Kavya could not have dreamt that over 2,00,000 blogs posts would have been written on her. Back home the controversial issue of reservation for OBCs has seen 25,000 blogs come up, while there are over 16,000 seeking justice in Jessica Lal's case.
Considering the rapidity with which blogs are being written on every conceivable topic, blogging has become a form of citizen journalism.
It is not uncommon to stumble on to blogsposts by famous figures and celebrities. A blog, short for weblog, can be described as a sort of an online public diary.
There are blogs on every topic under the sun, may it be the catastrophic Tsunami or Bollywood candyfloss or even something as mundane as the bad quality of bananas in India.
"In a world where everybody is judged by appearance, blogging provides a unique platform to people who want to post their opinions without revealing details about their ethnic background, colour or gender," says Vasanthi, Director, Centre for Media Studies.
According to an Internet survey, blogging has more female addicts than male, with over 68 per cent of bloggers being women. Although it is picking up in popularity with adults, blogging is still largely the domain of teenagers with nearly 58.8 per cent of bloggers worldwide falling in the age group 13 to 19.
Blogging has its benefits even as far as one's emotional and mental health is concerned. When a number of people worldwide gather to express like viewpoints on an issue, it helps in collective ventilation whereby one derives confidence by sharing the same sentiments with others.
According to an Internet survey, blogging has more female addicts than male, with over 68 per cent of bloggers being women. Although it is picking up in popularity with adults, blogging is still largely the domain of teenagers with nearly 58.8 per cent of bloggers worldwide falling in the age group 13 to 19.
Blogging has its benefits even as far as one's emotional and mental health is concerned. When a number of people worldwide gather to express like viewpoints on an issue, it helps in collective ventilation whereby one derives confidence by sharing the same sentiments with others.
Says S Patra, Professor of Media Studies, Delhi University "through blog posts one need not worry about interference from an intermediate presence, and can put up his or her opinion without having a single word edited".
The impact of blogs is not restricted to the bloggers' community alone. This can be judged from the fact that not only recently was the bad state of infrastructure exposed in the blog of a student, from which found way into newspapers countrywide.
"As the number of bloggers increase by the day, more and more blog communities are being formed, where people sharing the same point of view can come together. Those with 'extreme' viewpoints also converge through this medium without having to face any hindrance from outside sources"
Anyone who reads a blog entry can post his or her comments freely. "Blogging is a truly democratic means of expressing opinions and is on its way to becoming the fifth estate after journalism", feels Shreya, student of Delhi University.
Apparently bloggers worldwide are driven by the same feeling. Says Rahul Dewan, a blogger and a student of engineering, "I find it (blogging) better than writing a book, because you can say exactly what you want, without interference from anyone else. You have your own space on the internet, which people visit, read and comment upon. This way you also receive feedback over your post which can be used constructively."