one about about lot sizes in Tangipahoa that I wish more people would respond to since zoning is such a vital topic in our expanding parish.

And of course, there’ll be celebrity, entertainment and blogger news from me.