The Construct

Who would have thought that a thesis on blogging would require so much theorizing. Since I have yet to encounter other critical discourse analysts’ application of methods and frameworks to blogging, I am in the process of shaping a framework and method that I can apply to my target data. However, in the process of settling with the basic concepts that I am to use, I meet a roadblock as to how I’d define ‘authority.’

As with words, one can go to the most general definitions of the word and consult a dictionary for denotations. Here’s a part of Merriam-Webster’s entry that I find readily applicable to this discussion:

Noun
1 a (1) : a citation (as from a book or file) used in defense or support (2) : the source from which the citation is drawn b (1) : a conclusive statement or set of statements (as an official decision of a court) (2) : a decision taken as a precedent (3) : TESTIMONY c : an individual cited or appealed to as an expert
2 a : power to influence or command thought, opinion, or behavior b : freedom granted by one in authority : RIGHT
synonyms see INFLUENCE, POWER

Critical theories would have more elaborate definitions for the word. But without being too elaborate, authority can refer to the discourse producer as individuals and institutions that are responsible for the creation and distribution of the discourse. It can also refer to their innate ability to create discourse. And and possibly influence audiences/consumers. All of these, in terms of sense, can still be anchored to the aforementioned denotations of the word.

As far as the blogosphere goes, one of the most popular uses of the word is as a metric in Technorati’s ranking system. According to them, “Technorati Authority is the number of blogs linking to a website in the last six months.”

Technorati proposes that authority is simply measured through the number of other blogs linking back to the blog or blog post. However, does this make the use an oversimplification of the notion of authority. Perhaps it is simply operating on the first definition (according to the Webster definition above) of authority as the source from which a citation is drawn. But isn’t authority too loaded a word to simply refer to citations? It can readily be misconstrued as a measure of influence as well (though I can’t blame Technorati for choosing it as part of its brand).

So again, I raise the question, how do we define authority in blogging? Is it measured through the quantifiable citations? Is it synonymous to popularity and influence? How would we consider a blog to be an authority then? Through the number of readers (ability to reach an audience) or comments (ability to elicit reactions from readers), perhaps?

I will still struggle to mesh my own understanding of authority as applicable to the blogosphere but generating these questions is surely a start.

Check out these other posts:

1. Critical discourse analysis and blogging
2. What is mainstream media’s beef with blogging?
3. Initial problems with the concept of a blogging principalia
4. How does one delimit a blog post?
5. The Web 2.0 versus authority