It is safe to say that blogs are not going anywhere. Some Internet tracking services claim the number of blogs on the Web have risen into the hundreds of millions. Now, more than a decade old, this online form of communication continues to elude definition. The elusive quality is its best attribute, and its deepest pitfall.

While the blog may struggle for a place amidst more traditional means of communication, its potential resides in its power. Blogs are free to maintain, and are generally free of the legal restrictions imposed upon newspapers and broadcast media. Moreover, blogs are interactive. Allowing a reader to respond to a blog post limits the distance between the author and the reader in a way that promotes active citizenship. Interaction of this kind is incalculably beneficial to businesses and the community − if used properly. The interactivity component of blogs has become so meaningful, many newspapers − including

This is an idealistic assessment of blogging, but the blog’s biggest problem in gaining legitimacy in the business community − and the community-at-large − is the negative stigma attached to it. Many community and business leaders regard the blog as a self-congratulatory forum for individuals who wish to make their personal lives public. This is unfortunate, for if that stigma could be ignored, a responsible, active community of bloggers could go a long way toward unifying neighborhoods and business circles. And unification leads to action.

Matthew Stewart, professor of English at Kent State University and author of the popular blog Ohio River Life, says "Many of our local politicians (in the Ohio River Valley) and public policy makers read Ohio River Life as a means of keeping in touch with what I and my readers have to say about specific issues. As a result, Ohio River Life affects public policy indirectly. Occasionally readers will complain that what we do is all talk and no action, but everything starts with talk."

Stewart’s blog champions businesses, arts, and a renewed civic pride in the communities along the Ohio River from Pittsburgh, Pa., to Marietta, Ohio. Many of these communities have been devastated by the diminishing steel and ceramics industries and now find themselves struggling with modernity while searching for a new economic identity.

As Tucson grows, it would be immensely helpful to have unfiltered public opinions regarding how the city strikes a balance between its rich past and its progressive future.

"Blogs started out as a way for people working on collaborative projects to pool their experiences, insights and questions. That’s how they functioned in software firms. I think they can serve a similar function in a city this size," says Bertsch.

Conversely, the freedom of expression the blog implies can be problematic. Freewheeling punditry can raise questions of authenticity and truth. Blog advocates say that time shall cure the problem.

"People used to complain about newspapers in the same way," says Dr. Charlie Bertsch, an English professor at the University of Arizona and a proponent of blogging. "I think we’re in a transitional period right now, where the problem of accountability is especially pressing…While I applaud the way blogging encourages the questioning of authority, it is inevitable that standards will eventually become more prominent in the minds of blog readers. Indeed, the wealth of information available at a moment’s notice these days ensures that blog readers won’t have to struggle too hard to separate the wheat from the chaff."

Stewart concurs, saying "many writers think blogging is an open door to irresponsible writing. Lots of people make poor, tasteless movies, but thinking people don’t use that to condemn filmmaking in general. The same is true for blogs."

Bertsch requires students in some of his classes to maintain blogs as a way to find common ground and inspire unique discussions that would not happen in a traditional classroom setting.

"Students come to realize that they have more in common with their classmates than they initially supposed. And they start helping each other without me forcing them to collaborate," Bertsch said.

These positive results can easily move from the insular world of the academy into the world of commerce and function in the same way. Tucson is blessed with many progressive leaders and developers whose ideas for the future are not only theoretically enticing, but possible. Consistent collaboration through a medium like a blog would provide the constant reinforcement necessary to make good ideas manifest.