Blogging Rx

Uy ha. Scientific American na ito:

Self-medication may be the reason the blogosphere has taken off. Scientists (and writers) have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. But besides serving as a stress-coping mechanism, expressive writing produces many physiological benefits. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery. A study in the February issue of the Oncologist reports that cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing just before treatment felt markedly better, mentally and physically, as compared with patients who did not. Scientists now hope to explore the neurological underpinnings at play, especially considering the explosion of blogs. According to Alice Flaherty, a neuroscientist at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, the placebo theory of suffering is one window through which to view blogging. As social creatures, humans have a range of pain-related behaviors, such as complaining, which acts as a “placebo for getting satisfied,” Flaherty says. Blogging about stressful experiences might work similarly.

Women Bloggers

Wanted: Great Blogs By and For Women in the News Media

The International Women's Media Foundation is looking for a few good blogs by and for women in the news media to feature on its revamped Web site, which will be launched in October. Specifically, we'd like to find people who blog about journalism or keep a blog as part of their job in the news media. We hope this will allow women journalists worldwide to connect with one another electronically by sharing experiences and observations about the news media. Please direct blog suggestions or questions to LWray@iwmf.org. The IWMF publishes the E-Wire to keep the IWMF network informed about news and upcoming events of interest to women journalists worldwide.

Pichay

Nick Pichay has a new blog. His second entry will kill you. If not, he also sent me this to kill you:

66666

That was what the sitemeter said ten minutes ago. Although I set up my site meter more than a year after setting up this blog, it still chills me to get the five sixes.

Internet and Journalism

Know why internet journalism will rule the world? The newspapers are so focused on the same things. Project for Excellence in Journalism's annual State of the News Media report said: Two stories - the war in Iraq and the 2008 presidential election campaign - represented more than a quarter of the stories in newspapers, on television and online last year, the project found. Take away Iraq, Iran and Pakistan, and news from all of the other countries in the world combined filled up less than 6 percent of the American news hole.