According to the Digital Journalism seminar discussion, not all people born into the "digital age" should be considered "digital natives", since that's not a guarantee that one is naturally tech savvy. Palfrey's three-step process is more believable of an average internet user's online research process than the usual assumption that most users merely read blogs as their news source and cease further research.
One blog in particular is apparent in encouraging further research of a topic in every post he writes. Instapundit, a popular blog created by Glenn Reynolds, touches on several subjects including politics, mass media and the War on Terror.
Many of Reynolds' posts consist of one statement but half of the statement will be a link to another article talking about the topic. Although Reynolds' wit and quickness of distributing posts initially gain readers' interest about the topic, providing a link or several links in the post to longer articles further encourages readers to become knowledgable about the topic.
One blog in particular is apparent in encouraging further research of a topic in every post he writes. Instapundit, a popular blog created by Glenn Reynolds, touches on several subjects including politics, mass media and the War on Terror.
Many of Reynolds' posts consist of one statement but half of the statement will be a link to another article talking about the topic. Although Reynolds' wit and quickness of distributing posts initially gain readers' interest about the topic, providing a link or several links in the post to longer articles further encourages readers to become knowledgable about the topic.
Although most blogs provide biased opinions about their chosen topic, that does not mean blogs should be written off completely as a source of information.
I agree with Palfrey's assertion that part of a blog's function is providing a starting point for research of a particular subject or topic that sparks the interest of the reader. However, it is up to the reader to find more accurate and objective text/media on the subject in order to gain concise knowledge to form their own opinion, and to possibly spread their own newly-formed opinion through their own means of communication; whether in a social networking site, their own blog, etc.
I agree with Palfrey's assertion that part of a blog's function is providing a starting point for research of a particular subject or topic that sparks the interest of the reader. However, it is up to the reader to find more accurate and objective text/media on the subject in order to gain concise knowledge to form their own opinion, and to possibly spread their own newly-formed opinion through their own means of communication; whether in a social networking site, their own blog, etc.
Instapundit is a good choice to explore, given that it appears as influential in several of our readings, and I thing bringing in Palfrey here makes sense. For a reader seeking timely information and original analysis, it might make sense to integrate more specific examples of how Instapundit covers the news now, since the articles we read are somewhat dated.
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