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The sensational emergence of blogging as
a popular means of individual expression and public discourse
has captured the world's attention. And it's not hard to
see why. Political bloggers have used their online journals
-- or Web logs (blogs) -- to bring down high and mighty
politicians like Trent Lott and force the resignation of
such media bigwigs as CBS anchor Dan Rather. Consumer bloggers,
meanwhile, have turned struggling enterprises with deserving
products into overnight successes -- and at the same time,
ruined firms that ignored their justified complaints about
defective products.
Who are these amateur "pundits"
and how have they used this new communications medium called
blogging to transform not only their own lives but the larger
society as well? What's going on inside this revolution
of the voiceless against the heedless?
Blog! How the Newest Media Revolution
is Changing Politics, Business, and Culture takes you
inside the minds and hearts of the world's most influential
bloggers. People like former Howard Dean campaign manager
Joe Trippi, who pioneered the use of political blogs as
grassroots organizing tools and fund-raising vehicles --
and in the process changed political campaigning forever.
Or Robert Scoble, a Microsoft employee who, through his
candid, fair-minded blog postings, accomplished what hundreds
of millions of dollars in Microsoft image advertising could
not -- the humanizing of a company once reviled as a monopolistic
bully. Or former child star Wil Wheaton (Stand by Me
and Star Trek: The Next Generation), who captivated
millions with his blog postings about the humiliations of
a struggling actor and eventually launched a new career
for himself as a respected author with two books to his
credit. From celebrity-activist Arianna Huffington to the
Web philosopher Clay Shirky, this book brings you many of
the world's A-list bloggers in their own fresh and uncensored
voices.
Any powerful new technology inevitably brings
with it a hurricane of hype and hyperbole. Some of the medium's
more extreme evangelists claim that blogs will replace traditional
media, nullify the influence of the rich and powerful over
electoral politics, and -- by putting the power of the printing
press in the hands of ordinary citizens -- enable a million
new Shakespeares to emerge from the heartland.
Don't bet on it, say authors David Kline
and Don Burstein. They point out that while blogging will
certainly transform many areas of politics, business, and
culture, it cannot free us from the limits of human nature
or the constraints of social and economic reality. The authors
thus give us the first book that pierces the bubble of hype
and confusion surrounding this new medium with a real-world
analysis of the ways that blogging will and won't change
our society and the rapidly expanding universe of the now
and future blogging phenomenon.
David Kline (dkline@well.com) is a journalist,
author, and business consultant whose most recent book,
Rembrants in the Attic: Unlocking the Hidden Value of
Patents (Harvard Business School Press), is considered
the seminal work on intellectual property strategy in corporate
America. He has reported on wars, revolutions, and various
domestic issues for the New York Times and other
major media, and is a frequent speaker before business audiences.
Dan Burstein is an award-winning journalist,
a New York Times
bestselling author, and a venture capitalist. He has been
writing about new technology trends for more than 20 years.
He is founder and managing partner of the New York-based
venture capital fund, Millennium Technology Ventures. Over
the last decade, Dan has served on the boards of more than
a dozen new technology and media companies. He is also the
editor and creator of the "Secrets" series of
guidebooks to The Da Vinci Code
and other contemporary bestsellers.
Kline and Burstein co-authored Road
Warriors: Dreams and Nightmares Along the Information Highway
in 1995. It was one of the first books to examine the broad
impact of digital media on business and society.
Follow David Kline's unfolding examination
of blogging at www.BlogRevolt.com
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