User:Richard Arthur Norton (1958- )/Roadway blogging
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Roadway blogging is a class of new forms of blogging that represent an extension of the concept behind web logs. These aim to convey a message to the public along roadways.
People who engage in these activities generally do not view their activity as a form of graffitti, because their signage is always political and often carefully thought-out whereas graffiti tends to be banal and very much 'about the artist'.
Like other forms of blogging, these are motivated by the belief that mainstream media sources are rather dedicated to protecting established power and not to conveying truth.
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[edit] Freeway Blogging
"Freeway blogging" is editorial self-expression in the form of signs typically left along freeways, especially on freeway overpasses. It is a low cost way to reach a large number of people with a message. At first people stood on freeway overpasses holding signs, they evolved into larger signs placed during rush hour, when cars drive at a slower pace. [1] [2] [3]
[edit] Vehicular Blogging
This type of blogging involves putting editorial political signage on the back of a vehicle. Vehicular blogging is not the same as bumper stickers since it is neither banal nor flippant nor an advertisement. Vehicular blogging is most successful when it is about stating facts more than opinions.
Rule of thumb: the larger the rear surface area, the more facts or viewpoints that can be offered. Trucks with caps and SUVs are therefore ideal, cars less so. To achieve maximal readability from a distance, 96-point bold text works best.
[edit] Billboard modification
Clever modifications to billboards by creative types, as for instance performed by the Billboard Liberation Front, is related to blogging only insofar as it is possible to express reasoned insights about advertised products, companies, and lifestyles using tweaks to billboard ad language or visuals. As such, it is more covert and is more likely to be ignored than either freeway or vehicular blogging. Billboard modification, because it uses humor, is more akin to the art of the bumper sticker.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ "‘Freeway Blogging’ raises Palestine issue.", Workers World Party. Retrieved on 2007-12-14. "Freeway blogging began in Houston when anti-war activists looked for creative but low cost ways to reach a large number of people with a political message. They began to stand on freeway overpasses holding signs. They learned that signs usually used in marches weren’t big enough to be read by passing motorists. They discovered that during rush hour, when cars were forced to drive at a very slow pace, and not during mid-day, the signs could be more easily read. They tinkered with signs until they were carefully worded and lettered. The least number of words and the biggest letters on huge cardboard were the best."
- ^ "Freeway Overpasses Provide Canvas for Protest.", Daily News of Los Angeles, August 27, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-12-14. "What makes freeway blogging attractive is that there is a captive audience. 'People go on the Internet by choice, but this is the low-tech, ... '"
- ^ "Political sign ritual ugly, but no disgrace.", The Record. Retrieved on 2007-12-14. "But filling your arms with signs reading McNerney or Kean and planting them on grassy highway dividers at dawn? Some consider this activity a sacred election ritual. In California, issue-oriented political signs -- freeway blogging -- is a yearlong pastime."
