Live blogging’s nothing new. Although tracking down the exact birth date of it certainly isn’t as obvious as Lady Gaga’s self-birth in her latest video, I can remember the Guardian live blogging on the events of the G20 summit back in April 2008 and that probably wasn’t the first time. Despite this, live blogging hasn’t been something that’s preyed on my mind as much as, say, the latest hyped-up video nasty from Queen of Pop Lady Gaga. Which is why I only sat up and took notice when she became the subject of live blogging herself.

For those of you who haven’t yet spent seven minutes and twenty seconds of their life watching Gaga’s Born This Way video, it was released on the internet yesterday following the launch of the hotly-anticipated audio a couple of weeks ago. Obviously, the entire Gaga-lovin’ Twittersphere was all over it like a rash, but prior to the video’s release Gaga graced Radio One with her (telephonic) presence. The interview that ensued between DJ Greg James and Gaga was live blogged by Popjustice – Britain’s answer to Perez Hilton, only with far more dry wit.

Popjustice’s live blog is irreverent and funny and serving up a pleasant minute-by-minute insight into what could have been potentially the next biggest interview fail since THAT situation between Justin Bieber and Peter Andre at the Brit Awards. It’s not exactly news but a fun blog post that would certainly have attracted traffic.

And once again, the distinction between content types and online journalism methods rears its head. Last week John of The Louse & the Flea blog critiqued The Guardian’s live blogging news reportage of the Christchurch Earthquake. The Guardian’s News Blog is one of the many, many reasons why it is the leading newspaper website out there. But that’s not to say that John isn’t making some valid points.

I’ve never been taught formally how to write a news story and I wouldn’t profess to being an expert on writing them, however it doesn’t take an experienced editor to work out how the news blog serves a different purpose from the well-constructed traditional news story. A lot of the time the Guardian’s live news blogging serves its purpose well – providing snippets of action as it happens, a kind of mini-wire service for the public or a condensed Twitter feed. However, as John’s comment shows, maybe not every breaking event should be covered in a way which denies the newsblogger in question the distance needed to make an informed statement, story and perception on the events that have passed.

Sure, there are always going to be things that we want to find out about instantly; get our eyes and ears on as soon as we possibly can and this speed is the ultimate beauty of online journalism.  However,  perhaps a line needs to be drawn in what content works and what doesn’t. It’s not that people don’t want to know about the latest updates from the Christchurch disaster, but maybe that the live blog isn’t suited to this event as well as it is to kettling during student protests or the ever-changing situation in Libya.

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Maybe something as serious and as devastating as an Earthquake deserves respectful, considered and crafted journalism more than a live blog. Maybe live blogging is better suited to the likes of the Oscar Red Carpet or the latest from the Fashion Week catwalks, or indeed, Lady Gaga giving birth to herself. Or maybe it is possible to live blog with the sensitivity and thought which these major international disasters require – but online journalism just hasn’t quite worked it out yet.

Do you read or write live blogs? What do you think they are best for reporting on? Email or tweet us @wannabehacks