“…Even though blogs are a newborn medium-if one compares their short existence with more than a 300-year history of newspapers-political commentators, social observers, and cultural critics have all praised the value and impact of blogs on society and culture. Among social scientists, blogs have received general acclaim for raising the levels of political participation (Kaye, 2005;Pole, 2010) and serving as gatekeepers in campaigns and elections (Garris, Guillory, & Sundar, 2011); empowering citizens (Papacharissi, 2007); encouraging civic engagement (Rheingold, 2008); fostering public discourse (Benkler & Shaw, 2010;Etling et al, 2010); creating a new form of journalism (Johnson & Kaye, 2004;Wall, 2005); building community (Kervin, Mantei, & Herrington, 2010); harnessing collective intelligence (Gregg, 2010); and rendering knowledge (Park, Jo, & Moon, 2010). What's more, blogs have been viewed as one of the most striking developments of the early twenty-first century (Sunstein, 2009, p. 138).…”