Exploring The Role Of The Reader In The Activity Of Blogging
Exploring the Role of the Reader in the Activity of
Blogging
Eric Baumer
Mark Sueyoshi
Bill Tomlinson
Department of Informatics
Int’l Studies / East Asian Cultures
Department of Informatics
U of California, Irvine, USA
U of California, Irvine, USA
U of California, Irvine, USA
ebaumer@ics.uci.edu
msueyosh@uci.edu
wmt@uci.edu
ABSTRACT
blogs, e.g., [7,10], and applying social network analysis to
Within the last decade, blogs have become an important
blogs, e.g., [8,19], little work has been done examining the
element of popular culture, mass media, and the daily lives
role of the reader in the blogging process. This gap is
of countless Internet users. Despite the medium’s
surprising, considering Nardi et al.’s prediction that “future
interactive nature, most research on blogs focuses on either
research is sure to pay attention to blog readers” [21:231].
the blog itself or the blogger, rarely if at all focusing on the
Furthermore, according to Lenhart and Fox [16], as of July
reader’s impact. In order to gain a better understanding of
2006, 57 million American adults read blogs, over a third of
the social practice of blogging, we must take into account
the 147 million who use the Internet. Sifry [25] puts the
the role, contributions, and significance of the reader. This
number of unique Technorati visitors at over 9 million in
paper presents the findings of a qualitative study of blog
March 2007, up by over 50% from February 2007. Clearly,
readers, including common blog reading practices, some of
not only is the number of blogs increasing, but also the
the dimensions along which reading practices vary,
number of blog readers. The role of this ever increasing
relationships between identity presentation and perception,
population of blog readers presents a promising and
the interpretation of temporality, and the ways in which
important, yet little-explored, area of research.
readers feel that they are a part of the blogs they read. It
also describes similarities to, and discrepancies with,
This paper is not the first call for a focus on readers. In the
previous work, and suggests a number of directions and
1960’s and 1970’s, a shift occurred in literary theory from
implications for future work on blogging.
focusing primarily on the literary object itself to including
the reader’s response to the literature. Reader-response
Author Keywords
theory, or reader-response criticism, cf. [3,17], focuses not
Blogging, blog readers.
on the literature itself but rather on the audience’s response
to, and interpretation of, the text. The reader is not a passive
ACM Classification Keywords
recipient of content, this critique argues, but rather engages
H.5.m. Information interfaces and presentation (e.g., HCI):
in an active process of interpretation. Reality and meaning
Miscellaneous; K.4.m. Computers and Society:
exist neither solely in the text nor solely in the reader, but
Miscellaneous.
are constructed through the dialectic interactions between
the two. Similarly, the reality and meaning of a blog exists
INTRODUCTION
neither solely in the blog itself nor solely in the reader, but
By most indications, blogs are proliferating at an ever-
rather in the reader’s active interpretation of, and
increasing rate. Although specific figures vary among
interaction with, the blog. Furthermore, technologies and
different sources [16,25] there is consensus that blogs have
practices such as commenting, linking, tagging, and
become an important, active, and influential part of online
trackbacks enable a level of explicit interaction with both
media. Research on blogging, e.g., [11,15,21], has revealed
the text and the author not available in previous textual
important insights about the activity of blogging, the
media. This paper argues for a shift in the study of blogging
attitudes of bloggers, and the practices surrounding blogs.
similar to that in literary criticism represented by reader-
response theory. This shift to emphasize the interactional
However, blogging is not a solo activity. While work has
aspects of blogging also fits into a larger trend in HCI
been done in areas such as analyzing conversations between
research of moving from the user as information processor,
to human actor, to embodied experiencer [5]. In order to
Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for
understand the myriad contexts in which human-computer
personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are
interaction takes place, researchers have adopted different
not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies
bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. To copy otherwise,
stances toward users and taken different perspectives on
or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior
HCI systems. Similarly, in order to understand fully the
specific permission and/or a fee.
activity of blogging, we must study not only bloggers and
CHI 2008, April 5–10, 2008, Florence, Italy.
the blogs they produce, but also the readers of those blogs
and their interactions with the blog and the blogger.
Copyright 2008 ACM 978-1-60558-011-1/08/04…$5.00.
This paper reports on the results of a qualitative study into
either the category of blogger or the category of reader, it
the practices and culture of blog readers. How do readers
might be more useful to consider the question in terms of
contribute to and help shape the various blogs they read?
degree of membership, where an individual may be both a
When, why, and how do readers choose to comment? How
blogger and a reader to varying and independent degrees.
do readers perceive the identity of the blogger? Do readers
For the purposes of this study, we focus on those who have
feel overwhelmed by the amount of information available
a high enough degree of readership to self-identify as a blog
through blogs? What habits do readers follow? While this
reader, regardless of their degree of bloggership.
paper cannot address these questions in their entirety, it is a
first step toward understanding the role, contributions, and
THEORY
significance of the reader in the activity of blogging.
In examining the activities that surround blog reading, this
study is partially informed by ideas from reader-response
RELATED WORK
theory [3,17], which help provide a general framework with
Recent work on blogging covers a wide range of topics (see
which to analyze the act of reading blogs. This section
[24] for an overview). This section highlights work that
provides a brief introduction to reader-response theory,
helps inform this study. Nardi [21] examined the social
situating it in the context of literary criticism, and describes
nature of blogging activity, illustrating that blogs are quite
how the theory is applied in this paper.
unlike a personal diary. Lenhart’s [15] work pointed to the
Despite the general inclination to situate reader-response
slow development of norms given the decentralized and
theory in opposition to formalism, which posits that only
non-standardized activities that occur on and off blogs.
the materiality of the text is significant, it actually
Herring et al. [11] provide a genre analysis of weblogs.
developed from within formalism itself (Tompkins, cited in
Within the emerging medium of blogs, boyd [1] addressed
the need for self-awareness tools to manage the fluidity of
[3]). In the 1950’s, reader-response theory branched out
from formalist discourse under the auspices of Gibson’s
identity presentation in blogs. Some have applied existing
“mock reader” – the persona a reader should adopt to
analytic tools, such as social network analysis, e.g., [8, 19],
understand the text [3]. Thus a slight variation within
to show that blogs are not highly interconnected in a
formalism became the seed from which the reader and her
decentralized fashion, but rather grouped in numerous
or his interpretation gained significance.
clusters of blogs with limited links between clusters.
Studies using conversation analysis have suggested that
Later reader-response theorists, such as Crosman [3],
conversations across blogs and amongst bloggers are
argued specifically that the “construction of meaning
limited to a small number of “A-list” blogs [10].
ultimately resides in the auspices of readers, who approach
literary texts…from their own subjective perspectives”
Here, our focus is the audience. In Lenhart’s examination of
[3:66]. This view is reminiscent of Nardi et al.’s [21]
norm formation in blogging [15], she discusses the
anonymity of the blog audience and their occasional
assertion that the reader and writer both participate in co-
creating the blog, as well as Dourish’s [5] emphasis on
terrifying effect on bloggers. Similarly, Reed [23] illustrates
viewing the user as a situated, embodied actor that actively
blogger self-censorship due to an audience made up of
engages with a system in context. As an extension of
certain friends and family. boyd [2] describes the
Crosman’s approach, Lewis [17] presents an alternate
expectations that bloggers feel are placed on them by their
method of performing a literary critique. He suggests rather
audience and how bloggers negotiate the formation and
than judging books as good or bad and making assertions
fulfillment of these expectations. Nardi suggests that
about someone’s tastes based on the books he or she reads,
“readers create blogs as much as writers” [21:225], giving
“let us try to discover how far it might be plausible to
them an equal role in the activity of blogging. Despite
define a good book as a book which is read in one way, and
acknowledging the presence and impact of an audience, no
a bad book as a book which is read in another way” [16:1].
previous blogging research has made blog readers the
He argues that “good literature [is] that which permits,
primary focus. This paper aims to fill that gap.
invites, or even compels good reading” [16:104], and that
The position of the blog reader is often an ambiguous one.
examining the type of reading that a given work permits,
Most research on blogs adopts the view that readers,
invites, or compels can tell you about the merits of that
commenters, and participants are also bloggers themselves,
work. While there may be questions as to what constitutes
e.g., [8]. However, according to the statistics cited above,
good reading, the purpose at hand is not to separate good
there is obviously a large discrepancy between bloggers and
blogs from bad. Rather, it is to explore the extent to which
people who read blogs – not every reader is a blogger. The
we may understand a blog not by features of its content,
question becomes, when does one move from being a blog
structure, or technological aspects, but rather by the type of
reader to a blogger? Is simply owning a blog enough, or
reading practices in which readers of the blog engage.
must there be regular updates? What is the requisite update
frequency? Despite indications to the contrary, are there
METHODS
any bloggers who do not read other blogs? It is be argued
The authors chose to employ qualitative and ethnographic
below that, rather than attempting to split individuals into
methods in order to gain an understanding of the subjective
experience of reading blogs. Participants were recruited
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
through physical fliers posted on community bulletin
Table 1 presents a profile of our respondents. Because
boards and in public posting areas, as well as through
subjects were recruited from the geographical area around a
online bulletin boards for the local community. The posted
university, many are students or recent graduates. That said,
criteria were that respondents read at least 5 different blogs
they represent a diverse set of blog reading habits and
at least 2 to 3 times per week. In total, 23 individuals
practices. The data presented in this table were collected
replied to these advertisements: 21 responded to the
through an online survey completed by all but one of the
physical fliers, and 2 replied to the online postings. Of
participants (Connie). “Regular blogs” is the number of
those, 19 fit our criteria (18 from the physical fliers and 1
blogs the participant reads on a regular basis as determined
from the online postings). Some potential subjects decided
by the participant, “example blogs” are a selection of
not to participate or stopped responding, resulting in a total
representative examples from the blogs she or he reads, and
of 15 respondents. All participants were compensated up to
“tools” describes the technology the participant uses to find
$20 US depending on the extent of their participation.
and to read blogs. Since the purpose of these data is not to
Participant names used in this paper are pseudonyms.
make statistical inferences about blog readers but rather to
help create a picture of the various participants, and since
Three main data-gathering techniques were used: two semi-
the sample is not sufficiently large to generate statistically
structured interviews with each participant, logging
significant results, no quantitative analysis is performed.
software to track reading patterns, and a survey to gather
For statistics about blog readers, see [16].
some basic data, such as demographics. Since there is little
focus on blog readers in the existing literature, the first set
This section includes a description of blog reading practices
of interviews were largely exploratory and generative;
that were common among most of our participants, along
although there were specific themes on which this study
with some of the factors that influence the myriad
was to focus, the first interview was also used to find other
differences in approaches to reading blogs. Drawing on this
interesting themes or issues in our respondents’ blog
diversity in blog reading practices, the section then
reading practices. During the second interviews,
addresses the question “what is a blog?” from readers’
participants were asked to discuss further some of the
perspectives; discusses the presentation and perception of
specific themes that emerged during the first round of
online identity, noting important similarities and differences
interviews. Participants were also solicited to complete their
with previous work; and describes ways in which readers
second interview as a group interview. Four participants
can feel that they are “a part” of the blogs they read.
expressed interest in group interviews, but due to logistic
constraints only one pair of participants completed the
Common Blog Reading Practices
second interview as a group. One participant, Connie was
While reader-response theory helps make sense of the
unable to complete the second interview, and another, Jill,
significant variations of the data, some aspects of our
had to answer questions for the second interview via email.
participants’ reading practices are fairly consistent. Thirteen
During both interviews, all participants spent time reading
explicitly stated that blog reading is a form of “chilling
blogs as they normally would, showing and describing
out”, “wasting time”, “brain candy”, or “doing nothing”,
items of interest and parts of their blog-reading routines to
similar to the pottering activities described by Wyche et al.
the interviewer. All interviews and notes were transcribed
[27]. The other two later indicated on the survey that blog
and coded, initially using open coding and then
reading was “sometimes” an activity during periods of
transitioning to axial coding (see [18]). Coding was an
boredom. Similar to some instances of pottering, blog
iterative process during which two of the authors
reading can also have a habitual nature. When Fern reads
independently coded each interview transcript and then
blogs, she adheres to a self-prescribed system, despite her
exchanged the transcripts to confer on the codes used and
lack of interest in the content of some posts she reads.
the themes they represented. The initial coding began after
Lillian indicated that reading blogs became part of her
the completion of the first interviews, so that results from
morning routine. When we asked Charles if he looked
analysis of the first set of interviews helped inform and
forward to reading blogs everyday he responded:
direct the second set. The axial codes form the basis for the
I don’t know if I look forward to [reading blogs]… I don’t
findings reported below.
really look forward to cigarettes anymore, but it’s something
Participants were also asked to install logging software on
that happens through the course of the day that I feel like I
might need to do. It just becomes habit, I guess.
their computers to track their blog reading. The logger was
implemented as a plugin for IBM’s Web Intermediaries
Though in all likelihood most blog readers do not share
infrastructure [28], which recorded a series of time-stamped
Charles’s outlook on the intensity of blog reading’s
URLs. Unfortunately, most participants either elected not to
addictiveness, blog reading often becomes habitual. For
install the logger or ran into technical difficulties. Since
Krish, who has only been reading blogs for eight months,
only five participants successfully ran the logger, an
“checking blogs is like checking one’s email,” which is
analysis of those logs is not presented here, but it was used
similar to the habitualness described by nine other
to generate questions for some of the second interviews.
participants. For many, checking email is a routine, almost
Pseudonym
Age
Gender
Occupation
Regular
Frequency
Example Blogs
Years
Tools
Blogs
Reading
Connie
22
F
--
--
Every Day
--
--
--
Fern
19
F
Student
1-2
Every Other
xanga.com, blogspot.com, livejournal.com
5-6 Years
4, 5, AIM
Day
Profiles
Selena
18
F
Student
6-10
2-3 Times a
greatestjournal.com, myspace.com,
6-7 Years
1, 4, 5
Week
xanga.com, asianave.com
Charles
24
M
Admin.
6-10
Several
dailykos.com, boingboing.net,
6-7 Years
1, 4
Assistant
Times a Day
blogspot.com, slashdot.org, poplicks.com
Lillian
33
F
Graduate
20+
Every Day
blogspot.com, indigirl.com/blog,
4.5 Years
2
Student
carrieoke.net, doggedknits.com
Judith
20
F
Student
3-5
Every Other
myspace.com, xanga.com, facebook.com
3 Years
4
Day
Jill
20
F
Student
6-10
Several
livejournal.com, flickfilosopher.com/blog,
5-6 Years
1
Times a Day
ingliseast.typepad.com/ingliseast
Cindy
19
F
Student
1-2
Several
xanga.com, livejournal.com
5 Years
4
Times a Day
Patricia
20
F
Student
1-2
2-3 Times a
sibol.in, mochix.com
4 Years
1, 2, 5
Week
Natalie
25
F
Legal
11-20
Every Other
perezhilton.com, blogspot.com,
10 Years
1, 4, 5
Assistant
Day
myspace.com, livejournal.com
Tony
31
M
Graduate
3-5
Every Day
slashdot.org, fark.com, treehugger.com,
6 Years
1, 3,
Student
somethingawful.com
iGoogle
Matthew
26
M
Graduate
11-20
Several
blogspot.com, firejoemorgan.com,
6 Years
1, 2
Student
Times a Day
kugelmass.wordpress.com, sadlyno.com
Laura
27
F
Admin.
3-5
2-3 Times a
mypapercrane.com, blogspot.com,
2 Years
1, 4
Assistant
Week
livejournal.com, bloesem.blogs.com
Cheryl
24
F
Graduate
3-5
2-3 Times a
fourfour.typepad.com,
2-3 Years
1
Student
Week
2manadvantage.com,
nydailynews.com/blogs/mets
Krish
22
M
Student
3-5
Every Day
metblogs.com, kiruba.com, blogspot.com,
8 Months
1
aparnasblog.wordpress.com
Table 1 – Profile of participants. For tools, 1 is web browser, 2 is RSS aggregator, 3 is email client, 4 is blogging website, 5 is
links from reader’s blog. Participants listed specific regular blogs, from which the authors generalized and chose examples.
quintessential part of going online. Whether one expects an
when the time suited them, while others simply choose the
email or not is unimportant, because one will check her or
most recent or most interesting posts to read, skipping the
his email account not with the expectation of receiving
rest. Laura reveals, “I don’t kill myself over it, because it’s
email but rather as part of an Internet ritual.
not like I can’t always go back and see, ‘okay what
happened two weeks ago’ … I know what’s there and I
Much work in information retrieval, search technologies,
know where to find it when I need it.” This attitude
and related fields is based on the premise that the sheer
challenges the commonly accepted notion that users feel
volume of information available is simply overwhelming,
overwhelmed with staying constantly up to date.
often referred to as “information overload,” and that users
feel compelled to try and stay on top of the ever increasing
It also raises interesting issues of synchronicity. Computer
amount of available information. This attitude dates at least
mediated communication is often considered either
as far back as Barnaby Rich’s assertion, in 1613, that “one
synchronous, e.g., live video or audio chat; near
of the diseases of this age is the multiplicity of books; they
synchronous, e.g., instant messaging; or asynchronous, e.g.,
doth so overcharge the world that it is not able to digest the
email. Clearly, there are not fine distinctions but rather a
abundance of idle matter that is every day hatched and
gradient from synchronous to asynchronous, and blogs are
brought forth into the world” (quoted in [4:63]). However,
generally placed closer to the asynchronous end of the
such a sense of information overload with respect to blogs
spectrum [21]. However, based on our participants’
was not common among our respondents. Only two of the
descriptions, they do not read blogs in a temporally situated
fifteen, Charles and Lillian, expressed feeling overwhelmed
manner. When returning to a blog that has not been visited
by the potential information available through blogs. The
recently, it does not matter if the most recent three posts
other participants indicated that they are not bothered when
occurred in the past week, in the past day, or in the past
they cannot stay current with the newest posts for the blogs
hour. What matters is the order in which posts appear on the
they frequent. Some would eventually catch up on old posts
blog. The most recent post on one blog, even if it is several
days old, is more likely to be read than the fourth post down
definition of blogs seems to make intuitive sense, but given
on another blog, even if that post is from the previous day.
the fluid character of blogs it may be misleading to do so.
This is somewhat similar to instant messaging
Rather than trying to impose a definition of what counts or
conversations where time lapses between turns do not
does not count as a blog, the authors strove for a more
necessarily have an impact on the conversation [22]. Here,
authentic, emic perspective by allowing our blog reader
we introduce the term non-chronous to describe practices
participants to decide what constitutes a blog. The styles of
where individual events in one context, here a single blog,
blogs that our participants read varied as much as the
are considered in the temporal order in which they
specific reading practices. These practices depend in large
occurred, but not with regard to the specific time at which
part on the reader’s approach towards, and perception of, a
they occurred. This non-chronous approach does not mean
blog, which shape and reshape the activity of blogging
that time-date stamps are utterly ineffectual, but they
itself. An example of this iterative process is Krish’s
become much less important, especially with the advent of
approach toward blogs; he generally views blogs as just
RSS aggregators, email clients, blog-host subscription lists,
another thing to do on the Internet when he’s bored. He
etc. For example, when Matthew falls behind on his regular
calls himself a passive reader of blogs, unlikely to search
blogs, he reads the five or so most recent posts in his RSS
out a new set of blogs despite his disappointment in the lack
reader and his friends’ blogs. Patricia notes the time-
of content in the blogs he reads. However, during his blog
stamp’s existence in passing, but does not take it into
reading activity Krish began to note points of interest in his
account while reading. Generally, participants in this study
hometown that were described in a blog. Now, when Krish
do not see themselves as struggling to handle a deluge of
returns home, he applies the knowledge he acquired online
information streaming through blogs–a missed post is not
to his experience offline. Although Krish’s initial
usually a missed opportunity.
motivation for reading blogs shaped his self-labeled
“passive reading” of blogs, his Internet-only experience
Stepping back from the details of common blog reading
reshaped itself into an activity with offline implications.
practices, there are dramatic differences in how blog
Reader-response theory directs us to note the ways that
readers understand the visible object of their activity. When
individual readers read different blogs differently. While a
asked about motivations for reading blogs, participants said
blog reader may feel fine lurking on popular blogs, she or
they visit blogs for information, inspiration, entertainment,
he may feel obligated to interact on the blogs of friends.
and to a certain extent because it is just what they have
Although examining format and content in order to
always done. However, when asked the deceptively simple
categorize a blog may reveal a general understanding of a
question, “what is a blog?” the responses were far more
blog, this approach is likely to neglect the audience for
vague and varied. Patricia responded canonically, “well
whom the blog is, at least in part, intended.
there’s the technical term and my own definition.” How
does she determine which definition to use at what time?
What is a Blog?
Definitions of the term “blog” cited in the academic
“It Depends”
literature often resemble Herring et al.’s, “frequently
Among our respondents, the manner of reading and
modified web pages in which dated entries are listed in
interacting with a blog depends on myriad factors
reverse chronological order” [10:1]. boyd [2] provides a
including, among others, the content of the blog, the intent
survey of various definitions from dictionaries, researchers,
of the reader, the perceived intent of the blogger, and the
mass media, and bloggers themselves. When we asked our
relationship of the reader to the blogger. We argue that part
participants, “what is a blog?” the responses were a mixture
of the reason for the great diversity in approaches to blog
that pointed to updates, commenting capabilities,
reading is the great diversity of blogs. Previous work, e.g.,
authorship, RSS feeds, personal content, etc. Unlike the
[11,21], has tried to classify blogs as a genre with certain
bloggers boyd describes, there is little or no uniformity of
structural and content-based divisions into sub-genres.
definition among readers. For example Judith considered
However, our findings align more closely with boyd’s
the notes on facebook.com and the blog option on
argument [2] that blogs are a medium, and that a variety of
myspace.com examples of blogs while many others did not
different activities and interactions can occur in and through
agree. When asked to define a blog some participants did
that medium. Furthermore, drawing on reader-response
refer to the frequency of modifications, but there was no
theory [17], we argue that, in order to distinguish between
mention of dated entries or reverse chronological order.
different types of blogs, it may be less useful to look at the
Rather than structural features, thirteen participants
structure or content of the blog and more informative to
discussed interactional attributes. For many bloggers, a blog
follow the ways that readers read and interact with the blog.
is not something you have, blogging is something you do
The analysis presented here focuses on the following
[2]. However, among our participants, there was not such a
themes as dimensions along which approaches to blog
clear distinction. For example, Patricia emphasizes the
reading may vary: the concept of a blog, perception and
conversational nature of blogging:
presentation of blogs, and “being a part” of blogs. From an
A blog is something that’s still going on, that still has a
analytic standpoint, uncovering data based on a consistent
conversation going on, that has people commenting, [it]
doesn’t have to be all the time, but it does have this dialogue
Presentation and Perception
between the person who’s posting and the people who are
Previous work [1,2,15,23] has explored how bloggers use
reading, yeah that’s a blog…. [When the conversation stops],
blogs as a means of presentation of self (see [9]) online.
by my definition, yeah it’s a dead site.
This section explores the other half of that phenomenon,
However, not all participants stressed conversational
that is, how readers perceive the self that bloggers present.
interaction. Providing another perspective, Natalie suggests
In some respects, these results align with previous findings.
that “a blog is a journal, like an electronic journal where
However, findings about our respondents also differ in a
people can express whatever they want, you know, and let
number of important ways from previous assertions about
everyone read it I guess…. it could be anything I guess.”
audience and perception in blogging.
Many respondents referred to “getting” a Xanga or
Agreement with Previous Findings
“having” a blog, which foregrounds the blog as a
Past work on authenticity, one aspect of bloggers’
possession and backgrounds the interactivity and process of
presentation of self, illustrates that audiences of blogs hope
blogging. Eight participants varied in their usage of the
and expect authenticity, and that without it readership will
term “blog”: sometimes it would refer to an individual blog,
be lost (McNeil in [15]). For blogs, authenticity does not
an individual post, e.g., “I write a lot of blogs,” or even an
hinge upon the accuracy of information they present, but
entire blog-hosting site, such as when participants include
rather upon their interpretability. (Langellier and Peterson
LiveJournal in the blogs they frequently read.
in [15]). Lenhart bases her conclusion on Langellier and
In Patricia’s definition, the interaction that occurs makes it
Peterson’s examination of the persistent interpretability of
a blog, while in Natalie’s definition the content makes it a
narratives. Arguing that blogs are a form of narrative, she
blog. “It could be anything” demonstrates just how fluid the
posits that the blog is perceived “as one person’s ‘take’ on
notion of blog can be. Another respondent, Tony, listed a
an issue, one person’s perspective on a story, left open to
series of technical requirements, including commenting and
the interpretation of, and evaluation by, the reader, rather
RSS, when asked if a particular website was a blog or not:
than as an unbiased source of information” [15:58-59].
Among our participants, eleven described the blogs they
That website is [a blog], yeah, but it doesn’t have live
read regularly as feeling authentic. Connie “definitely [gets]
comments from people who read it. It has message boards that
an inside look at their lives”, while Natalie feels like she is
are associated with it, but they’re not as directly linked with
traveling alongside the bloggers who write about their
different page articles, I don’t know. It’s not a static page, I
mean every week you go to it, it will have different articles,
travels. All thirteen of our participants who read single-
but it’s not exactly the same format as a blog, it does have an
authored blogs recognize that posts of the blogs they read
RSS feed though so you can see what’s new on it.
regularly were either opinion or personal narratives, which
are important components of the perception of authenticity.
If readers and writers are both involved in the co-
construction of the blog [21], how do differences in
Blogs are generally considered a one-to-many medium, but
definitions impact this process?
are often experienced by bloggers as one-to-one [15]. In
this study, eight participants have experienced blogs as one-
As with boyd’s [2] respondents, many readers used
to-one communication between them and the blogger.
metaphors to define the term blog, and the metaphors with
Selena says, “for like some people…, I guess sometimes I
which they attempt to make sense of blogs in turn affect
feel like they’re writing to me.”
their understanding of, perception of, and interaction with
blogs. Seven of the fifteen participants referred to blogs as a
This study also shows that negotiations between online and
newspaper or magazine, and ten of the fifteen used the term
offline identity for blog readers are similar to those of
diary or journal to describe at least one blog they read.
bloggers. Early research into online identity, e.g., [26],
These data point to the problematic nature of basing
argued that people used online worlds to create alternate
research on blogging activity upon the traditional format-
identities or to explore certain facets of their personality
oriented definition of blogs. Although a blog’s format may
that were not as prominent. However, more recent work,
invite a certain reading, reader-response theory helps us
e.g., [1,20], has pointed to the ways in which a person’s
understand the actual interaction or lack of interaction that
online identity is a part or an extension of their offline
occurs between the blog reader and the blogger. Although
identity, such as the way that Trinidadians use the Internet
definitions found in the research literature [11,21] can be
as just another way of being “Trini” [20], and that
useful from an analytic standpoint, they may be less useful
attempting to sever the two can be misleading and
or even misleading when trying to understand how the
confusing. Similarly, while blogs and “real life”
bloggers and readers themselves approach blogging. When
experiences are still distinct realms for readers, there is a
seeking to understand blogging from the blogger’s or the
relatively tight coupling between readers’ online and offline
reader’s perspective, the authors found it more useful and
identities. Describing one of her friends, Fern says that “the
informative to consider blogs not in terms of academic
way he types is the way he talks and thinks,” and Lillian
definitions, but rather in the terms of those involved in the
hesitates to refer to only her offline friends as her “real”
activity of blogging.
friends. Were there a connection with Patricia’s online and
offline life, she says, “I [would be] a little bit surprised and
a little bit happy that there was this link between my online
may feel pressured to update, ten of our participants felt
life that I publish online with just a typical school day that it
obligated to read or comment, particularly on friends’ blogs
could be considered that I’m still the same… my screen
or blogs of which they felt that they were “a part” (see next
name versus me.” However, she is also wary of creating too
section). Selena “admits” that there are some posts, even on
strong a link between her online and offline identities. “I
blogs of close friends, that she does not read. Lillian was
don’t want my dad to find me because there was this whole
relieved to learn that other readers did not follow every
breakup thing [between my mom and dad] and he wasn’t
single post and skimmed many. However, while a reader
such a good person.” While Lillian was initially cautious
can “get away” with not reading every post without much
about linking her knit-blogging with her life as a graduate
notice, it is more obvious when there are lapses on the part
student, and she still does not give out her full name online,
of the blogger. Though expectations and obligations may
she also feels that her blogging activities are “a part of [her]
not be symmetrical, the activity of blogging nevertheless
and it’s not worth hiding it.” This sort of ambivalence was
exerts social pressures on both bloggers and readers.
common among participants; they do not view the set of
However, the situation with respect to readers’ expectations
identities they construct through blog reading as identical to
is somewhat more complex still. Thirteen respondents
their set of offline identities, but they also do not view the
expressed expectations with regard to update frequency,
two sets as totally disjoint; most of them continuously
visual style, navigability, responsiveness, appropriateness,
negotiate and redefine the relationship between the two.
and other aspects. However, just as readers read different
blogs differently, they have different expectations of
Differences from Previous Findings
Previous work on blogs has overlooked several elements of
different blogs. Expectations are often more lax for friends’
presentation and perception, possibly due to its focus on
blogs and greater for more popular “big” blogs. On the
bloggers as both producers and consumers of blogs. Blog
other hand, for example, when readers comment on these
readers are often perceived by bloggers as an unnerving and
big blogs, they rarely expect a response, while a comment
anonymous group of lurkers or instigators [15], placing
on a friend’s blog almost demands reciprocation. Natalie is
expectations on the blogger, creating awkward social
interested in travel, and so often reads and comments on
situations, or sometimes presenting an unwanted, invading
travel blogs. She does not expect the blogger to respond to
presence [2]. However, blog readers often approach
her questions, but is pleasantly surprised when it happens.
different blogs differently, and may contribute differently in
Differences in expectations of blogger and reader are not
different contexts. Each participant shared that she or he
split only along the lines of friend blogs vs. big blogs. For
would variously comment, lurk, or instigate, depending on
example, on knit blogs, Lillian comments, answers
the blog. As for commenting, eleven respondents stated that
questions, and provides positive feedback, but she is
they would semi-regularly encounter statements or
unwilling to do the same on other blogs she reads, such as a
sentiments with which they disagreed, but only four
science blog that relates to her graduate studies.
participants shared instances where their views differed
significantly and decided to express their disagreement
Many of these differences—in expectations, in
through comments. However, only one of these four would
commenting, in other regards—can be traced to the reader’s
make comments with the aim of instigating an awkward
perception of the blogger or blog, and to the reader’s
situation or invading the blogger’s space. Lillian is of the
motivation for reading. Lillian views the knit and craft
opinion that “it’s not worth being negative.” She strives to
blogs as a community and often attributes certain
ensure that “whatever comes out of [her] mouth… or what
characteristics of the community to its primarily female
comes out of [her] fingers is positive.” Kirsh, though, said
composition. Tony accounts for his commenting practices
that he enjoys bashing on bloggers or simply kindling
as something he enjoys doing as an engineer. Charles reads
“flame wars” of nearly unfounded, ruthless arguments.
blogs as a routine that helps him obtain information. Judith
reads primarily to keep in contact with friends. It is not only
While previous research has described the expectations
the way the blogger presents herself or himself that affects
readers place on bloggers, readers feel that there are certain
the readers perception of the blogger, but also the purpose
expectations of them, as well. According to Patricia, “a
for which the reader is reading.
good post deserves a reply from the audience,” and Jill sees
“[commenting] as a courtesy.” Furthermore, while some
Although this paper focuses on blog readers, only three of
comments are used as simple, lo-fi communication or
the fifteen participants do not have their own blog. Despite
notification mechanisms (discussed further below), many
the fact that many of our participants are also bloggers, at
readers spend a significant amount of time formulating their
least nominally, the findings presented here are still
comments in order for them to be coherent and insightful.
applicable to blog readers, because, as argued above, there
In the rare event that Charles comments, he needs “time to
is no evidence in the literature that there exist bloggers who
sit down and plot out a cogent response.” While bloggers
do not read blogs. However, one difference is the tendency
feel pressures about the content and identity they present,
for the non-bloggers to read only popular, highly trafficked
readers feel pressures about ensuring that their comments
blogs, whereas, of the twelve blog readers with blogs, ten
make a significant contribution. Similarly, while bloggers
used their blogs to keep up with friends. Ultimately, though,
the activity of blog reading is neither a dichotomy of
argues instead that connectedness is constituted differently
blogger versus reader nor a set of transactions that are
in different contexts; being a part of a blog looks different
confined to the materiality of the blog. “It depends”
for different readers, and connectedness, even when
describes how the experience of blog reading is highly
achieved by different means, is still connectedness.
contingent on the individual reader and not solely the blog.
Connectedness does not always entail feeling connected to
the blogger as a person. Despite the distinctive personal
“Being a Part”
When discussions with respondents turned to themes of
style and presentation of self in many blogs, not all readers
participation in, and contribution to, the blogs they read,
visit blogs for the blogger. Instead, they are more interested
eleven of them described feeling that they were a “part” of
in the content or information presented on the blog. Among
a blog in some way. This is distinct from the feeling of
our respondents, ten of fifteen read certain blogs because
membership or belonging in a community [6,12]. Some
they know or are familiar with the blogger in person, while
respondents felt that they were part of a blog without ever
eleven of fifteen read certain blogs because they want
making their individual presence known to the blogger or
information about a particular topic. However, motivations
other readers. Being part of a blog is more than consistent
can change over time. During the interviews, eleven
readership, a sense of community, or a feeling of
participants described situations where they began reading
connectedness, although it includes all those things.
blogs for information purposes, but continued reading
because they developed a connection with the blogger.
Readership is one component to being a part of a blog.
Cheryl reads fourfour, a blog with pop culture news and
Connie stated that, “just by reading I feel like I’m
commentary. Initially, she started reading for the blogger’s
participating.” Nevertheless, a few question if they are part
witty and insightful entries about hip hop and “snarky
of any of the blogs that they read. For Charles, the idea of a
commentary” about reality TV shows. However, the
community is a central component to the definition of a
blogger would also occasionally post about his cats.
blog, and thus he does not feel part of a blog because he
does not consistently contribute as he might expect a
At first, when he was posting pictures about his cat, not that I
thought it was a little nutty, but it was like, ‘what’s the sense
community-member to do. Importantly, Charles reads
in doing this?’, but then I would read the entries and they
mostly “big” blogs—ones that are relatively popular,
would be really cute or hilarious pictures so then I became
generate a high volume of traffic, and receive copious
even a fan of the cat postings then I was like, ‘oh my god, this
comments—and while other participants could be a part of
is so petty’…. he’s a charismatic person so pretty much any
a big blog without commenting, some sort of interaction
topic you’ll get some sort of satisfaction or chuckle…
was necessary for Charles. While an important component
Even though Cheryl was initially drawn to the blog for the
of being a part, readership alone is often not sufficient.
content, she ended up feeling connected with the blogger
Six of the fifteen participants said specifically that they felt
due in part to the personal information with which he
“connected” to a blog or blogger. Kuwabara et al.’s
supplemented his posts. In contrast, there were no instances
examination of FaintPop [14] revealed that the ability to
where a blog reader began reading a blog for the blogger,
express things that might not be considered an important
and despite a falling out or loss of feeling connected
topic of conversation, such as moods, help construct a
continued to read for the content. This pattern suggests that,
feeling of connectedness. In the blogosphere, such
contrary to previous findings [2,23], it is important not to
examples are lo-fi comments, ones that are short, do not
conflate the blogger with the content of the blog when
convey much content-wise, and are relatively generic.
considering the perspective of the reader.
These comments also share certain aspects with the
communication afforded by the Virtual Intimate Object
SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS
(VIO) [13], in that they are relatively low bandwidth
This section highlights salient themes from the above
communication but carry a high degree of meaning and
findings as well as potential implications. These include not
value for both reader and blogger. However, of the
only design implications, but also more broadly future
participants who expressed a feeling of connectedness, only
research directions and societal implications.
Natalie described a feeling of presence similar to FaintPop
Routine – All of our participants mentioned in some way
or the VIO. When reading travel blogs she feels as if she is
the habitual nature of blog reading. Charles’ statement that
traveling with the blogger, sharing the blogger’s
reading blogs is “something that happens” frames the reader
experiences, supporting her or his travels. Furthermore,
as passive, neither self-aware nor reflective about their
though lo-fi comments are not the exception, they are not
reading. While some participants were conscious of why
the rule, either. Although Cheryl feels connected to one of
they read blogs, few were reflective of how they read. For
the sports-fan blogs she reads, she has yet to feel the need
example, participants rarely reflected on the routine or
to leave comments of any sort. On the one hand, there is an
time-consuming nature of blog reading prior to
argument that the readers who do not comment are not
participation in this study. This finding suggests that
really connected, or that those who comment are more
designing tools to raise self-awareness and encourage
connected. Drawing on reader response theory, this paper
reflection could be valuable in transforming routinized blog
reading into a more engaging, fulfilling experience. Future
nor sufficient. What it takes to be a part of a blog varies
work should also compare blog reading to other routine
depending on the individual reader and the specific blog,
media use, such as watching television, checking email,
especially whether it is a “big” popular blog or a personal
reading the newspaper, or listening to the radio.
friend’s blog. Based on these varied interactions between
reader and blog, readership is defined and constituted
Not Information Overload – Research on information
differently in different contexts. Future work should
retrieval (IR) and related areas often asserts that the copious
examine the feeling of “being a part” both in different
quantity of information available leads to information
social media, such as YouTube or Wikipedia, as well as in
overload, wherein overwhelmed users are unable to find
instances where the division between authors and readers is
relevant or important information in the ever-growing
more nebulous or even nonexistent, such as social
deluge. However, among this study’s participants, only two
networking sites or Twitter. Furthermore, it will be
feel overwhelmed by the information content available to
important to examine how participation in these and other
them. These readers do not feel the need to be constantly up
online interactions impacts our definition of what it means
to date with everything posted in the blogs they read. More
to be a member of a community, both online and offline.
studies should explore information overload, or lack
thereof, from users’ perspectives in other contexts, so as not
Interactional Approach – drawing on reader response
to spend research time developing IR algorithms that
theory [3,17] and recent trends in HCI research [5], the
alleviate a problem not actually experienced by users.
research presented here takes an interactional approach to
studying blog reading, shifting the focus from structural,
Non-chronous – While readers experience blog posts in
technical, or content-oriented aspects of blogs to the
temporal order, the exact times of the posts does not
reader’s experiences with them. This approach leads to
significantly impact the reading activity. The recency of a
novel, reader-centered definitions of the term “blog” based
post has more to do with the number of other posts that
on the types of reading and interaction it allows and
have occurred since the post in question than with the
encourages. Focusing on interaction also foregrounds the
amount of time that has passed. Not only does this finding
ways in which blogs are not a genre but a medium for
have implications for the design of blog reading tools with
multi-directional communication among bloggers and
respect to determining what content users/readers will find
readers. Previous work focused predominantly on the
important, but it also points to the ways in which
blogger, and this paper focuses mostly on readers. Future
technologies such as blogs influence perceptions of
work should take an integrative approach, looking at the
temporality. The passage of time here is marked by the
same interaction from both the blogger’s and the reader’s
occurrence of certain events, i.e., posts, such that the
perspectives, as well as looking at interactions between
significance of a period of time and even the perception of
blog readers in specific contexts, such as political blogs,
how much time has elapsed are influenced by how much
religious blogs, or mommy blogs. What interactional
happens in that period, i.e., how many posts occur. Future
aspects of blogging, including both blogger and reader, are
studies should pay attention to the ways in which the design
unique to each of these communities? What aspects
and use of other technologies and communication media,
transcend individual communities to characterize blogging
such as instant messaging, email, or Twitter, influence how
in general? How do common practices from blogging
users perceive and constitute the passage of time.
impact social interaction in other contexts beyond blogs?
Identity– This paper builds on previous studies of online
identity by exploring readers’ perceptions of bloggers’
CONCLUSION
identities. The findings here agree with previous ones, for
In examining the increasingly common social activity of
example, that online and offline identities are not
blogging, we must consider the experiences, roles, and
completely separate and distinct from one another [2,20],
contributions of readers, even when less readily apparent
but there are also differences. For example, while previous
than those of bloggers. This paper presents a qualitative
work has looked at the obligations the blogger feels from
study that focuses on blog readers, their reading practices,
his or her audience, this paper looked also at the obligations
their perceptions of blogs and bloggers, and what it means
readers feel toward the blogger. Also, these findings
to be a part of a blog. The findings presented here indicate
indicate disconnects between the pressures felt by bloggers
that the activity of blogging, of which readers are an
and the expectations of readers. While these findings
integral part, is far more heterogeneous and multifaceted
provide future directions for exploring identity perception
than previously suggested. Even though ten of our fifteen
and presentation in social media and its connection to other
participants are between 18-25 years old and eleven of
aspects of interaction, such as privacy, appropriateness, and
fifteen are students, the ways in which they read blogs, and
authority, they also suggest a design space for tools to allow
even their definitions of what constitutes a blog, are
more nuanced interactions between bloggers and readers.
dramatically different. The analysis here draws on reader-
response theory to argue that, rather than using structural or
“Being a Part” – Being a part of a blog involves regular
content-based features in order to classify blogs, it may be
reading, a feeling of community, and a sense of
more informative to consider them in terms of interactional
connectedness, though these aspects are neither necessary
features and readers’ experiences. This focus resonates with
current trends in HCI, such as embodied interaction [5].
11. Herring, S.C., Scheidt, L.A., Bonus, S. and Wright, E.,
This paper describes various ways in which blog reading is
Bridging the gap: A genre analysis of weblogs. in HI
more than just reading. It leads the reader to form complex
Int’l Conf on Sys Sci, (2004), IEEE Computer Society.
definitions of the term “blog,” each of which differs to
12. Hillery, G. Definitions of community. Rural Sociology
varying degrees from the definitions used by bloggers. The
20, (1955), 779-791.
paper also offers a view into the perception of the digital
presentation of self in blogs. Blog reading allows for widely
13. Kaye, J., I just clicked to say I love you: Rich
varied means of “being a part,” giving rise to new notions
evaluations of minimal communication. in CHI
of community and belonging. This paper outlines the role of
Extended Abstracts, (2006), ACM Press, 363-368.
the reader in the activity of blogging, laying a general
14. Kuwabara, K., Watanabe, T., Ohguro, T., Itoh, Y. and
foundation for future work.
Maeda, Y., Connectedness oriented communication
fostering a sense of connectedness to augment social
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
relationships. in SAINT, (2002), Computer Society.
Thanks to the California Institute for Telecommunications
and Information Technology, the Summer Undergraduate
15. Lenhart, A.B. Unstable Texts: An Ethnographic Look at
How Bloggers and Their Audience Negotiate Self-
Research Fellowship in Information Technologies Program,
Presentation, Authenticity, and Norm Formation,
the Emulex Corporation, and the Donald Bren School of
Masters Thesis, Georgetown University, Washington,
Information and Computer Sciences for their support.
D.C., 2005.
Thanks also to Bonnie Nardi for comments on an earlier
draft, to Peter Krapp and Nathaniel Pope for discussions
16. Lenhart, A.B. and Fox, S. Bloggers: A portrait of the
about blogs and blogging, and to the anonymous reviewers
Internet's new storytellers, Pew Internet & American
for their valuable feedback and suggestions.
Life Project, 2006.
17. Lewis, C.S. An experiment in criticism. Cambridge
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