7 1/2 ways a blog can be useful

I hope to find some personal relevance in the blogosphere and relate it to different aspects of my life.

In simplest terms, a blog can be a useful communication device for groups. It can share information that all individuals, in any given group, need to know in a variety of formats. It is not limited to text, although that is highly useful for the verbally literate. Movies, photos, songs, you name it , can be shared with ease. Best of all, you don't have to decide if what you are saying is important. Once you have the thought, all you have to do is post it.

Sarcasm aside, there are some very pragmatic uses for blogs. I hope to come up with no less than 7 1/2 of them for different interest groups:

1. Consumers: ratings & rankings of products & services. A good example would be the type of consumer feedback you see on 'Amazon' or 'Tripadvisor'

2. Medical patients support groups: tips & ideas for dealing with specific conditions.

3. Other support groups: Some types that come to mind, would include those that deal with

relationships affected by specific issues such as alcoholism or mental illness.

4. Hobbyists: images for collectors; lyrics of songs for those who don't want to pay for them; help for challenges. In particular, I am thinking of when I hit a 'brick wall' in trying to get information on an ancestor of mine when doing genealogical research. I posted a question to a forum, and a distant cousin contacted me with the missing information.

5. Professionals: issues affecting different professional fields, such as (gasp!) libraries

6. Workplace: intradepartmental, interdepartmental communications. This is particularly useful in organizations that have not had a formalized method for sharing 'need to know' information'. So much work is defined by computers, so it should not be a big problem.

7. Communities: information about neighborhoods

8. Politics: information about candidates and issues

9. Friends: playtime for the young. I don't have to name 'My Space' as a prime example of a social network, but I will. However, if you have friends why not spend time with them instead of yakking on computers?

10. Miscellaneous: One example, that doesn't fit into a neat category is on St. Mary's County Library's web page, 'Flat Tops', which has a lot of interesting photos and information on a Lexington Park neighborhood that no longer exists.

Okay. So I've come up with more than 7 1/2 uses for blogs, and I suppose that the list could go on. One good thing that has come out of this exercise, is that I've developed some enthusiasm for the idea of blogs. However, I'm sure that most people are not truly interested in my feelings about it. Perhaps some of my ideas about uses will stimulate others in their pursuit of 'The Blog'.