Noor Azlin Bidin, NormAh Mustaffa, Blogosphere : How Youth Perceived Blogs Credibility, Jurnal Komunikasi, Malaysian Journal of Communication, Jilid 28(1): 33-54
Abstract
Malaysia practice open democracy and would continue to promote digital democracy as Internet is an engine for economic growth and a portal to a knowledge society. Malaysia which has set its sights on becoming a high-income nation in nine years had one of the liveliest and least controlled blogosphere in the world. Bloggers are not only limited to adult political specialists or amateur journalists, but also in the world of youths, where blogs offer an outlet for personal expressions and reflection, as well as way to communicate and connect with others. The overabundance of information available online, coupled with the heavy reliance on the Internet by information-seekers raises the issue of the credibility or quality of blogs found online. Questions and concerns about credibility stems from the fact that Internet and digitization technologies have lowered the cost of information dissemination while increasing the accessibility to information. Using quantitative approach, this paper aims to present some findings in relation to the youth’s perception on the credibility of blogs. Considering the wide usage of blogs and its influences among Malaysian Internet users, these surveys while by no means comprehensive, gives a preliminary idea of the dynamism of the blogosphere in Malaysia and may explain how to assess the credibility of online information.
Keywords: Blogs, credibility, youth, blogger, blogosphere >
About the Authors
Noor Azlin Bidin is currently attached to the Department of Languages, Centre for Languages and Human Development, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM). She graduated from Universiti Putra Malaysia with a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia with a Master’s degree in Communication Management. Her research interest includes work in human communication and computer-mediated communication. She can becontacted at:-
Email: azlin@utem.edu.my
Dr Normah Mustaffa is currently the chairperson of School of Media and Communication Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. She holds a doctoral degree in communication from Cardiff University, United Kingdom. Her research interests primarily focus on journalism, visual communication and new media. She can be contacted at:-
normahm@ukm.my.
Posts
For instance, adult information seekers are likely to select information when they think it is
ReplyDelete1. accurate,
2. current,
3. objective,
4. reliable,
5. authoritative,
6. trustworthy,
7. understandable,
8. well written,
9. comprehensive,
10. easy to obtain, and
11. on topic.
Youths on the other hand often mainly consider whether information is
1. related to the topic and whether
2. it is new,
3. interesting, and
4. convenient, while showing
5. less interest in authority,
6. (less in) the readability of the language and
7. recency
[Rieh and Hilligoss 2008]
The study about Internet credibility has drawn attention to numerous studies conducted by
ReplyDelete1. Bucy (2003),
2. Eyal et al. (2003),
3. Flanagin and Metzger (2007),
4. HsiPeng Lu and Kuo-Lun Hsiao (2007),
5. Johnson and Kaye (2004),
6. Lankes (2008),
7. Major and Atwood (1997),
8. Metzger (2007),
9. Rieh and Hilligoss (2008)
10. Swetser et al. (2008) and
11. Wathen and Burkell (2002).
From the studies conducted specific concerns about credibility stems from the fact that Internet and digitization technologies lowered the cost of information dissemination while increasing accessibility to information.
As a result, much more information is available, and more easily accessible ...
Due to the volume of information available and the lack of professional editors to monitor material, the credibility of web content typically must be assessed by the reader (Metzger 2007).
ReplyDeleteWhen accessing the credibility of health related online information, Eysenbach and Kohler (2002) found that people look for a professional design, scientific language, ease of use and the source of information.
ReplyDeleteRains (2007) studied the impact on anonymity in electronic meeting systems and found that
ReplyDeletethe credibility and influence of contributors can be reduced by anonymity.
Hujan (2007) mengkaji kesan ke atas ketanpanamaan dalam sistem mesyuarat elektronik dan mendapati bahawa kredibiliti dan pengaruh pencarum boleh dikurangkan dengan namanya disiarkan.
ReplyDeleteResearches have studied credibility to see how much media users consider a medium believable and convincing.
ReplyDeleteUsually, the credibility which is perceived by the media users refers to the media users’ judgement on the source of a message and the source could be a journalist or a medium (Newhagen 1997).
According to Fogg et al. (2003), website credibility has been found to be higher :-
ReplyDelete1. if the person or people behind the site have a ‘real world feel’ by for instance including a postal address,
2. if the website is easy to use,
3. if the person or author behind the site itself appear to have expertise,
4. if the site appears trustworthy and
5. if the content is tailored to individual visitors.
The genre of web content also impacts on credibility, Flanagin dan Metzger (2007) examined four types of website namely :-
ReplyDelete1. news organisation,
2. e-commerce,
3. special interest and
4. personal home pages
... and found that credibility decreases going down the list.
Rieh S. Y. & Hilligoss, B. ( 2008). College Students Credibility Judgments in the Information-Seeking Process.’ In Miriam J. Metzger and Andrew J. Flanagin (eds.), Digital Media, Youth, and Credibility. Cambridge, MA: the MIT Press.
ReplyDelete