A way with words.
After my entry on the professionalism of blogging, I’ve decided to talk about the negative aspects of blogging. The most obvious of course, is the lack of control and regulation.Since blogging is relatively uncontrolled by a central power, it’s easy to take advantage of the freedom of speech that it allows.
What immediately comes to mind is the recent local controversy regarding sensitive issues. The topic of racial equality has always been a touchy issue amongst Singaporeans. And with the anonymity that internet blogging allows, many bloggers feel that they can hide behind their computer screens and publicly verbalise (electronically, of course) their ill feelings.
Other examples of local blogging controversies involve Xiaxue, arguably Singapore’s most well-known blogger. She’s always been one to speak her mind, and has been criticised several times for speaking too freely.But despite her vitriolic words, she has turned into an internet celebrity of sorts.
Of course, controversy isn’t limited only to Singaporean context. For example, the controversy surrounding the drug Cialis and its manufacturers started with a simple blog post and escalated into a very public war of words.
So it looks like bloggin comes with its fair share of negativity. While news wires and agencies follow a strict and stringent set of guidelines, there isn’t a central organisation or power to watch or measure the words from blogs. Personally, I feel that if something of this magnitude was attempted, it would solve quite a number of problems of authentication and such. That said, I’m not sure how it’s possible to regulate blogs from around the world. In fact, I’ve got the feeling that it’s impossible. Oh well.
