BLOGOSPHERE by Michael Keren

Overview
The world of blogging has grown into a cult phenomenon with thousands of individuals posting their thoughts, stories, beliefs, and rampages all over the web for viewers to observe and discuss. In this book by Michael Keren, the stories of nine individual and very diverse bloggers are examined and analyzed through Keren’s dissection of the blogging community and the politics associated with it. In the introduction of the book, Keren discusses the importance of the “blogosphere” and how exploration in it can harm those who are not politically and socially knowledgeable enough to recognize the difference between a web log with factual and relevant information, compared with the ranting of a meaningless individual with mindless information flow. Keren gives us insight into the lives of nine twenty-first century characters and tries to merge the reasons why they, and so many others like them, choose to blog. The first story is of a web designer named Jason Kottke. Kottke’s assortment of blogs ranges from daily morning rituals and recommendations of local restaurants to technology and design. Megnut.com, or Meg.Hourihan.com, is the blog about a woman named Meg Hourihan who is known as innovator and an icon to women. . Hourihan’s online diary supports her conviction of female superiority and serves as an all-purpose blog. The third blog was created by an anonymous Iranian girl to inform the world about the ongoing condition in Iran and the problems that the women in Iran face on a daily basis. “Not a Fish” is a blog written by “Imshin” who was described in an online profile in June 2004 as a thirty-nine- year old Israeli working mother. This blog illustrates the daily life and struggles of a mother trying to raise her children. The fifth story is of a lady named Marn and her blog, "Marn's Big Adventure" has become the catalyst for this baby boomer to discuss her affection for her cats, her everyday rituals on a dairy farm in Canada, and her space to gossip on everything. The next blog is the story is of an American soldier, nicknamed Lt. Smash, serving in the Naval Coastal Warfare Group providing security to coalition ships unloading military cargo in the Kuwaiti Port of Shuaibaon. This online diary served as a means of keeping his family and friends updated on his adventures, and eventually he began engaging with thousands of citizens at home who sent their questions, comments, greetings, and blessings. Pamela Ribon is an author, TV writer, actor, screenwriter and the figure behind the popular pop culture blog, pamie.com. ). “A Mother in India” tells the tale of a woman living in India and her “experiences and challenges in getting help for her daughter who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia”. Lastly, the blog of a man named Rethabile Masilo. An African exile living in France. This story is an example of how blogging has a way of expressing an individual voice to have a justly liberating role.

Review
Some of the stories covered in the book were very compelling and inspiring while others I found irrelevant and boring. Keren’s evaluation of the author’s I found to be judgmental and rude. There are thousands of individual “online diaries” on the web and these are the nine that Keren chose to write a review on. Not every blog is going to be politically correct or even valuable, not every blog has to be. The purpose of a blog is for people, real or imaginary, to create and manipulate their identities and remark on what they find to be important and to share it with others. It is not one’s job to criticize what is in someone else’s mind. I found Keren’s critiques to be unjustly and the handful of examples he chose to examine to be an incomplete sample of the world of “blogosphere”. I would not recommend the book, however, I would recommend taking a look at the individuals blogs discussed in this book.