Blogs & Podcasts

Blogs began as personal journals, but have evolved into forums for subject matter experts, organizations, consumer feedback as well as advertising campaigns. One of their distinguishing features is the ability for readers to contribute comments.

Personal blogs are often self-published. Therefore, it is important to review the About section of a blog to investigate the author’s credentials.

Blogs can be particularly useful for current issues, trends and opinions.

Podcasts began as online simulations of radio broadcasts and, like blogs, have evolved. They range from interviews, to lectures, to extended opinion pieces and may consist of audio or video files. They can be downloaded or streamed via a number of different sources.

Podcasts can be useful for an assignment when they are produced or authored by reliable sources such as universities or reputable media organizations (e.g., TVO, CBC, PBS).

Remember, anyone can publish a blog or a podcast, so it is essential that you think critically about authority and potential bias when you are using blogs and podcasts (see PARCA Test in Resources).