The Laughing Wolf

Book Review: Blog

I took the time recently to read Blog: Understanding The Information Reformation That's Changing Your World by Hugh Hewitt. If you are a blogger, much of what is in there is already well known to you not only from his own site, but from the much fuller discussions that have occurred "in the tail" of the blogosphere. If you are not a blogger, but are in business or communications, then this book is a must read for you.

What it does is lay out exactly what has happened to communications in the last few years, contrasting it to the introduction of the printing press and the Reformation. This is done with a great deal of thought, buttressing fact, and a fair sense of style. There is hyperbole, fortunately usually only a sentence or two at the start of a chapter, but there is a good bit of food for thought enclosed. Hugh makes good use of data in regards circulation and viewership, information which I had been studying just a few days before reading his book, so I can attest to the basic accuracy of that material as presented. Of course, I also like the fact that he picks up on some of the arguments made in some of my media posts, since the printing press lies at the heart of our freedom of the press.

I am not entirely comfortable with some of where he appears to think blogging should go, but am surprised that some of the dirty tricks blogging has not been tried (or more apparent). While I hope that blogging does take some different routes than those mentioned, I do strongly endorse the idea of businesses bringing in bloggers to talk to them about blogging. Having anyone else do so would be like having virgins to come in to talk about the joys of sex. For myself, I would recommend anyone in communications look long and hard at blogs, for they are going to play a major, if not the major, role in mass communications in the coming years.

Blog is a book well worth reading, particularly for non-bloggers. If you are in communications, it is a must read.

LW