Polar Opposites
The beauty of blog is that anyone can write one about any subject. There’s a blog about almost everything, but it’s the writer’s capabilities that influence its successfulness in terms of popularity. I chose to examine two blogs that vastly differentiate between style, content, and structure.
The first blog I read was Five Thirty Eight’s “Dear Mona, Does Living Together Before Marriage Increase The Risk Of Divorce?” The blog is known for their focus on statistical analysis. In this post, blogger Mona Chalabi addresses the correlation between cohabitation and divorce. Specifically, investigating the positive correlation’s validity and degree of strength.
Although examining statistical numbers can be a bit dull, Chalabi does a great job of making things interesting while maintaining a tone of expertise. For instance, she includes some interesting trivia like:
“Apparently Americans are undeterred by the fact that laws against “living in sin” are technically still in place in Florida, Michigan and Mississippi.”
Including such information makes the post that much more refreshing. But it’s her general tone that allows the audience to relate to the information without getting bored. She simplifies analytical terminology and uses a more common vernacular. However, she still maintains an educated demeanor. Her ethos is even boasted through the inclusion of various studies backing her statements. She even includes a picture, graph, and bullet points to avoid a wall of text and numbers.
In comparison to her blog’s style, there’s infamous Perez Hilton’s blog. Known for his eccentricity and sassiness, Perez’s blog gained traction. At first he focused on celebrity gossip, but has now moved onto more serious subjects. His feisty tone has remained the same though. When I was digging into his recent posts I stumbled upon on one related to the Ebola news. His post covered the news about two male strippers who recently discovered that they sat within three feet of the infected nurse during their airplane ride to Cleveland. Perez, made some exaggerated comment to stir up some chaos like:
“Then Axl explained how horrible it was dealing with the CDC! First, he sat on hold for 81 minutes before opting to have them call him back. Well, it took another hour and 40 minutes for that to happen! And all they did was take his contact info, and say it would be a good idea to stay inside, but gave no other advice.
That’s crazy! No wonder other victims keep popping up!”
When crossed checked with other news sources, I found that the CDC did in fact give them a protocol to follow, such as how to handle their situation with roommates. Perez irresponsibly reports this, but it’s no surprise with the type style of blog. The pink format, blinking ads, and pictures of strippers on the side undermine its seriousness. Despite their polar opposite styles, each blog effectively communicates their message and evokes responses from their readers.
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