The Power of Blogs

Posted on September 24, 2004

Juan Cole, Professor of History at Michigan, has written a powerful and moving blog entry called If America were Iraq, What would it be Like? that has been linked to and commented on around the Web.

Juan's article says, "What if all the reporters for all the major television and print media were trapped in five-star hotels in Washington, DC and New York, unable to move more than a few blocks safely, and dependent on stringers to know what was happening in Oklahoma City and St. Louis?" and "What if all the cities in the US were wracked by a crime wave, with thousands of murders, kidnappings, burglaries, and carjackings in every major city every year?"

The fact that a history professor can interest and enlighten others with the power of high quality writing and the speed of the Internet shows just how powerful blogging has become. It also shows how the Internet can make an expert available to everyone. Of course, it helps when that expert is also a great writer like Professor Cole. Cole's blog Informed Comment covers the War on Terror, the Middle East and religion through frequent blog updates.