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Thursday, November 08, 2007

Blogoscopy: Universities 

A recent survey ranks Syracuse a prominent blogging city, and the presence of Syracuse University is a major reason why.


...'Syracuse ranks high because it has several of the characteristics that correlate with blogging activity, not the least of which is the presence of Syracuse University...

"The common characteristics of the high-ranking cities include high Internet penetration, high broadband penetration, a young, well-educated population, the presence of high-tech employment opportunities and the presence of colleges and universities," [a spokesperson for the survey research firm] said.

Mark Obbie, a professor at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and a blogger himself, said he expected academia to play a role in the volume of blogging.

"Any university town is going to have a lot of people who think others want to hear what they want to say," Obbie said. "And I would imagine there are a few professors like myself who blog, which adds to the number."

Freshman Dan Orlando said he has noticed the growth of blogging at SU and at most colleges. He hosts a New York Giants blog with two students from Quinnipiac University. He said that blogging is a necessary step to continue his writing career.

"I still get to write, hone my journalistic skills and get my thoughts out there - where millions of people can see - by writing a blog," Orlando said. "Our blog is very professional, and it gives us a lot of much-needed experience for our future careers in journalism."

Obbie said he believes blogging is an essential tool for both journalism students and the everyday person. Obbie's blog, called "Lawbeat," covers reporting on law, lawyers and the courts.

"It's a good way for me to keep one leg in the professional world," he said [I thought it was keep a foot in.]. "It keeps my visibility higher than if I was simply expressing my thoughts in the classroom. It's a great daily creative outlet that can turn into something more formed and thought-out and be written to a larger audience than my classes."

Blogging makes it easier for students to gain writing experience, Obbie said.

... Blogs may even create publicity for the university.

"If people at the university make a name for themselves, it sends a clear signal that this is a place that is engaged and cares about these things in the outside world," Obbie said. "It significantly raises our profile."

As a blogger, Orlando said blogging only helps SU, and particularly Newhouse, in the future.

"This is what we're all about here," he said. "Blogging follows Syracuse's traditions and beliefs. We just built a building that has the First Amendment written on it, and blogging is one of the ways we can take advantage of our First Amendment rights."




The Daily Orange, the Syracuse University newspaper.