Blogs and Wikis have not been with us for long, but have made a huge impact on society. Wikipedia is the best known exemplar of the wiki, a collaborative site that leads to a single text claimed by no-one; blogs, or web-logs, have exploded into the mainstream through novelisations, film adaptations and have gathered huge followings. Blogs and wikis also serve to provide a coherent basis for a discourse analysis of specific web language.

What makes these forms distinctive as genres, and what ramifications does the technology have on the language? Myers looks at how blogs and wikis:

*allow for easier than ever publication *can claim to challenge institutional hierarchies *provide alternate perspectives on events *exemplify globalization *challenge demarcations between the personal and the public *construct new communities and more

Drawing on a wide range of popular blogs and wikis, the book works alongside an author blog - http://thelanguageofblogs.typepad.com/ - that contains regularly updated links, references and a glossary. An essential textbook for upper level undergraduates on linguistics and language studies courses, it elucidates, informs and offers insights into a major new type of discourse. This coursebook includes a companion website for student and lecturer use.