Do blogs have a generic definition accepted by society? Or are blogs a representation of the individual writing them and therefore can only be defined through their terms? Danah Boyd tries to discern what a blog is in her 2006 article “A Blogger’s Blog: Exploring the Definition of a Medium,” published in the online journal reconstruction: studies in contemporary culture.
With over a decade of blogging experience Boyd sees blogs in many different contexts based on the specific author. She describes the short history of blogging and how it has been seen by the public. Through interviews with amateur, up and coming, and veteran bloggers, Boyd displays that it is almost impossible to give an accurate definition of what blogging is:
More seasoned bloggers frequently find the definition question either irritating or futile. For every blog post trying to define blogging, there are just as many dismissing the effort itself. This dismissal comes from a frustration over being labeled and categorized in narrow terms.