We met up today to talk about how the various blogs we're looking at are being used. We had a really interesting and useful meeting, and we're starting to think about a range of different issues affecting bloggers and their blogs including gender, ethnicity, seniority, anonimity, identity, therapy, to name just a few!
At the heart of our research is a consideration of why bloggers blog. However one of the issues we talked about today was why readers read the blogs.
So, if you're a blogger or a reader (or both!), please participate in the research using the comments box below, and let us know what your motivations are for writing your blog, or for reading blogs.
I'm a blog reader and useless blog writer. I tried writing a blog but it's lost it's way. I do spend most of my time reading Police blogs as I work for the Police. I love the blogs as they try to give he public an insight into the realities of Policing. It also helps me realise i'm not going mad and it is really like that inside the police. The public have a very negative view of the police and the blogs try to address that and show that it's not purely down to police officers that people don't get the results or service they expect. Also they show the sheer lunacy of what it's like in the policing culture. You need only find out just how bad "diversity" is or how the force is run by senior officers who have no idea how things work in the real world or how to run anything effectivly and are only looking after themselves and their next promotion.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting. Reading the blogs, an important part seems to be getting things off the writer's chest, having a rant etc. You think then, that as well as that the bloggers are trying to educate the public?
ReplyDeleteI do. The police have a bad image and get the blame for criminals being "on the loose" or not being locked up. A lot of the blame lies with CPS, judges, solictors, politicians etc. I think the blogs try and redress that balance. Also a good proportion of society really have no idea about the lives of the "benefits" class and just how badly they affect society and the blogs try to highlight this too. Again the internal working of the police is highlighted by the blogs and so much of it seems like a joke but sadly is very true. See Inspector Gadget's example of a force who stopped it's officers using the word Christmas in case it offended non-christians.
ReplyDeleteThese kind of issues make the job alot harder and if the public knew about it then we could all work together to make it better.
But i do agree they exist to vent and release frustration. Sometimes the madness of it all gets to you and sadly there is no real way to relieve yourself of it. It's hard to really unburden yourself on your partner (if you habe one) all the time as it's not fair on them and there are very few people you trust to tell them about it in case someone finds out and you get into trouble with Professional Standards. Some issues you can't discuss with colleagues again because you might end up in trouble with PS.
With all that in mind the annonimity of the internet allows them to truly let it all out and relieve themselves of their troubles in order the strap on their gear and go out again the next day and do the job they love.
Having served as a British army officer in Afghanistan I have seen the real difference in the way in which moral is fostered and bolstered between the two organisations. In Afghanistan Sitting in a vehicle I saw two boys who had just been blown up in a vehicle take out a cigarette and go to light up in front of me. As they looked up and saw I was an officer they stopped at which point I told them to carry on, they certainly needed it. In the police I saw a younger PC who had just seen his first dead body, and was physically shaken, take out a cigarette and light up, outside of the property, the Sgt gave him management action for being unprofessional. Although many of us thought this was unreasonable no one, including myself, said this was wrong. The blogs are a way of releasing our frustration, if you vent this at work your card is marked and you are seen as a trouble maker. This is why the blogs have, at times, a large following which allows us to share our feelings without the repercussions. I enjoy reading and sometimes posting as it means I’m not alone and that there is other people feeling as I do.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous & PJ - Yes, there is a lot of that to be seen and it seems to be the most common reason for starting or keeping up a blog.
ReplyDeleteWe wondered if one of the other reasons might be to swap information with other bloggers/readers - not just swap stories & experiences, but also to maybe help someone else deal with a situation you've come across. Do you think there's much of that going on?
I personnaly dont use the police blogs to ask questions or share information. If I have a problem I ask close friends in the job. Each Force has different policies in place to deal with events. Therefore it would be difficult to get the right responce. Also it comes down to trust, you don't really know who is out there.
ReplyDelete