From galwayadvertiser.ie/dws/story.tpl?inc=2005/05/12/news/59770.html by Una Sinnott:

It has been dubbed the journalism of the 21st century and has brought eye-witness accounts of wars and atrocities to an online audience of millions, but weblogging, or blogging as it is popularly known, is just as useful for keeping in touch with people in your neighbourhood and finding someone to car pool with.

Everyone from Tony Blair to Belle du Jour, the anonymous UK prostitute who has made a fortune with a blog of her nocturnal exploits, has benefited from the online presence which blogging affords people, and gives good indication of the variety of interests which can be discussed through this growing medium.

Ina Ó Murchú, a researcher with the Digital Enterprise Research Unit, will discuss the endless possibilities opened up by blogging in a public talk in Galway next week.

“You can have community blogs, political blogs, military blogs,” she told the Galway Advertiser. “Since February 2005, according to Technorati [Google's blog search facility] close to 6.5 million blogs have come online. Some people have been blogging since 1997.

“The way we see blogs is as a stream of consciousness. People are putting their thoughts down online. Experts do this every day and new knowledge is contributed to the Internet every day. People confined to their homes can share their knowledge with people across the world and they become part of a community.”

A blog is essentially an online diary which can be read by anyone and allows readers to communicate by adding their own contributions. The technology is readily available online, and blogging has been used by people for everything from reporting from war zones to sharing their hobbies with others across the world.

The September 11 and Madrid terrorist attacks saw a huge upsurge in blog entries across the world as eyewitnesses and concerned people tried to come to terms with the aftermath of the attacks. One of the world’s most famous bloggers, Pax Salam, known as the Baghdad blogger, has brought his accounts of life in the war-torn city to a worldwide audience online. The profusion of blogs by Salam and others has led the current Iraq war to be known as the blog war.

Blogging can be a rewarding hobby, but many seasoned bloggers can turn their online diary into a rewarding career. Belle du Jour has already been offered a lucrative book deal to publish her exploits in a more traditional sphere. Others can earn money through a well-known blog by selling advertising space.

“If you are an expert in your field, people will advertise on your site,” Ms Ó Murchú said. “If you’re good you could make thousands of euros a month through advertising. With mobile phones becoming smarter and more like mini computers the ability is there to use other media forms.”

Ms Ó Murchú has had a personal blog for some time, and has found it a rewarding experience.

“I can communicate my thoughts and opinions on the Internet,” she said. “They’re there for everybody to look at. I get people to comment on my area of research. When people comment on my blog I can go to their blogs and see what they’ve written and get in touch with them if I want, and in that way you create a community.”

Community is the keyword for research currently under way at DERI. The group is working to establish an online social network for Galway, where people can get in touch with others in their area, or who share the same interests and background.

“Online social networking can bring community back to the individual,” she added. “For every housing estate we want a little forum area where people can contribute to and find out what’s going on.”

Other groups could also benefit from having an online community, including disabled people, Galway’s many ethnic communities, and retired people.

“Active retirement associations could really benefit from social networking because retired people often feel they have nothing to contribute, but they have so much valuable knowledge to share,” Ms Ó Murchú said. “With the Internet you can continually educate and learn. People need to know that these people have this expertise and it’s just sitting there.”

Brendan Smyth of DERI has spearheaded a programme to bring different groups of people into the online community. Mr Smyth has conducted classes in Internet use at the Galway Education Centre for such diverse groups as the Galway Centre for Independent Living, the city’s Nigerian community, and a variety of community groups. One of the key elements of the project is to encourage social inclusion.

Mr Smyth is also facilitating an online research project at Calasanctius College, which is examining the recreational needs and facilities for teenagers throughout the world.

“We are establishing an online group called Galway Community Voices,” he said. “The Internet is all-inclusive and if there isn’t a community for you, you can make one. If we’re going to develop an online social network for Galway it has to be all inclusive. We need to ensure these groups are not bypassed by technology. There are so many online collaboration tools that people aren’t aware of.”

Ms Ó Murchú’s public talk, Bloggers Unveiled — The 21st Century Face of People Journalism, will take place in the Menlo Park Hotel on Wednesday May 18 from 8pm.