"a tsunami of paid bilge"

Rather ironically I wanted to agree with the article from Wired magazine regarding blogging as being dated and flooded with professional use.  I agree that when blogging started it was an exciting and expressive medium, but due to the dynamics of ICT, the novelty has waned. There are a plethora of blogs nowadays and I'd suggest it's for this reason that a lot of people are put off. 

Blogging and the ability to comment on anyone's post has become a double-edged feature of the internet.   As Boutin suggests " your blog will still draw the Net's lowest form of life: The insult commenter".  The about of abuse I have read on the comments list following a video on YouTube or other such material is immense.  Why do people feel the need to insult others so vehemently.  The security of being faceless on the internet shouldn't allow people to act like thugs.

With all that in mind, I feel blogging in the classroom is still a useful exercise as it exists within the perimeters of the school environment.

http://www.wired.com/entertainment/theweb/magazine/16-11/st_essay