Milblogging.com
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Milblogging is an internet database for organizing military blogs. It’s main attraction is its index of military blogs from all over the world. As of October 2006, Milblogging indexes over 1,500 military blogs in over 25 countries. Milblogging indexes a wide variety of military blogs including webblogs written by: military spouses, military veterans, military personnel (who are in the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard), civilian contractors, reporters, military parents, civilians, and other groups. Many of the military blogs listed on Milblogging are written by troops deployed to the frontlines of Iraq and Afghanistan.
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[edit] History
[edit] 2005
Milblogging was founded by Jean-Paul Borda in September 2005. Prior to Milblogging, Borda ran a military blog from Afghanistan while he was deployed with the Army National Guard during Operation Enduring Freedom. His original military blog "The National Guard Experience" was written as a means to stay in touch with family, friends, and supporters while on deployment. Frustated by a lack of media coverage on the positive accomplishments of the U.S. Military in Iraq and Afghanistan, and wanting an easy way to find military blogs, Borda decided during his deployment to create an aggregator site of military-related blogs from around the world. The domain name "Milblogging.com" was registered in late 2005 after Borda returned home from deployment, and the website was developed over the following months. The original logo design was created as a courtesy by GX The Guard Experience, a magazine that featured entries of Borda's military blog from Afghanistan. In late September 2005, Borda launched the website.
In its short time on the internet, Milblogging received much attention from the media and fellow bloggers. The website spread across the blogosphere and within a few months, hundreds of military blogs had been registered with Milblogging. By the end of December 2005, the website had been featured in several major media publications. Army Times was one of the first papers to write an article about the site called: “Blogger builds index of military web sites”. By the end of November 2005, Newsweek magazine had featured the website in it’s BlogWatch section. Other media organizations had mentioned or featured the site including: The Washington Post, Rush Limbaugh, NBC News, and more[citation needed]. Fellow bloggers like Blackfive also helped spread the word of the website.
[edit] 2006
In an effort to accelerate the spread of soldier-journalism, Milblogging was acquired by Military.com in January 2006, the largest military and veteran membership organization (a company of Monster Worldwide).
Since acquiring Milblogging, Military.com has launched other notable military blogs including: OPFOR written by John Noonan and Charlie Munn, Military Blog - a website that features ten influential military bloggers, and SpouseBUZZ - a blog that serves as a virtual Family Support Group for military spouses.
Military.com retained Founder Jean-Paul Borda as Editor and Webmaster of Milblogging. Borda works on the site part-time in addition to his regular day job. He's currently working on Release 2.0 of the website which will provide bloggers deeper control over their military blogs that are indexed in the database. New features will also include an enhanced member section that allows user to share more information with the public, and the ablility to Claim blogs they own. The planned release of the new features is scheduled for Fall 2006.
[edit] Milblogging Features
[edit] Military Blog Directory
Use Milblogging to search over a thousand military-related blogs. To find a military blog that matches your interests, just search for it in the Milblogging Database Search box or use the "Advanced Search" feature.
[edit] Information Tables
Milblogging information tables consists of military blog data including:
° Recently Added - military blogs added to the Milblogging database sorted by Date Submitted
° Recently Updated - military blogs in the Milblogging database that have been new entries on their blog, sorted by Date Modified
° By Country - the number military blogs in the Milblogging database by country, sorted alphabetically
° By Language - the number military blogs in the Milblogging database by language
° By Gender - the number military blogs in the Milblogging database by gender
° By Branch - the number military blogs in the Milblogging database by branch, such as U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, etc.
° Top 100 - the top 100 military blogs in the Milblogging database based on members who have added the military blog to their Favorites, sorted by number of favorites
[edit] Military Blog Profiles
The military blog profiles contain information about the blog. Profiles contain information such as "Submitted By", "Website Address", "Title", "Description", "Country", "Date Submitted", "Language", "Author", "Branch", "Gender", "Favorites", and the last five entries of the blog, if a valid web feed was provided.
[edit] Favorites
Milblogging allows to you to "Favorite" a military blog if you are a registered user. Just click the "Add to Favorites" button on the Military Blog detail page. The Military Blog detail page will show you the number of members who have added that military blog to their Favorites. Members can manage their Favorites from their accounts by clicking "Manage Favorites".
[edit] Rotating Banners
Milblogging allows military bloggers to submit their 728x90 horizontal website banners. Milblogging presents the rotating banners (free of charge) at the top of the website continuously.
[edit] Controversies over Military Blogging
[edit] Mainstream Media
Military blogs have had their share of controversy with the mainstream media. As an article about Milblogging.com and military blogs in The Wall Street Journal stated in July 2006, many military bloggers write in order to counteract the negative stories about the military portrayed in the media.
[edit] Milbloggies, Military Blog Awards
Milblogging runs an annual award ceremony called the "Milbloggies" (inspired by the Bloggies) celebrating military blogs around the world. The awards recognize the most influential military blogs in various categories.
[edit] 2005 Winners
Following is a complete list of the military blogs that won awards in 2005. Each listing is linked to their Milblogging Profile.
° Top 100 - 365 and a Wakeup
° Iraq Frontlines - and a Wakeup
° U.S. Army - 365 and a Wakeup
° U.S. Military Veteran - Blackfive
° U.S. Marine Corps - One Marine's View
° U.S. Air Force - The Mudville Gazette
° U.S. Military Parent - Soldier's Mom
° U.S. Civilian - Soldier's Angel - Holly Aho
° U.S. Navy - The Indepundit
° U.S. Military Spouse - Air Force Family
° Afghanistan Frontlines - Firepower Forward
° Foreign National Military - Universal Soldier
[edit] See Also
° The Mudville Gazette Milblogs Web Ring
° The Truth Laid Bear Milblogs Community
[edit] References
1. Blogger builds index of Military Web sites, ArmyTimes, November 28, 2005.
2. Blog Watch, Newsweek, November 28, 2005.
3. Milbloggies: Cast Your Vote for Your Favorite Milblog, GX The Guard Experience, November 28, 2005.
4. Slogging and Blogging Through Iraq, The Washington Post, December 23, 2005.
5. Troops no longer just phone home, NBC News, January 12, 2006.
6. CA Guard Commander Top Milblog Award Winner, GX The Guard Experience, January 17, 2006.
7. Military blogs offer another media outlet for service members, The Daily News, February 6, 2006
8. Soldiers' Online journals come under increased scrutiny, Columbia News Service, May 2, 2006
9. Cry Bias, and Let Slip the Blogs of War, The Wall Street Journal, July 26, 2006
10. Not Just Some Run-Of-The-Milblogger, CBS News Public Eye, July 26, 2006
11. Milbloggers Adding Perspective on Iraq, National Review Online, July 26, 2006
12. News and Information, Time.com, August 3, 2006
13. Other Sides of the Story, Dallas Observer, August 3, 2006
14. Milblogging.com Tops 1,500 Blogs, Military.com, September 15, 2006
[edit] External Links
° Milblogging Homepage
° Military.com Homepage - the company that acquired Milblogging
° OPFOR Homepage - a military blog acquired by Military.com in 2006
° SpouseBUZZ Homepage - a military spouse blog launched by Military.com in 2006
