C - Blogging Communities

Individuals express themselves through blogs (Huffaker 2005). When a common ground and links connecting to other bloggers are included , a blogging community is formed, also referred to as the blogosphere (Huffaker 2005).

A blogging community is formed through hyperlinks, such as blogrolls, tagging, RSS and commenting (White 2006). These are the elements that link a community’s members. It is through comments that members understand each other and share opinions and thoughts. Therefore, a blogging community is further bonded through commenting.

According to White (2006), there are three types of blogging communities.

• Single blog centric community – Communities are based on one single blog with the blog owner representing the community’s central identity. The authority belongs to the blog owner, enabling him to determine the rules.

• The Central Connecting Topic Community – A community sharing a mutual passion, interconnected using hyperlinks.

• The Boundaried Community - Blogs and blog readers assembled on one site or platform, with some featuring a central focus. Registration is compulsory to be a member. Social connections are underlined often.

Diary Addictions

Diary Addictions is a 'blogshop reviewer' which is under Central Connecting Topic Community, with its members sharing a mutual passion which is shopping in online stores or blogshops, as prices offered are more affordable with more variety of clothes.

Blogrings contain blogs are self-identified to have a shared topic (White 2006). In the image above, the left sidebar features a blogring that has numerous links to blogshops. Diary Addictions also established a mailing list to formalise a network of its readers (White 2006).

Reference List

1. Huffaker, D 2005, Let Them Blog: Using Weblogs to Advance Literacy in the K-12 Classroom, viewed 18 April 2010, <http://www.davehuffaker.com/papers/Huffaker2005_LetThemBlog.pdf>.

2. White, N 2006, Blogs and Community - launching a new paradigm for online community?, viewed 19 April 2010, <http://kt.flexiblelearning.net.au/tkt2006/edition-11-editorial/blogs-and-community-–-launching-a-new-paradigm-for-online-community>.