During the past two weeks, I have been spending a good amount of time observing a weightlifting blog. I have chose to observe this type of blog because of my strong interest in this sport. In the past I have been a regular observer of different weightlifting forums, but experiencing it on a blog is something new for myself. This blog, "Drug-Free Body Building,"contains various methods of training, suggestions, facts, and tips in all areas of physical fitness. Although I am solely interested in the sport of weightlifting, this blog provides so much more than that. With that being said, it is safe to say that this blog's target audience is widely diverse.
Physical fitness is the main subject found within this blog. But there are so many areas that branch out of physical fitness that this blog covers. This is my main reason for stating that its targeted audience is widely diverse. As I stated earlier, I am very interested in weightlifting. So I am going to read and respond to blog posts involving various weightlifting exercises for each body part, tips on increasing weight, opinions on peoples experiences with supplements, and insight on new workout routines that I may not know about. Other people may view this blog because they want to lose weight. This blog contains information in that area where it provides insight on proper nutrition and effective weight-loss cardiovascular activities. Some viewers may also be interested in gaining weight. This blog also contains information regarding how to increase your body weight with proper nutrition, good supplements, and proper weight gaining exercises. One of the most recent posts on this site caught my attention greatly. It involved a targeted audience of people who may suffer from back pain while lifting. Although everyone involved in physical fitness does not experience this, it still happens to certain people. I've talked about this post in my "Blogging 3" entry. The blogger stated that he has been experiencing lower back pain during a particular exercise. He said he changed up his routine and added exercises that stretch the lower back in order to free it from pain. He also provided a weekly workout of exercises that can help those with back pain. This is just another example that provides evidence that this blog has a large target audience. The only downside to this blog is that the flow of conversation is very low. About two days ago I posted a follow up comment to a particular chest workout. I stated that I believed regular dumbbell presses are far more effective than regular barbell presses. I was hoping to get other comments in order to see if people agreed or disagreed with me. Throughout my experience in the gym, these particular exercises are highley debated, so getting some conversation on this topic would be very desirable. After about 3 days since my comment, I have found that no had replied. After I browsed through other posts to see if others have commented alike myself, I had come to the conclusion that this blog contains very little conversation flow.
The book Blogging America by Aaron Barlow provides a very good example that is comparable to supporting my above claim. In Chapter 5 of Blogging America, Barlow states that "You cannot give technology to people and expect results, they must want it."(p.122) This statement can be comparable to the diverse target audience of this weightlifting blog. The people that view this blog, alike most blogs, want the information they are reading. You have to be interested in physical fitness in order to benefit from this blog and that is what Barlow has stated blogs have done in America.
In Chapter 2 of Blogging America, Barlow speaks about the negative aspects of blogging. He states "Anyone can blog, and that there are no filters in order to stop anyone from saying whatever they want. Without editors, administrators, or regulators to monitor what is being posted, we have no one to vouch for the reliability or credibility of what we read."(p.36) I agree with this statement for many blogs because they lack credibility. But I believe this blog "Drug-Free Body Building" contains a lot of credible information. Based on my observations, this blog contains a blogger who posts various articles from physical fitness magazines or books. Each post is credited to a different author. This blog is mainly composed of a mass compilation of credible physical fitness articles. I am able to vouch for this blog in its credibility because all of the information provided is honestly amazing insight on their topics. I know this because I have spent many years reading magazines, books, and web site forums on information regarding this. This blog is just one huge information provider that is entirely free.
Barlow, Aaron. (2008). Blogging America: The New Public Sphere. Westport, CT.: Praeger Publishers.
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