Blogs of War: Then and Now

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
A few years ago I wrote a book on the history of the visualization of war.  Today, writing a book on blogging, I see a striking differences between two "blogs of war," that is, first person accounts of a battle in the Middle East. Then: In c. 1300 BCE, the pharaoh Rameses II and his army fought a battle against a Hittite army at Kadesh, in what is now Syria. The battle was a draw; in fact, the Egyptians ended up retreating. But Rameses' memorial temple--an instance of massive communication--shows on its 100-foot walls pictures and hieroglyphics of the great ruler as victorious. As originally painted, Rameses is bronze skinned, broad shouldered, long armed, resolute of face, wearing the twin crowns of upper and lower Egypt, and many times larger than the Hittites and his own men--a superman in the anthropological as well as comic book sense. (Rameses became the "Ozymandias"  who, in Shelley's poem, demanded that all "look upon my works, ye mighty,...
Read More

Dole Institute of Politics to host panel discussion on military blogs

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
Update! The progam video is now available. Dole Institute to host panel discussion on military blogs LAWRENCE — As a follow-up to a successful program in early 2007 on political Weblogs, the Dole Institute of Politics in Lawrence, KS, will host a panel discussion about another dynamic and growing community on the Internet: military blogs (also known as “milblogs”). Blogs from the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan have allowed readers at home to connect with soldiers, contractors and civilians who are serving their countries, and they have forced the Pentagon to rush headlong into this 21st century medium. Milblogs began to appear shortly after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. They saw a dramatic increase in usage following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. According to Joshua Patterson, a KU graduate student studying journalism, Milblogging.com had indexed more than 1,800 military blogs in more than 30 countries as of Dec. 1, 2007. “Milblogs and soldier blogs are often gripping and graphic firsthand accounts...
Read More

Paleolithic Blogs

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
Dave (askdavetaylor) Taylor gave the Keynote address of the Executive & Entrepreneur track at the Blogworld & New Media Expo 2008 in Las Vegas. (I am here as track director for the Citizen Journalism Workshop). Mr. Taylor made the comment that from the very beginning media--such as early cave paintings--has been biased in that it reflected what the creators wanted to show and not what they did not want to show. Interestingly I discussed this point in my book Visions of War (St. Martin's, 1999) which looked at the history of pictures of war. I noted that cave paintings, like those at Lascaux, France were the first physical "medium" of communications outside of the human body. They date back to the appearance of us--anatomically modern humans--and flourished during the Upper Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) era about 35,000 to 12,000 years. Interestingly, when researchers have counted the scenes, flora, and fauna represented in the images on caves you see a huge "bias."...
Read More

Mumbai Terror, Citizen Journalism and New Media

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
Online Social-Interactive Media affect all aspects of life now--and death. Famously, journalism was called "the first draft of history" by Washington Post publisher Philip L. Graham. But now, with cell phones and pocket still and video digital cameras, OSIM and internet access, the initial reports from news scenes (especially breaking news) tend to be from citizens on-the-spot, not reporters.* We first witnessed this phenomenon's power in video from the South Asia Tsunami and stills from the London Bombings. In politics, recall the stumble of the George Allen Senate Campaign over the "Macaca moment," and then in the 2008 primary Barack Obama's "bitter" comments. Politicians know (or should know): everyone in room is a potential journalist (or at least recorder and uploader of information) and nothing can truly be off-the-record. As a consequence, pols are more guarded than ever--this was true in the New Hampshire primary, typically a time for folksy engagement. In such a light, some media tech notes from the Mumbai Terrorist attacks: TERRORISTS USED GOOGLE...
Read More

Blogs as Stealth Dissent?

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
Wei Zha & David D. Perlmutter. "Blogs as Stealth Dissent?: 'Eighteen Touch Dog Newspaper' and the Tactics, Ambiguity and Limits of Internet Resistance in  China." In Guy J. Golan, Thomas J. Johnson, & Wayne Wanta (eds.), International Media Communication in a Global Age, pp. 277-295. New York: Routledge. Originally posted October 4, 2009 at PolicyByBlog...
Read More