Blogging Communities

'Blog' as defined by Marketingterms.com (n.d), it is a frequent chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links (more info of blog, see here). Dictionary.com (n.d) defined 'community' as a social group sharing common interests and perceived/ perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists. Therefore, blogging community can be defined as a group of people who share a common interest (blogging) in blogosphere. Bloggers share links, photos and videos and support each other by exchanging ideas and comments. Some of the widely used blogging site are Blogger, WordPress and Xanga.

So, how are we going to get support from other bloggers once we have a blog? All we have to do is to build a blogging community. There are various options for you to build your blogging community.

1.Using social media
   - Reed (2009) suggests that we should reach a larger audience via Facebook and Twitter.
   - Networking ourselves online by creating profile outside of our blogs (LeMerle, 2007).
2. Comments
   -Leaving comment with your blog URL enable other people to find you.
   -Reply to comments enhance interactivity between the authors and readers.
   


As listed by White (2006), there are three types of blogging communities. Single Blog Community is that the visitors of a blog can interact not only with the author, but also with others who leave comments there.

Single Blog Community (Source: White, 2006)

The second blogging community is Central Connecting Topic Community. This community is a group of blogs linked by shared passion or topic. Food bloggers and travel bloggers are examples given by White.

Central Connecting Topic Community (Source: White, 2006)

Boundaried Communities, as defined by White (2006), is a collections of blogs and blog readers engaged within a single platform. Members need to register to join in the community and are able to interact with other members using built-in tools such as discussion board and instant messaging.

Boundaried Communities (Source: White, 2006)

DONGBANGCITY is an example of boundaried community. This site is aimed for readers/fans who admire a South Korean boyband namely TVXQ. This site need members to register before releasing any posts on the discussion boards. Only registered members are able to leave comments on posts and all the posts are nicely separated by subjects. Members are able to communicate with others members using the built-in instant messaging tool called 'ShoutBox'. It also make use of social networking site such as Twitter and Facebookto keep engaging with its readers and also to build a bigger blogging community.

source: onetvxq.com

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References

LeMerle, R 2007, 10 Step Guide to Building Your Blogging Community, neodigitalist, viewed 30 September 2010, from <http://www.neodigitalist.com/2007/02/10-step-guide-to-building-your-blog-community/>

Reed, M 2009, How to build an online community, communityspark, viewed 30 Spetember 2010, from <http://www.communityspark.com/how-to-build-an-online-community/>

White, N 2006, Blogs and Community-launching a new paradigm for online community?, The Knowledge Tree, viewed 30 September 2010, from <http://kt.flexiblelearning.net.au/tkt2006/edition-11-editorial/blogs-and-community-%E2%80%93-launching-a-new-paradigm-for-online-community>