Blogs nowadays are used for multiple purposes. Be they social commentary blogs, blogs that promote ones work, blogs that are set up like boutiques, news blogs or personal diary blogs, all of these blogs are personal and is used as a platform to express ones individuality. Some of these blogs are very important too. Like those of political blogs, they advocate democracy by giving criticisms to the government in order to see improvements in society. The fundamental principal of freedom of speech are made used by bloggers in this case (Deuntzer, 2009) These blogs help to frame political discourses and also set the agenda for public policy-making.
According to Technorati’s State of the Blogsphere Report (2008), blogging is now considered a party of the new media eco-system; it is now integral to the media’s eco-system. They are now termed mainstream as the top ten websites of all key categories include some blogs. Technorati says that bloggers are the ones to watch. This is because they often come up with new web applications and get their word out there. On top of that, companies also turn to blogs because they are deemed a cost effective method to promote their services and gain an increase in visibility by attracting more traffic to their websites. This is done without having to burn a hole in their pockets. (Nasir, 2010) In contrast to that, although blogging gives one the ability to be able to voice out thoughts and opinions, there are certain boundaries that come with that too. For instance, talking about taboo issues like race, religion, insulting politicians and the government, insulting the monarch are strictly forbidden.
Like that of a recent case of a mysterious blogger in West Bank that hurled insulting remarks at the Prophet Muhammad and claimed he was God. He was caught and risks spending the rest of his life behind bars. He faces heresy charges for “insulting the divine essence”. Many conservative muslims took his remarks to heart and even said that he should be “burned to death”. (Hadid, 2010) Moreover, blog posts that goes against the government intensely will also get you in trouble. For example, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, a prominent political blogger was put in jail for two years due to his anti-government views that allegedly posed a threat to national security by creating racial tension. (Adiwira, 2008)
References:
Hadid, D 2010, Facebook used to find West Bank blogger, viewed 13 November 2010, <http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/new/7291256.html>
Adiwira 2008, Raja Petra Detained For 2 Years Under ISA, viewed 13 November 2010, <http://warkah.com/raja-petra-detained-for-2-years-under-isa/>
Deuntzer, KJ 2009, Rise of new media: Important of political blogs, viewed 13 November 2010, <http://mstar.com.my/variasi/rencana/cerita.asp?file=/2009/7/3/mstar_rencana/20090702110429&sec=mstar_rencana>
Nasir, S 2010, Important of Blogging in Modern day Businesses, viewed 13 November 2010, <http://blog.ephlux.com/?p=623>
