Surviving in the Blogosphere
Introduction
Over the past decade, the internet has democratised publishing, transforming the way in which society communicates and researches. Once web page creation required a sophisticated knowledge of HTML, but user friendly tools now make it possible for anyone to create a web page. The easiest and most common web page to create is a blog, (or a weblog). These blogs take the form of an online journal or diary, and can cover any topic from the mundane life of a bored high school student to a complex political analysis and debate. With the proliferation of blogs over the last two years, their authors have had a significant influence on popular culture, scholarship, journalism and politics.
The Overall Objective of the Book
The scope and influence of the blogosphere is rapidly expanding and the overall objective of this book is to bring together in a single collection: advice and caution on how to develop blogs; analysis of legal issues pertaining to blogs; and discussion of how blogs can aid teachers, researchers and students alike. This book is multi-disciplinary and will have a wide international readership. In particular, it will be of interest to people associated with information technology and creative industries, legal practitioners, academics, teachers, researchers and students.
Recommended topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Blog design and content (with words of advice and caution for future bloggers)
- Purposes and use of blogs, (with reference to examples of blogs on various subjects)
- Legal issues that impact the design and content of blogs: i.e. Trademark, defamation, privacy, criminal law, censorship, employment law, copyright law, and other areas of law that may impact the design and content of blogs
- Blog use in education and academics
- Theories of education that support the use of blogs in education to enhance learning
- Benefits and limitations of using blogs as a research tool
- Ethical and political issues of blogs
- Blogs as a pop culture trend and the notion of the everyman celebrity
SUBMISSION PROCEDURE
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before February 29, 2008, a 1-2 page outline clearly explaining the focus of the proposed chapter. Authors of accepted proposals will be notified via email by March 5, 2008 about the status of their proposals and sent chapter organizational guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be submitted by May 15, 2008. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind peer review basis by at least three reviewers. The book is scheduled to be published in 2008 by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group Publishing), www.igi-global.com, publisher of the IGI Publishing (formerly Idea Group Publishing), Information Science Publishing, IRM Press, CyberTech Publishing, Information Science Reference (formerly Idea Group Reference), and Medical Information Science Reference imprints.
Inquiries and submissions can be forwarded electronically (Word document) or by mail to:
Kelley Burton & Peter Black, School of Law, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology
Mail: GPO Box 2434, Brisbane Qld 4001, Australia
Email: kj.burton@qut.edu.au or p2.black@qut.edu.au
Telephone: +61 7 3864 4328 or +61 7 3864 2734
