Bloggers

By James S. Payne

The internet has changed the landscape and flow of information worldwide. One aspect of the information burst is the emergence of blogs, which are the modern equivalents of the old-time journal. Many blogs are informative and provide a positive outlet for bloggers to express themselves. However, some blogs provide gross misinformation and are destructive. Among these are blogs that discourage the submission of manuscripts to reputable agents and publishers.

The reasons for such destructive blogs may be anger, personal gain, vengeance, or what have you. However, a look into the psychological types of bloggers may be worthy of study. Bloggers come in many shapes, sizes and psyches, but three predominate profiles prevail: a) rebel against authority, b) cause things to happen, and c) provide righteous service.

The “rebel against authority” bloggers just flat don’t like authority, status quo, or people telling them what to do. Many are graduates of the Counter-Culture movement and use the information age as a revolutionary means to decentralize power.

The “cause things to happen” bloggers possess strong, if not excessive, ego strength and use their blogs as a means of persuasion and influence. Many believe they know more than any established agent or publisher.

The “provide righteous service” bloggers believe they are obligated and have a duty to steer people in the right direction. They approach their message with the zeal and passion that appears to some as if it comes from a higher authority.

Regardless of their psychological makeup, bloggers are not going to go away in our lifetime, but the readers of blogs will become more discriminatory, more critical, more investigative, and more understanding. Educated readers of blogs cannot be fooled into believe unfounded, unsubstantiated claims.