Warblog

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A warblog or milblog is a weblog devoted mostly or wholly to covering news events concerning an ongoing war. Sometimes the use of the term "warblog" implies that the blog concerned has a pro-war slant. The use of the term "milblog" implies that the author is with the military.

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[edit] Description and origins

Warblogs first appeared during the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, and attained maturity during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. While some warblogs arise out of and are directly limited in their coverage to the war in question, others expand their coverage to related political, social and cultural issues and continue commentating beyond the end of the war. Likewise, blogs that ordinarily cover non-war issues may dedicate their coverage during a time of war to the conflict, with some reverting to their previous missions at the end of the war, and others retaining their new character.

The term was coined by Matt Welch, who launched his warblog on September 17, 2001.

[edit] Growth of warblogging

Warblogging was popularized by Glenn Reynolds, whose Instapundit has become one of the most popular political blogs on the web. Some prominent warblogs like Steven Den Beste (now retired due to health reasons) existed before September 11, but made the war on terror their primary focus afterwards. Some people also put Little Green Footballs in this category, but webmaster Charles Johnson rejects the "warblog" label and never refers to LGF as such.

New warblogs have also arisen since the 9/11 attacks, such as Countercolumn, Command Post, 365 and a Wakeup, Belmont Club, The Adventures of Chester, Pejmanesque, Winds of Change.NET, Blogs of War, and many, many others.

[edit] Current relevance

Some believe the term "warblog" has become something of an anachronism -- a reflection of the speed with which things change in the world of the Internet. Most blogs that gained popularity as "warblogs" have far expanded their focus to politics and general news. Many of these blogs became a focus of attention for frequently updated information related to the election during the 2004 campaign. Others, however, note that the warblogs' level of focus on the war remains a distinguishing feature, and separates them from blogs whose political coverage is mostly domestic in nature.

The field has also birthed a related subsidiary class of webblogs known as "MilBlogs," which also tend to focus on the war. These blogs are written by serving or retired military personnel, or have members on their team blog that fit this description.

Blogging has also extended to people living in current or potential combat zones, with the growth of blogs by Iraqis, Afghans, and especially the Iranian weblogs in English. While these are not warblogs, there have been longstanding ties, including encouragement and material support of these activities by warbloggers; and warblog readers have often contributed a significant proportion of their English language audiences.

It should be noted that the U.S. Department of Defense has taken notice of the growing trend of 'warblogging' and has begun to monitor warblogs.[citation needed] They have established a team consisting of ten Virginia National Guard personnel to routinely monitor the online activities of U.S. Service men & women, including warblogs and the posting of war videos and photos.[citation needed] Some warbloggers have pre-emptively taken their blogs down out of a fear of potential reprisals from their Chain of Command.[citation needed]

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