Some time back, I received a request to review Instablogs. I didnt get around to finishing the review at that time. But with some time to spare today, I decided to revisit Instablogs and finish the review.

The first impression that I got from the site is that they are a network of blogs in niche categories such as politics, entertainment, technology, food, sports etc. Something along the lines of Weblogs Inc or Gawker Media. On closer inspection, though, I found that new users can sign up and start their own blogs. So, then they are a blog network (similar to Blogger).

But wait - then what’s this ‘Newsroom‘ and why are all posts resonating like news stories ?

I decided to check the FAQ’s page to see how actually they define themselves:

Instablogs Community is a personalized platform that endeavors to bring bloggers and readers closer.

Through this platform, you can connect and engage with others having common interests and passion. Here you can share your views, photos, blogs, comments, and make friends. You can be a part of topic-specific communities and tribes, read, rate and comment on stories, keep track of your friends, upload your content, and even personalize your homepage. Moreover, on top of this, you’ll be able to reap plenty of rewards for your active participation and may end up as an editor for any channel of your choice.

This description confused me even further. So, finally, I decided to send an email to Vikas from Instablogs asking for further clarification.

1) What is the concept behind Instablogs?

Instablogs Blog Network initially started as a network of news-based blogs. An online version of the traditional news media, except that it was a two-way interaction between readers and bloggers.

However, the latest version of Instablogs – named ‘Instablogs Community’ (launched on 14th Nov. 2006) is aimed more than a blog network. Instablogs Community in simple words is a personalized platform that endeavors to bring bloggers and readers closer. We do it by keeping the focus on the readers and actually making them a part of the whole blogging process.

The Instablogs Community has a plethora of social tools, which not only empower readers but also help them to become writers themselves. The new version encourages better communication between writers and readers and symbolizes the crux of ‘Citizen Journalism’ or ‘Participatory Journalism’ in its true sense, i.e. ‘Journalism by the people, for the people’.

2) Who are the founders? When was Instablogs started? How did it come about?

Instablogs Network was found on Oct. 5th 2005, by Ankit and Nandini Maheshwari. Initially, the idea was to launch a network of 50 news-based blogs written by bloggers all over the world.

An announcement was made few days before the official launch and applications from bloggers started pouring in. Instablogs employed different payments models from pay per post, revenue sharing and monthly salary for different bloggers. The launch was criticized with many people questioning about funding, few labeling the network as a network of cheap content producers, to outsourcing in blogging. But, the team stick to their job and now the posts are regularly linked by likes of NYTimes, MSNBC, CNET, Digg, Boing Boing, etc, and read by millions of readers per month.

3) What is the long-term goal of Instablogs?

The long-term goal of Instablogs is to bring local bloggers blogging from third world countries under the umbrella in upcoming version of Instablogs Global. With the motto “Right to be heard”, it will try to bring the unheard voices of people from all over the globe in its pursuit of promoting Citizen Journalism.
Eh ?? They’re into citizen journalism ? As per wikipedia the definition of citizen journalism is very vague and subjective. So, I speak for myself here. In my opinion, this is not citizen journalism. Just providing a 3-5 line summary and linking to the original news story is not citizen journalism. If they term it as ’social news’ (aka Digg, SlashDot), I’m still cool with it.

None the less, the way the site is structured and presented are very misleading. It isnt clear what the actual focus of the site is - to blog or to post news summaries. If its to blog, then they should refrain from making any references to news or citizen journalism on the site. If social news is the focus, then I dont understand how the blogging / blog network aspect fits in.

Technically and visually, they’ve done a great job though.