Pinkie’s Realm

In Kline and Burstein’s Blog! there is an article by 2 assistant college professors that really led me to stop and think. Appropriately entitled “Web of Influence”, the authors Daniel W. Drezner and Henry Farrell have certainly influenced me. The article was extremely professional, which isn’t surprising considering their backgrounds. Drezner is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Chicago and keeps a daily weblog, and Farrell also is an assistant professor of political science, but also of international affairs, at George Washington University and is a member of the group blog found at crookedtimber.org. In the article they discuss blogging as a fifth estate, and the transformation many accomplished individuals have made through blogging, into becoming ‘public intellectuals’. They discuss the media’s coverage of important issues and the effects of blogging, backed up by examples, facts, and research statistics. Though there was much of this article that stood out to me, one paragraph in particular caught my attention: the second paragraph found on page 87 of Blog!. It discusses Juan Cole and his innovative blog called “Informed Comment”. My point is that his work is truly important, especially for the time when it first emerged, because it was something bold and refreshing that many regular citizens needed to read and relate to. For example, he expressed skepticism about the US invasion and occupation of Iraq, that at the time differed greatly from the extremely optimistic media coverage of the events. Though a large percentage of the American population now strongly opposes the war and sees how wrong it was to begin with, they at first did not see things so clearly back in 2003. He also discusses the hatred of Americans in other parts of the world, and why it is they have been driven to feel this way. Above all else, I am glad the authors of this article discuss matters like the Iraq war, I think this paragaph in particular strongly demonstrates why blogging can be an important medium as communication as well as an outlet for opinions and vital information.

*Bold text indicates template suggestions from “They Say/I Say” by Graff and Birkenstein