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Communications Medicine

Blogging Now Good for You, Still Bad for Some 60

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the join-the-eggs-and-cholesterol-club dept.
Several users have alerted us to a May Scientific American article that has been getting some attention more recently. Apparently, blogging is now good for you and, at least in this context, is the suggested reason for the explosion of blogging. This is quite the departure from some of the results we have seen in practice for more prolific bloggers.
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Blogging Now Good for You, Still Bad for Some More

Blogging Now Good for You, Still Bad for Some

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  • Blags! (Score:2, Funny)

    by MortenMW ( 968289 )
    Oh yeah, give us even more blags!

  • bad for some? (Score:4, Funny)

    by bsDaemon ( 87307 ) on Monday June 09, 2008 @01:05PM (#23712651)
    I prefer to think of it as, "Blogging good for me, bad for society" -- at least considering what I'd probably write if I had one.
    • Notice that the article is talking only about writing blogs being good for you. It's universally accepted that reading blogs is bad (that's why nobody does it).

      That's right. Nobody reads your blog. Yes, I'm talking to you.
  • Next week's news: Study finds that blogging causes cancer!

  • journaling yes, blogging no (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Neil Watson ( 60859 ) on Monday June 09, 2008 @01:10PM (#23712737) Homepage
    Keeping a private journal can certainly be helpful. Sharing it with the world seems odd.

  • The difference (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Spy der Mann ( 805235 ) <spydermann.slash ... com minus distro> on Monday June 09, 2008 @01:11PM (#23712743) Homepage Journal
    Bloggers who want to blog to maintain a status (i.e. fame, fortune, etc) find blogging stressful. Of course it's stressful, it's become a JOB!

    In contrasts, bloggers who do it to vent out their frustration and share a part of their mind with the world, find it fulfilling.

    Not quite a discovery if you think of it that way.

  • it's all about ego (Score:5, Interesting)

    by petes_PoV ( 912422 ) on Monday June 09, 2008 @01:16PM (#23712829)
    > Self-medication may be the reason the blogosphere has taken off

    No, it's because most bloggers have the mistaken idea that like-minded souls will seek out and read their stuff, think hard about it and then post an insightful response which re-inforces their self-worth. As we all know, most blogs are a write-only medium, if they have any benefit to the writer it's purely cathartic as it lets the writer vent a bit.

    > ... have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences,

    If that was the case, sales of diaries would be huge. They aren't. People don;'t write for themselves, they write for their (imagined) audience.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by oldspewey ( 1303305 )

      People don;'t write for themselves, they write for their (imagined) audience.
      Would Slashdot see anywhere near the traffic it does if there were no comments and no mod system?

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by petes_PoV ( 912422 )
        most definitely not (though the mod system is merely a popularity contest. Say something that the geek-crowd agree with - whether it's right/relevant or not and you'll get modded up.)

        Even worse, without the replies/mods and consequent page-hits, advertising revenue would be near to zero

        • Re: (Score:2, Offtopic)

          by cromar ( 1103585 )
          Blah blah /. sucks blah. I get so tired of it! The mod system works well... it is part of what makes the discussions so good here. Frankly I see some posts modded down unfairly, but it's not usually anything that should have been modded up or would have added much of anything to the conversation. Now to mod you troll ;)

        • I Disagree (Score:1, Offtopic)

          by FurtiveGlancer ( 1274746 )
          Apparently, one can earn mod points just for using "vacuous" properly in a sentence. That might be considered shallow but, IMO, not ultimately vacuous.

          I often disagree with geek rant /. posters, but try to do so in an informed or humourous way. Modding is not perfect, but neither is life. I'd argue it works better and faster than any fixed editorial staff could. In my limited (note UID) experience, it tends to be self-correcting. I'm waiting anxiously for the chance to participate.

          Funny > Insigh

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by omris ( 1211900 )
          I take three steps to counteract this.

          Step 1: set your filter to -1. Then no matter what the mods want to throw points at, you still see all the comments.

          Step 2: set your account to display oldest comments first instead of highest points first.

          These two steps will effectively negate any effect from popularity contest mods.

          Step 3: METAMOD. They give you points to moderate the moderation. Use them. If you think someone's moderation was not appropriate, you get to say so. If people agree that a certain mo

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by cromar ( 1103585 )
            Oh man, that would be annoying if you had your account set up that way... that ain't default now is it?

            "-1 Oldest First" all the way.

            I have to disagree with you though. Complaining seems to exacerbate most problems. One is much better served either working on a solution to the current problem or accepting that you can't or won't do anything about it (you are free to pick either option in any situation). Seems like complaining for the sake of complaining is only a waste of time. Maybe that's just me,

            • Re: (Score:1)

              by omris ( 1211900 )
              I don't disagree with you there. It sure doesn't help ME to hear you complain. But the research definitely shows that it does help YOU for me to hear you complain. I'm sure it helps you more if I seem to care a little.

              I've been working a hellish schedule for the past month, and I have to admit, the thing that really seems to make it easier is a friend of mine who frequently points out "oh wow... you've been working so many hours, poor thing." Lame, I know. but it really makes it easier to work a month

    • No, it's because most bloggers have the mistaken idea that like-minded souls will seek out and read their stuff, think hard about it and then post an insightful response which re-inforces their self-worth. As we all know, most blogs are a write-only medium, if they have any benefit to the writer it's purely cathartic as it lets the writer vent a bit.
      my sadnerds.wordpress.com sometimes gets as many as seven hits per week. Someone even left me a comment once.

  • Be careful, though... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Quiet_Desperation ( 858215 ) on Monday June 09, 2008 @01:18PM (#23712855)
    Blogging about Eastasia is still considered harmful, unless we're allied with Eurasia. Wait...

  • Oblig. (Score:4, Funny)

    by thedrx ( 1139811 ) on Monday June 09, 2008 @01:18PM (#23712861)
    Blogs are good for you? What about those people who died in a blog accident [xkcd.com], you insensitive clod?

  • It's all about me, Me, ME! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Animats ( 122034 ) on Monday June 09, 2008 @01:23PM (#23712923) Homepage

    So whining about yourself on your own blog is good for you. But writing about something of interest to others isn't.

    Well, it explains the success of Myspace.

    "You are not trying. You are whining." Nigel to Andrea, "The Devil Wears Prada".

    • So whining about yourself on your own blog is good for you. But writing about something of interest to others isn't.

      Well, it explains the success of Myspace.

      I wouldn't call MySpace a blog. Technically it is, but c'mon, if you have a look at it and compare it to any other blog, can you really say they're the same? While MySpace has blogging features, its primarily a social network which completely changes the way users tend to use its blogging feature.

      For example, lets ignore tech blogs, or anything with useful information.

      Normal blog:
      "Today I went on a holiday with my friends. It was rather fun, however it made me think about ." 2 comments - probably self-repl

  • And... (Score:2, Funny)

    by Jor-Al ( 1298017 )
    Researchers also confirm that reading summaries written by ScuttleMonkey lowers your IQ by 30 points.
  • but the word "blog" is bad for you

    the word "blogosphere" is fatal in a 10 foot radius

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by mea37 ( 1201159 )
      Whoa... where is this 10' radius of which you speak located? I need to stay clear of it, so I don't accidentally get killed by the word blogosphere...
  • Blogs increase the status and reputation of the author in a particular field, but probably just as important for the writer it getting an outlet for those annoyance that come along in your work situation or when using a particular OS or tool. Its definitely a great way to feel better about something that is annoying.

  • Written skills (Score:3, Informative)

    by lena_10326 ( 1100441 ) on Monday June 09, 2008 @01:52PM (#23713319) Homepage
    Bloggers will develop improved written skills. How many times have you read an email or document from a coworker and thought "wow, this person can't write"?

    Blogging improves your efficiency at work because you become a better communicator. Just don't bitch about the boss [cnn.com] in your blog (unless it's anonymous).

    • Re: (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      This is exactly how they ensnare bloggers. If somebody is writing a blog about your company and you don't know who it is, just look for the person whose writing and communications skills have increased the most since the blog began!

      • just look for the person whose writing and communications skills have increased the most since the blog began!
        lol

    • Bloggers will develop improved written skills.
      Bloggers will develop improved whining skills.

      Fixed.

  • Writing helps me deal with my mental illness (Score:3, Insightful)

    by MichaelCrawford ( 610140 ) on Monday June 09, 2008 @02:04PM (#23713541) Homepage Journal
    I was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder in 1985. It's a serious condition: it's like having schizophrenia and manic depression at the same time. The symptoms include paranoia, auditory and visual hallucinations, dissociation, depression - which can be suicidal - and a profoundly euphoric state called mania.

    Getting sick led to me making a complete wreck of my life. I lost many friends, screwed up my education and my planned career as a scientist, lost what had been a good reputation.

    For many years I tried to keep my illness a secret, but it was a terrible burden to bear. I finally went public with it in 1997, by writing a page about my manic depressive aspect [geometricvisions.com]. Click the link and you'll see that it got slashdotted.

    But I had a much harder time facing or admitting to the schizophrenic aspect. I finally went public with that in 2003, in my essay Living with Schizoaffective Disorder [geometricvisions.com]. I also published it at Kuro5hin, where each of its three installments was featured on the front page.

    It's not real obvious to most readers, but I avoided saying much about my own experience in the section on paranoia. Again it was very hard to face it. But again I finally went public with it in 2006 in My Deepest Fear [vancouverdiaries.com].

    You'll understand why I had a hard time facing it if you read the essay. I was getting ready for an ambulance ride to the nuthouse when I wrote that, but, if you'll pardon my shameless self-promotion, I think it's one of the most vivid accounts of paranoia ever written.

    I've written a lot of stuff having to do with mental illness, both my own and that of others. I finally compiled an index to it all [geometricvisions.com]. I printed hardcopies of most of it, and the stack of paper was over an inch thick!

    Someday I plan to publish a dead-tree book about it. What's holding me back is finding the words to explain what I've learned from it all. I want to help others avoid it, to help others who suffer to get better, and to help their loved ones and caregivers to understand it.

    One lesson I have learned though, is that the worst of the stigma against mental illness is the stigma that we mentally ill have against ourselves. Our shame for being sick is the main thing that keeps us sick. It's a disease, and not our choice. It's not something to be ashamed of.

    As I write this, I've been employed steadily as a software engineer for over twenty years. For eight of those years I was self-employed as a software consultant. My title at my current job is Principal Software Engineer. I've achieved this success despite all the chaos that all those symptoms put me through.

    I point this out because I sometimes get the impression that those who treat the mentally ill don't expect us to ever get better. Yes, it's difficult, and progress is painfully slow - but it is quite possible for anyone to overcome the worst madness and lead a happy, fulfilling life.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Z34107 ( 925136 )

      In seriousness, congratulations on managing something most of us can't even contemplate, let alone understand. I can't imagine dealing with the same thing - if my mind went, I'm not exactly getting through life on "good looks and charm." ^.^ (Depending on who you ask, I'm not getting by on just my "mind" either, but it's worth a shot!)

      In jest... Slashdot is a good place to discuss this. There are a lot of mentally ill people [slashdot.org] here who could benefit from your experiences.

      But in seriousness again, con

    • You have my respect and thanks for sharing.
    • Writing helps me deal with my mental illness. Just that a majority of the people on the Internet don't like me for being mentally ill and noticed that I am mentally ill by my writing. My mental illness gives me a writing style that most people don't like, and automatically hate me for it, like on Kuro5hin. All I am trying to do is help out people and educate them and sometimes show them the other side of the debate. But because I show them the other side of the debate or another point of view that they don'
  • When the blog nazi told me, "No blog for you!" I came running to /. and immediately felt better. Another satisfied /. customer!
  • "Blogging cures cancer! Your dog wants steak! More at 11!" -- Ric Romero

  • Ever wonder why nearly all blogs are stupid?

    "The frontal and temporal lobes, which govern speech -- no dedicated writing center is hardwired in the brain -- may also figure in. For example, lesions in Wernicke's area, located in the left temporal lobe, result in excessive speech and loss of language comprehension. People with Wernicke's aphasia speak in gibberish and often write constantly. In light of these traits, Flaherty speculates that some activity in this area could foster the urge to blog."

    (Emphasis

  • Expressive Writing /= Blogging (Score:3, Interesting)

    by DocJohn ( 81319 ) on Monday June 09, 2008 @07:33PM (#23718023) Homepage
    Sadly, the SciAm article is about a research study on expressive writing, not blogging. While the two may share some characteristics in common, they are not the same. How the writer (and SciAm) managed to wrangle this into an article about blogging is beyond me.

    Worse, the study had a nearly 50% drop-out rate, meaning a good minority of people didn't have any interest in expressive writing. And with a small N, the results are hardly generalizable.

    Shame on SciAm.

    More here:

    http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2008/06/09/scientific-american-lets-stretch-research-to-make-it-sexy/ [psychcentral.com]

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