We Blog

My portfolio is late...

2006-05-08T18:02:00.000-05:00

...but it is finished!!! It is the most recent post on my blog. Happy reading.

where's marissa's portfolio???

2006-05-08T12:20:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone,
Just to let you know, you'll find the final version of my portfolio at:
http://www.cutmarissainhalf.moonfruit.com
Steve's Moonfruit site works a lot better than Xanga...thanks, Steve!

Shakespeare's

2006-05-04T12:22:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder that we're meeting at Shakespeare's at 2:00. See you there!

slouching toward myspace?

2006-05-03T14:37:00.000-05:00

Sadly this will be my last post on the 4040 blog. That said, I'll try to leave my fellow bloggers with something relevant to ponder....The Facebook Phenomenon

- Over 85% of U.S. college students have facebook accounts, and spend an average of 51 minutes per day on the site.

- 70% of students log-in at least once daily, in Fred Stutzman's words, a "major lifestyle committment".

Even as I compose this entry, a girl beside me and a girl behind me are both checking their accounts. Earlier today, in the A&S computer lab, I observed several people giving facebook top priority, foregoing email and surfing the site immediately after logging into their machine. Imagine if people took that 50 minutes per day to blog....and actually used some brain power. That's one thing I've never understood about Facebook. Why do people enjoy it so much??? I used to have an account, and I fail to see what could possibly provide a person with 50 minutes of enjoyment each day. The amount of mental stimulation resides somewhere to the right of a sedated parakeet. But seriously...

The majority of social networking that takes place is highly superficial, especially to those with friend lists that weigh in at a hefty 100+ friends. There's a key difference people fail to realize....just because you have a connection with another person in the network doesn't mean you're actively participating in the network (if that makes sense). If your friend list says you possess 138 friends, but you only talk to 10 of them with any frequency....most people aren't even acquaintances. Facebook has become just another way for others to determine my self-worth. If I don't have enough friends on my list, I've failed at socializing. Apparently.

The ever-increasing corporate presence on facebook has me a little skeptical. I thought the selling-point was its exclusivity to college students. Yet now facebook membership has been extended to high school students and select corporate sponsors (see the Inside Facebook link below for more info). I often find myself wondering if facebook is just a fad....but if myspace and other social networking sites are any indication, I'm afraid facebook is around for the long haul.

To learn more about the corporate side of Facebook:
Scoring a Hit with the Student Body

A Cool 25 Million

Read about Facebook developments as they occur at Inside Facebook, a blog devoted entirely to the site.

portfolio rough draft

2006-05-02T09:48:00.000-05:00

Greetings fellow bloggers:
Since today is in-class peer review day, I'll save you the trouble of going to my blog to browse the items in my portfolio. Three things before you get started:

1. It may take a few seconds for the pictures and video in my posts to load, and every now and then you have to refresh the page to get them to load (for reasons unknown to me)...so be patient
2. Try not to copy the explanations of my posts too blatantly...I've had that problem before on the class blog...(you know, people using the ideas I've already posted to make their "own" godzilla posts).
3. Be sure to check out the final product....I'll be posting the web address later.

Exemplary Blog Entries

White Stripes
This is the post I'm the most proud of as a music blogger, and my second favorite post overall. It exemplifies how a music blogger combines commentary and various visual/auditory techniques to attract and hold the attention of his or her readers.

Analysis of Class Readings
Overall I believe this is my best post, at least from an academic standpoint. Since Donna mentioned this particular post in her blog, I've gained confidence in my ability to analyze and interpret scholarly blogging. This entry also highlights the network aspect of blogging we've discussed repeatedly throughout the semester. Information becomes transformed as it becomes interpreted by each individual. I offered an alternative to the views expressed in our readings, Donna commented on my analysis, and finally one of Donna's friends offered an alternative perspective that neither Donna or myself had considered.

Bjork
This is another of my favorite music entries. It is similar to my White Stripes post in that I combine several different technological enhancements to create a pleasant experience for my readers. It's another point on the evolutionary scale of my blogging - not quite White Stripes caliber, but a marked improvement over my posts at the beginning of the semester.

Polyphonic Spree
While I chose this post for the same reasons as the Bjork and White Stripes posts, I do a better job of linking to relevant sources in this entry. Another difference is that I attempt to connect the music to blogging, making it somewhat relevant to my 4040 classmates, even if they aren't fond of this type of music. The objective of my blog is illustrated perfectly. I felt my blog would be successful if I could persuade one person to consider listening to a band they wouldn't normally consider. The ideal scenario was that the mp3 samples and videos would prove interesting enough for my fellow bloggers to comment on my blog, with their opinions of the music. Even though that didn't happen often, I learned how to use technological enhancements to make my blog more appealing.

Radiohead music vids
This post was another attempt at engaging my fellow bloggers. I thought if I related the video posts to blog technology, it would make my posts seem more relevant to the course. I didn't include a lot of commentary about content of the videos...and in retrospect, I probably should have. This post taught me that most people want some sort of summary/commentary before they decide to click a link, watch a video, listen to a song, etc.

Analyzing Morville
Here is another scholarly blog post, in the same vein as "Analysis of Class Readings". It shows how being part of a network helps a blogger understand what works in their theories, and what needs more work. More explanation later....

Comments

Steve's "It's my religion, not my lifestyle"
Explanation forthcoming....

Steve's "I don't really like this idea"
Explanation forthcoming....

I wasted so much time getting dowdified...oh, the anger!

2006-05-01T19:48:00.000-05:00

What's with this university's history department? Earlier this semester, my reading assignment was David Horowitz's Radical Son. I can't stand to hear the man's name, much less read 408 pages of his insane ramblings. I guess I better not say anything further or 4040 will end up on his website of people and inanimate objects that have ruined his metaphorical Christmas, moved their bowels on his Cheerios, or both.

Just when you think books can't get more annoying, you're hit with Maureen Dowd's Are Men Necessary? At least the ramblings in Radical Son eventually got around to explaining Horowitz's downward spiral into insanity. Dowd's ramblings, on the other hand...I can't even describe how totally devoid of logic and/or intelligence her arguments(?) are...

Here are some thoughts that sum up my feelings toward Are Men Necessary?
"It would be one thing if Dowd were writing pure, straightforward polemic, ranting against the people she feels the need to rant against. But Dowd is pretending to cover cultural trends with journalistic accuracy, and it is this pretense that gives her arguments a shoddy feel."
-Katie Roiphe

Amazon.com users:
"I wandered through 300 pages of random statistics, endless observations about the plight of unmarried women randomly mixed in with examples of stupid things men do, plus some political commentary thrown in for good measure."

"By the last 25 pages I gave up on finding any good overall theme."

"This is the exact kind of pseudo-intellectual crap that demeans the human brain."

"Dowd is famously lazy hence the nickname the "cut and paste columnist" but even by her lazy standards this is really a record. She takes one tired genralization wounded around gossip thickened with embittered personal experience add to battered ego (Yeah, we got it. We know you're hot Maureen)and ergo a book. If you get it for free, ok; if you have to pay move on to something of substance like Katha Pollit or Jamie Jamieson."

I apologize if anybody actually likes Maureen Dowd, but I had to rescue anybody that's thinking of reading this book. Has anybody read this book (other than myself), and if you have....what are your thoughts?

ok, let's go retroactive

2006-04-29T16:04:00.000-05:00

I was cruising through the readings from previous units, until a particular title caught my eye: Use the blog, Luke. Damn those writers at Salon.com...they sure do know how to reel in nerdy bloggers such as myself. I have a few questions for Steven Johnson, the author of this article.

"There are significant political consequences to the Blogger Effect: Because the blogging community contains a disproportionate number of libertarians, it's possible that Google searches on certain hot-button issues will start skewing toward libertarian-friendly pages. Given Google's increasing prominence, this libertarian slant could prove to be more significant than the more familiar concerns about liberal bias in the major networks, and conservative bias on Fox News. No sensible person thinks "The O'Reilly Factor" is free of political slant (save O'Reilly himself). But the great oracle of Google is supposed to be above such partisan concerns."

What information is he using to back up statements like this? I think some source about the prominence of libertarian blogs needs to be cited. I'd even settle for a screen capture of his Google search. Or is this his own opinion? If that's the case, I respectfully disagree...at least until I see some valid research to back it up.

And who said the "great oracle of Google" is supposed to be above partisan concerns? As far as I know, Google has never claimed to be a non-partisan site....it's a search engine, for Christ's sake. I think Johnson is complaining that political bloggers are engaged in some sort of link war for supremacy...but there's no feasible way to regulate or control the deluge of information without some selective exclusion.

Johnson's solution to the problem: "...to transform the data generated by the bloggers into something that rivals what Google does -- to extract some new kind of collective wisdom out of a universe of armchair opinion leaders." This is my problem with Johnson...he has a lot of big ideas, but offers no feasible methods of implementation. Which goes back to my point...a specific search engine can't extract collective wisdom, because a search engine functions by calculating links and hits...it's the responsibility of the individual to filter the information on their own.

Here's an example of one solution Johnson comes up with: "You define a few "guardian" Bloggers, perhaps by checking a box when you visit their site. You also instruct your software to watch the activity on sites maintained by "friends" of those key bloggers. You tell the software that you want a medium level of intrusiveness: In other words, you want the system to point out useful information to you, but you don't want it constantly bombarding you with data at every turn."
Honestly, who is actually going to do this?? Does the average person care enough about filtering the information they receive via the Web to implement this strategy? More importantly, does the average person have enough time? Perhaps those who want to evolve from information management sites like Bloglines are convinced Johnson is on the right track....The casual Googler probably isn't too actively involved in political blogging. I'm going to assume the political blogger, plus a portion of people who actively seek them out, aren't the ones using Google. They're probably using one of the many blog-specific search tools.

What Johnson is really saying, in a roundabout way, is that he wants the bloggers to take the work out of political blogs. You don't even have to visit a site if you already know what part of the political spectrum a specific blogger resides. Say you're a conservative looking for a blog that matches your opinion....if Google would just go ahead and tailor to your interests, rather than including links to blogs like Daily Kos, that would be just dandy. What he doesn't realize is that search engines already have similar features...MyYahoo is one that springs to mind.

Shameless self-plug

2006-04-28T00:26:00.000-05:00

This is the one post that I'm going to tell you about the great friends I have and the wonderful things they bring to the music industry.

The first band that I'd like to talk about is a band called "bent left" the guys all came from my high school and they are a very political band in the punk music scene. They try to travel cross-country during the summers and play and record in Kansas City during the school year. They are a great group of guys that love to party and play music. They are the best and they are the greatest friends a kid could have. So If you're into punk you really need to check them out and seeing them live is the best. Here's a

great review

I found of an album of their's.

The other band I'd like to plug tonight is a group that is based in Provo, Utah and tours the west during the summers. Their lead singer is a good friend of mine and they are really talented. They have been together for quite a while and have a couple of albums out. Their sound is pretty different, at least I think so. But they're fun to listen to and they are really good people too. Their website is found

here

. If you are ever randomly in the Utah or California you should see if you could catch a show. I think they are taking a break for now because their lead singer and the only member of the group I know personally is getting married so they have life getting in the way of their music right now. But if you could pick up their album and give it a listen I think you will find it enjoyable.

cross-posted at

Just what I think

Blogs in the News: Blogging then and now

2006-04-27T14:06:00.000-05:00

Earlier this month, there was an article in the Washington Post about net-surfing trends.

"Google Inc., for instance, bought Blogger.com in 2003; the number of people posting or reading material at that site jumped to 15.6 million last month from 2.5 million a year ago."

Yes that's a 528% increase, as you can see on the table here.

And that doesn't even include the people who don't use Blogger or reference other blogs than Blogspots. I'm thinking, ok, great, so people are really into blogging now. But as we've learned in this class, it's not so much what you write as what you read that can adjust the blogosphere.

What are the top blogs these days? Well the top ten, according to Technorati are:

1 Boing Boing: A Directory of Wonderful Things
By xenijardin.

2 Engadget

3 PostSecret
PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.
By frank warren.

4 Daily Kos: State of the Nation

5 The Huffington Post
By Arianna Huffington.

6 Official Google Blog

7 Instapundit.com

8 Michelle Malkin
By Michelle Malkin.

9 Thought Mechanics
By Theron Parlin and Matthew Good.

10 Blog di Beppe Grillo
Grillo's gags have tackled financial scandals and political corruption
By Beppe Grillo.

I have no clue what Blog di Beppe Grillo is, but I do see that at least half of the top 10 are politically driven blogs.

Frankly, I have this strange obsession with Instapundit.com, and how it somehow gets to have the first and last word with the surfing public. Sooo many people read it. I read it. What does this say about us as a nation? At least it means we care about politics a little, and I don't blame anyone for wanting to stay away from CNN and Fox News because they dilute their news so much. But it also means we assign authority to some bloggers to dish out news we then take as fact. I know we've talked about this in class before, too, but again, how much power does that give the bloggers whose sites get the most hits? After all, it seems they shape the common knowledge.

One example of this is the Baghdad Blogger, Salam Pax (a pseudonym). Salam's blog, Where is Raed? was one of the most popular blogs during the initial attack on Iraq in 2003. Salam is (allegedly) a gay Iraqi architect/translator who started his blog so a friend in Jordan could be up on his status while the country was under seige. His site was so popular that when he stopped posting suddenly there was an international uproar about what happened to him, whether he was hurt, or kidnapped, etc. It turns out he didn't have electricity and had to keep writing entries on paper, to post electronically later. During his absence on the Web, however, it became clear that many people were reading his site to get firsthand news of the region. Surfers looked at his reports as they would those from CNN, BBC and other news networks.

His wild popularity has led to a book deal, a movie deal, and wide critical-acclaim. Well, except for those who think Salam Pax and his blogspot is a scam from the US govt to broadcast propaganda. I don't see how that can really be the case, though, since in a few of his posts, he basically tells the Americans off.

What do you think about a blogger capitalizing this way? Is it good? Is it a sell-out?

More interesting to me than that is something my International Relations professor said the other day in a lecture on Public Opinion:

"Americans either have no opinion on our [foreing] policy, or they have contradictory views. Meaning, they say they want US troops to come home, but they aren't willing to sacrifice stability in the Middle East at this point. And apparently we also want increased federal support for government programs, but we don't want any increases in taxes... It is a tragedy that the citizens of this country don't offer a clearer view for the government officials to follow with better policy."

Obviously, not everyone is reading polarizing sources like the Daily Kos or Where is Raed? Or Pax's other blog Shut up you fat whiner! I'm even going to go out on a limb here, and say that the real reason for the 528% increase on Blogger.com, is not due to new classical blogs, which focus on linking and networking on national events, but instead due to web journals on MySpace.com for example.

In fact MySpace has been in the news recently too. A week after the Washington Post article, there was a (rather long) story on NPR's All Things Considered that I found intriguing. MySpace.com, one of the most surfed-to sites on the net, is hiring net-security against child molesters or stalkers. The story was covered by the BBC, too. Why such a big deal? Because MySpace is annoying, but it attracts millions of people. People who are now using the built-in blogging tool. For better or for worse.

Still, though I shudder to think about all the people out there calling web journals "blogs", it does open up the imagination to what the blogosphere will evolve into next.
Again from the Washington Post article on trends in blogging:

"'The growth in blogging reminds us the Internet is fulfilling its original promise about participation,' said Gary Arlen, a research analyst and president of Arlen Communications Inc. 'This medium empowers users in such a way that they can do what they want and be heard.'"

Blogging is changing, with so many new people expanding the field and different ideas of posts as newsworthy, credible sources. For now I'll choose to be hopeful that blogging will retain its authenticity as a reasonable educational network as it expands. But I also believe that future wholly depends on MySpace's success in policing the molesters and in the public's willingness to revise its definition of and subscription to future blogs. It's hard to say whether the new generations of bloggers will contribute to the global opinion as much as Salam Pax and other classical bloggers, since they may be too busy contemplating their own navels. I guess the question is where is the Next Raed?

cross-posted from Post-December

Where's the love?

2006-04-27T11:49:00.000-05:00

Hey,

This post will be really short and to the point.

Why is there so much descention within or small blogging group? Come on people...we are all adults. I know we're all a little on edge with finals, projects, jobs, interships, and the classes that we still have to attend. But lets just settle this argument about grade pitches and portfolios and all that jazz like the adults we are. We can talk about these things in class and voice our opinions. It's okay. No one is going to chew your head off for saying something. Maybe some snide remarks now and again about what you said, but that's about it.

So let's have a good class today and express what we think about the end of the semester.
This example of not being able to express oneself is the reason that I am somewhat against blogging...if you can't say it to someone's face then why say it at all?

There are my words of wisdom for the day.

Blogging your Future

2006-04-26T22:44:00.000-05:00

Well, we are nearing the end or our 4040 blogging "journey". No longer will we be motivated by the obligation of weekly posting and commenting requirements (although, hopefully, that was not our only incentive to blog). Where do we go from here?

What are your future blogging plans?

Current results

(Please participate only if you are in English 4040. Thanks!)

Here are three trends in blogging that might influence our future blogging endeavors.

To reiterate one topic I touched upon in a previous post:

1) Vast and rapid growth in the number of bloggers.
According to Bloggers Blog

"David Sifry, the CEO and founder of Technorati, has posted another State of the Blogosphere report. This report focuses on blogosphere growth and it shows strong growth continuing. The blogosphere is still doubling every six months and Technorati now tracks over 35 million blogs."

Bloggers Blog highlights the following trends from the "State of the Blogosphere report:

* Technorati now tracks over 35.3 Million blogs
* The blogosphere is doubling in size every 6 months
* It is now over 60 times bigger than it was 3 years ago
* On average, a new weblog is created every second of every day
* 19.4 million bloggers (55%) are still posting 3 months after their blogs are created
* Technorati tracks about 1.2 Million new blog posts each day, about 50,000 per hour

While this growth in blogging does signify some positive consequences such as in increase in the diversity of thoughts and ideas, an amplified voice and power for the "average" citizen and consumer to comment upon or criticize the governement and business and enact change, and a broadened opportunity for one to meet new social and intellectual friends/peers, the growth can also be detrimental.

According to Anita Campbell on the blog Ego:

"If you are just now starting to blog, it's going to be harder to get noticed by other bloggers and have your voice stand out. It just stands to reason. It's harder to stand out of 70 million blogs than it was to stand out from a few thousand blogs in 2000 or even a few hundred thousand blogs in 2001.
The newer bloggers who want to get noticed will have to work harder. They will have to visit established blogs, comment regularly, write good content and let other bloggers know about that content by sending emails to friendly bloggers. They
will have to participate in as many blog directories as they can find and participate in legitimate traffic generating initiatives such as BlogExplosion."

Do you agree with Anita? Do you feel the pressure to compete with the vast number of bloggers in the blogosphere? Do you think this will ultimately discourage bloggers from entering the blogosphere?

Some bloggers are even leaving the blogosphere. As I noted in a previous post, Family Medicine Notes blogger, Jacob, states:

"...blogging has matured, and so has medical blogging. Back in 1999 and 2000,
there were a handful of medical bloggers (literally!) and we all had a bit of a
role in educating each other and the world about what is is that physicians do,
think, read, etc. [. . .] But there's lots of that now. Hundreds (thousands?) of
medlical bloggers are posting daily and - frankly - I don't think the Internet
needs me anymore..."

This, then, raises another question: If bloggers are leaving, is the quantitative growth of blogging occuring at the cost of the quality of content?

Another Bloggers Blog post asserts that some experts are concerned about the quality of information available in the blogosphere. In the post, it is stated that:

"National Geographic has an article that urges environment, climate and conservation experts to start blogs to fight the growing amount of junk science that is published today."

The post further describes:

Alison Ashlin, a doctoral candidate at the Oxford University Centre for the
Environment in Great Britain . . . cites her own field as a prime example of the
need for more accurate blogs fuelled by top researchers.
'Currently, there are roughly 400,000 weblogs featuring discussions on environmental and conservation-related issues, which makes it difficult to assess the general quality of scientific information on weblogs,' she wrote in her paper."

As a blogger: Do you feel pressured to compete with the numerous other bloggers? What implications do you think the growing popularity of blogs has for the blogging world and for our society in general? Do you think potential bloggers are enticed or discouraged by the growing number of blogs? Do you think existing bloggers are affected by the growing number of blogs?

As a blog reader: Do you think the growing number of blogs makes it harder to find quality blogs? Do you think blog readers are discoraged by the sheer volume of blogs and information available?

2) Blogging to market . . . yourself.
On masternewmedia.org, Margaret Stead talks about encouraging older individuals to use blogging to publicize their skills and experience and market themselves for jobs. Stead argues:

"[I]f you use the blog to promote yourself and to expose your credentials, it's like an
"extended" business card . . . There's a special magic to blogs that I've
discovered over the last few years. It seems that when my coaching clients can
send their blog live.. that almost overnight... they get super job offers and
work projects that are fantastic. And, it's not just the people who are reading
their material. I think putting together a weblog and sending it out there and
telling the universe what you want to do and what your dream is... makes you a
very... attractive person. It makes you appear confident. It gives you a
platform and an expertise that you perhaps didn't, you know, recognize before
and other people didn't recognize."

The basic tenet of her argument is that through blogging you can use key words that have the potential to draw a limitless number of potential employers to your site where they can see your skills, your interests, and your experiences.

This is somewhat like the blog portfolio we are all working on, or will be working on. The difference being that the blog itself would be a sort of live, ongoing portfolio. You could then include your blog link, like your e-mail address, on your resume. The blog can demonstrate not only your competency in your field, but also your technological competency, which is in growing demand in our society.

How feasible do you think this is in the real world? Can it be of use to those of us entering the job market soon?

3) Bloggers' responsibilities
Apple computers is currently in a lawsuit with a number of bloggers over the leak of information about a new Apple product. On InfoSecDaily it is described that:

"Apple says the leak, published through the journalists’ blogs, is “a very
serious theft”, and is attempting to force the bloggers to reveal their sources.
A ruling on the suit is expected within 90 days."

Another article on CNET at news.com states:

"The case being argued Thursday addresses whether online journalists deserve the
same rights as traditional reporters. In previous court filings, Apple claimed they should not. Its lawyers say in court documents that Web scribes are not "legitimate members of the press" when they reveal details about forthcoming products that the company would prefer to keep confidential."

Outside of the US, an article on CBC describes:

"A businessman on P.E.I. has offered a $1,000 reward for information about an
anonymous internet blogger who's been taking shots at prominent Islanders on a
pair of websites."

While we have gone back and forth in class about whether bloggers are or are not journalists, it is clear that blogging comes with certain responsibilities. The purpose of trying to place blogging in the category of journalism seems to be largely based on a need to define specifically what those responsibilities are and outline boundaries for bloggers.

How do the cases above affect your thoughts on or perhaps fears of freely posting on your blog? Without the natural boundaries that the class has set for our blogging content, do you worry about your blogging in the future? Do you think that these cases help or hinder blogging as a practice or the blogging community?

Good luck to everyone . . . and "blog on"!

*Crossposted on Look to the Sky

The Blogosphere: Waxing or Waning?

2006-04-25T15:09:00.000-05:00

For anyone who has ever written about blogging or blogs, it is apparent that blogging . . . almost . . . doesn't . . . exist: spell check catches it and Word flags it in red like a disease. That is at least moderately distrubing for those of us who actively blog and see blogging as a relevant and impactful means of communication and expression. An article I read the other day, however, suggests that blogging is far from what Word and spell check suggest of it. CNNMoney picks blogging as one of "7 trendy new jobs." The article describes "Blog editor" as an "in-vogue" job. It states:

I blog, you blog, we all blog apparently, judging from the proliferation of blogs in the past two years. The success of influential ones like Wonkette.com has companies wanting in on the perceived edginess of the blogosphere.

"Blogging" is not only starting to creep into people's job descriptions, but recruiters are starting to see blog-related job listings.

One on Monster.com seeks a blog editor "to manage and moderate blogs for clients and to write for the company blog on PR and new media topics."

This is good news for those of us entering the job market, or maybe those just seeking a change of professional scenery. And, in my opinion, I'll take CNNMoney over Word any day.

But, then there is the downside. While CNNMoney reports the explosive growth and recognition of blogging, not just as a hobby, but by the professional community (suggesting blogging's further entrenchment in our culture), the blog of clinicalcases.org cites that a number of prominent bloggers are bowing out of the blogging world due to "fatigue." In the post, one blogger is described to think:

Blogging has become too much of a burden.

The post goes on to say that:

The RSS inventor and blog pioneer Dave Winer also wrote that he plans to stop blogging to free up time and become less of a public figure.

This is troubling to a society that stands to gain so much from intelligent and consistent bloggers as well as a community of bloggers that depends on one another to develop and sustain the conversational nature that characterizes the blogging world.

In the article, Family Medicine Notes blogger, Jacob, describes:

"...blogging has matured, and so has medical blogging. Back in 1999 and 2000, there were a handful of medical bloggers (literally!) and we all had a bit of a role in educating each other and the world about what is is that physicians do, think, read, etc. [. . .] But there's lots of that now. Hundreds (thousands?) of medlical bloggers are posting daily and - frankly - I don't think the Internet needs me anymore..."

Is this true? Are bloggers leaving because they feel they are no longer impactful? Is it true that the sheer number of people online and people blogging now waters down the quality of information and makes it such that it's harder to find quality? It seems feasible. It's the law of supply and demand. Is the supply of bloggers outgrowing the demand for blogs and posts by blog readers? The internet's vast nature seems to be both a blessing and a curse. It allows limitless people to contribute, but, as a Google search demonstrates, it also makes it harder to sift through all the non-expert commentators to find good information (or even just an intelligent blog you like). Perhaps we could use a system like professional journals in which blogs are rated or approved to ensure a reader of the quality of the content.

Blogging is growing, but will it soon be shrinking? Or, will it grow in quantity at the cost of quality? It's being recognized in the professional world, but "professional" bloggers seem to be abandoning it.

What does all this mean for our future as bloggers? Is it possible we've gone from too few voices to too many?

*Crossposted at: Look to the Sky

Portfolio Guidelines

2006-04-25T14:47:00.000-05:00

Here's what we agreed on during our discussion.

Blogging Portfolio

Audience: Potentially any blogger

Purpose: To highlight the quality of your blog

Requirements:

Link to at least three of your blog entries and include extensive commentary on your reason for highlighting those entries

Include an introductory paragraph to explain purpose of the portfolio

Include a couple of exemplary comments on class members’ blogs or a blog entry that responds directly to someone else’s entry: explain what these illustrate about your participation in a blogging network.

Make the portfolio entry an example of an exemplary blog entry (ie, you might include links, graphics, or whatever you think an exemplary entry includes)

Ideally, link up your discussion of each blog entry with ideas from class discussions and/or readings

Possibilities: You may choose whether to highlight your growth as a blogger or to stick with just highlighting your “best” blog entries.

I don't really like that idea.

2006-04-25T14:19:00.000-05:00

I don't like the idea of a grade pitch. I'm definately going to do it, and I know it could be beneficial for me, but does anyone else feel like we(the students) have just gone a bit to far? I think all the work we've been doing is our grade pitch. The quality of our work should be the argument for the value of our grade. This typed argument for our grade seems to be an attempt to rationalize receiving a higher grade than we deserve. I'm sure Donna understands this, and I hope that my blogging on my own blog is a much stronger case than a typed plea for an A.

Again with the portfolio

2006-04-25T13:37:00.000-05:00

Here's a timeline for creating the portfolio:

Tuesday, April 25: Finalize expectations/guidelines for portfolio as a class.

Thursday, April 27: Complete a draft of the portfolio

Tuesday, May 2: In-class peer reviews of portfolios

Thursday, May 4: Meet at Shakespeare's (or other eating establishment?) for end-of-semester celebration

Monday, May 8: Final version of portfolio must be online by 3:00 pm

I'm pulling up some of the comments from last week so that they will be easier to view, and we'll discuss these today in order to finalize a set of guidelines:

I like the first three criteria listed on Jerz's sample. I think those are relevant to our course.

I think it would sufficient to display 3 of their bests posts, which could be judged on the most interactive, the best-written, or what sparked the most discussion. And maybe include some of your own comments on the blog as a whole.

I like the idea of doing a "cover letter" for the posts we select from our blogs. I think this would allow more flexibility, because then you have a chance to define "best" from your own perspective. I like the idea of using that "cover letter" as a blog entry gateway to your "best" posts, but I also like the idea of creating another place for the posts to go. A place where one can add to their portfolio and reference it. Furthermore, I think if the portfolio is a post, it will get lost in the shuffle of the blog. As the blog gets longer the portfolio will be pushed out of sight. I think another page is a good idea, although I recognize the technical limitations of this. Perhaps we could create posts and then create a permanent link to them in the sidebar so the portfolio is always at the forefront of the blog?

I really like Nichole's comment about including a bad entry... my concern is that students might just choose a random entry that's very short or contains a bad link. What about including an entry that surprised, disappointed, or otherwise affected you the most (positively or negatively)?

english 4040: too raw for texas' impressionable minds

2006-04-25T11:09:00.000-05:00

Recently there's been some controversy over school districts banning words, rather than URLs, from students' use. Yesterday when I blogged about the MySpace phenomenon, I got my site banned in more than a few school districts. Thankfully there's been an outcry in the blogsphere, that has one angry blogger requesting individuals to implant the word MySpace in sites crucial to the education system, thereby forcing officials to remove their censorship. If anyone is interested, they can follow this controversy for themselves...I've linked directly to the relevant posts on each site, so you don't have to search for them.

Will Richardson's site (where I first learned of the controversy)

Andy Carvin's Waste of Bandwith

Miguel Guhlin

Wesley Fryer's Moving at the Speed of Creativity

post 4040 thoughts and reflections...

2006-04-23T20:45:00.000-05:00

Writing my posts about our class readings has made me think about post English 4040 blogging. I think I've hit on something that really interests me to write about - how blogging and other internet phenomena are changing some fundamental aspects of society. I've been seriously considering making a new, post 4040 blog that features entries about my afore-mentioned interests almost exclusively. Blogging has become kind of therapeutic for me. It's a nice way to relax at the end of the day, although I do worry about this blog being graded. I'm wondering how many of us English 4040 bloggers are going to keep up their current blogs or start new blogs after class ends?

Our class discussion got me thinking more and more about this MySpace phenomenon. This Bussiness Week online article is pretty interesting and informative:

The MySpace Generation

This article explores MySpace in the context of a corporate phenomenon. Mogul Rupert Murdoch, the article reports, has spent $1.3 billion in Web acquisitions to better reach the coveted demographic. Consumer products companies have been experimenting (at extremely low costs) with social networks as tools for launching and embedding their products into the increasingly hard to reach minds of teens. The "One-Hit Wonder", "Deep Connections", and "Sparkle and Fizzle" sections are the real meat of the article...the rest is mainly the introduction and filler that most people already knew.

A non-MySpace link of interest:

David Sifry's April 2006 "State of the Blogsphere"

Sifry is actually the founder and CEO of Technorati, one of the first blog tools we learned to use in 4040...ah, the memories. This report is essentially a state of the union address for blogs, which I think is pretty cool yet extremely nerdy at the same time.

Finding a Place

2006-04-23T18:56:00.000-05:00

I came across an article today that forced me to reflect on what I have accomplished since my blog began exactly 90 days ago. I have been struggling with my blog, constantly displeased with what I have to say and more so with what I don't. The goal of my blogging efforts was to put something out into the world that would touch someone. I was unconcerned with the definition of "touch". Was it to entertain? Was it to enlighten? Was it to critique? Was it to create?

My first posts (1, 2, 3) started out poetic, but it proved to be too much to keep up with. It was too much pressure to feel forced to be awe-inspiringly eloquent. I collapsed. My posts, most often, became whatever I was thinking in whatever form I could get it out. Maybe my goal was too ill-defined.

The article I read today got me thinking even more. It is by Associated Press writer Miriam Fam and is titled Iraqi Bloggers Weigh in on Changing Nation. It reads:

Unheard of in Saddam Hussein´s Iraq, blogging is providing ordinary Iraqis with
a voice _ a chance to vent and reflect on the changes reshaping their country.
For the outside world, the generally anonymous Internet postings offer raw insider views and insights in which sorrow and joy, hope and despair, fear and defiance coexist as the violence of the insurgency and now sectarian divisions swirl around Iraqis

What a profound cause. What a quintessential example of the use and benefit of blogging.

What a perfect opportunity for my efforts to look even more insignificant.

One blogger in the article says:

"The West should listen to the opinions of the simple Iraqi people . . . This is
a good window into the world."

Does my blog have a window? Does it posses anythingthing that makes the lost reader that stumbles upon it want to stop and read and then keep coming back? I don't think it does. Oh God. Am I the dreaded "teen (type) blogger," giving nothing more than a dreaded account of my mundane daily experiences.

Well, I don't know that I would go that far. But, nonetheless, it worries me. I would like to keep blogging, but not if it is only one more substance-less voice in cyberspace. I fear that if I can't find something that interests me, something I feel is impactful to others, something I am proud to contribute, I will fail in my effort to continue blogging.

So, where do I go from here? How do I find my niche? It is almost as much an identity crisis as it is a blogging one.

Perhaps others have advice. How do those of us "average bloggers," those of us "hobby bloggers," who are unable to make blogging a full time job, who aren't experts in some field, or who don't feel they are experiencing something truly unique and intriguing, find our place in the blogging world? How do we keep from sinking into the hum of other voices, talking with nothing to say?

*Crossposted at Look to the Sky

Mapping the Unmappable

2006-04-20T15:05:00.000-05:00

We have been talking about networks. How do we get our information? How do we transmit it to others? How does knowledge spread? Here is a (rudimentary) example of this:

This diagram depicts the transmission of information with regard to the paper I just wrote about fairy tales and popular culture. It demonstrates the sources of my information: my professor, folklorists Stone and Mieder, Perrault (who recorded the tales), movies like Maid in Manhattan, The Prince & Me, and The Wedding Planner, and Magazines like BRIDES. It outlines the sources of my professor's information: Perrault, Stone, and Mieder. And, it illustrates the influence that Perrault has had on the magazines and films (with respect to women's perspectives on relationships and marriage, as I assert in my paper).

Where this model fails, however, is it doesn't accurately demonstrate the nature of the relationships. Are the cooperative? Do they require a passive and active role? To what extent do we trust the relationships and the knowledge? What if the messages from two different sources conflicts?

Who cares!? If we are truly interested in the dissemination of information, the transmission of knowledge, we have to examine the nature of relationships.

Megan's map of influences and thought processes (scroll over it to see) in writing her own paper/essay demostrates the chaotic nature of acquiring knowledge. Often we bounce from place to place. We acquire a piece of knowledge, we internalize it, and we place it somewhere in our minds. Based on that placement (or sometimes an inability to place it), the context in which it is framed, where we place it in relation to what else we know, we seek out new information and sources. We may visit and revisit a source an infininte number of times.

Donna's map demonstrates, on a certain level, the nature of relationships. The colors she ascribes to each of the "players" in her map denotes the manner in which she receives her information: personally, via blog, via book, etc.

But, neither of these (nor my own) illustrates the strength of relationships, or other factors that have a strong influence on the infomation we receive. Which sources do we trust more? Which do we go to more often? Which do we seek and which seek us? Which do we influence? There are so many questions to be raised that are hugely important in shaping the process and our knowledge.

*crossposed on Look to the Sky

Blogging Portfolio

2006-04-20T13:40:00.000-05:00

One item to discuss today is the final project for the class, your blogging portfolio. And among the items we need to consider are these:

What should it include? (Will it highlight your best blogging, be an overview of what you tend to blog about and/or how you tend to blog, or a combination, or...?)

What should it look like? (Will it be a blog entry? Will it be a separate web page?)

How will it be assessed?

Here are guidelines for a blogging portfolio required as part of a literature class taught by Dennis Jerz at Seton Hill. (And see the comment on this blog entry that adds some further elaboration from.) We might use these guidelines as a jumping off point for our own.

Epidemics

2006-04-18T13:52:00.000-05:00

How does information (or anything) circulate socially? The same way disease circulates: by contact with an infected person. And if a lot of people get "infected" with the same content, the same feeling, the same whatever, we have a social epidemic.

Malcolm Gladwell talks about social epidemics in his book, The Tipping Point, but I haven't read that book. I was "infected" with this information by reading Peter Morville's column on social network analysis. And I "caught" this column from Collin Brooke's syllabus for a class on Networked Rhetorics that he taught at Syracuse last spring. And I wouldn't have known about this class, nor been connected to it (though in a tangetial way) had it not been for Marcia, who participated in it by blog, while living and studying right here in Columbia. And--can you believe it?--Marcia's latest blog entry is about creating "infectious action."

So if I map that little outbreak of information, it might look something like this:

And here's free mapping software that you can use to make your own map.

response to Morville's "Social Network Analysis"

2006-04-16T15:26:00.000-05:00

In all fairness, Peter Morville does have a lot of things right. Humans are, by nature, social animals as he recognizes in his article "Social Network Analysis". I also agree SNA tools and metrics can be used to effectively analyze computer networks and information systems. What I don't agree with is his assertion they can be applied at the level of individuals and organizations/industries (by extension).

Take Morville's diagram pictured above. What he fails to consider are the myriad external factors that characterize human relationships. For example, Claudia holds a powerful position as "boundary spanner" between the two groups...but what if external factors don't allow that sort of fluidity to happen? What if Claudia has a thing for Steven (who is really kind of a dumbass)? He likes Sarah, who also has a connection to Claudia. Claudia's advances are turned down by Steven, and she finds out Sarah is the object of his affection. Now both potential channels are severed. Claudia now has no direct connection to the rest of the people on the left side of Morville's metaphorical office network. The network has obviously not been altered in a positive way because people are not robots! Morville has dramatically oversimplified the concept of the network as it relates to human beings. Sure, you can apply his discussion to computer systems...because they're computers, they don't selectively interact with or ignore other computers on the same network unless specifically programmed to do so.

At the end of the article, Morville states "these concepts are critical to the creation of truly useful knowledge economies and online communities". He cites AOL's Buddy Lists as one "seed of innovation around us". I find that to be an amusingly terrible example. He seems to forget that on a Buddy List, I can choose to block or ignore certain individuals. Other text-based messaging systems, which he seems so fond of throughout the article, have elevated the simple act of avoiding someone into a fine art. Yahoo has a "stealth" setting, which allows you to view another person's status on the network, but remain hidden to them. Various companies have come up with tools and add-ons to text-based messengers that essentially override stealth settings, so you can out-stealth the people on your buddy list.

At the end of the day, it seems as if subverting the hierarchial order of a network is more fun than actually being a part of one. Morville ends the article by saying "Humans are social animals. It's about time more of us started recognizing this in the systems we design." But the desire to put a kink in the systems we design is as much a part of human nature as creating networks of socialization. Bigger, better, and faster....the relentless pursuit of an all-encompassing, efficient design means, instead of "there goes the old neighborhood", there goes the old network.

thinking about 4/13 readings

2006-04-13T21:57:00.000-05:00

"The conversation I believe we need to have is about what the Web is showing us about ourselves."

As the Web has embedded itself into our daily routine, the individual self has been evolving into a dual entity. The physical self, who interacts with the real world, is the metaphorical mother, while the projected self, who interacts solely within the Web, is the fetus. It is still connected to and is fed by our physical self, yet it's undeniably a separate and distinct evolution. We don't have to be a unique person in the physical world, because we can be anyone on the Web...and vice versa.

At this juncture, it's not a question of which world is more desirable to inhabit...it's a personal choice untainted by societal expectations.Is this proving to be an insurmountable cop-out? If you succeed (whether personally or professionally) in one world, but not in the other, do you still succeed? With the age of cyber-reality comes new definitions, not only of self, but of success.

But what are we really learning about ourselves? The Web is all too often a place where the darker sides of human nature can flourish. Hackers, identity thieves, child predators, sex addicts...characters considered "unsavory" in the physical world have found a place to call home in cyberspace. In this way, our cyber identities become our id and a new question emerges: how do we keep the id under control without limiting the personal freedoms granted to a democratic society?

In this context, the Web can be seen as a natural extension of laissez faire rhetoric that has shaped capitalist societies. Cyberspace is a largely unregulated domain...those who use (and abuse) it to accomplish their own agenda will likely benefit, while the weak (the victims of unsavory characters like those mentioned above) are left unprotected by the system.

This is not to bestow an entirely negative view of the Web on any reader. It has, in some ways, changed our lives for the better. Integrating cultures previously unknown to one another, cyberspace has the potential to transcend prejudice and unite us in ways never before imagined. However, as I once learned from my Spiderman comics, with great power comes great responsibility. Cyberspace is much more powerful medium than anyone ever imagined, (arguably) affecting societies in greater ways than television ever has or will. How ready or willing are we to accept the responsiblity for its consequences?

Please wait, your brain is loading...

2006-04-13T20:11:00.000-05:00

After our captivating discussion today about microchips in your brain, I have am left with a lingering question: What the hell was half the class talking about? How did an article about a possible new medical procedure turn into attack of the Terminator? I understand that there are some ethical issues that go into these kind of procedures, that it could be tampering with human life, somehow turning it unnatural. But isn't it more wrong to deny ourselves our own greatness? If our natural abilities has led us to the discovery of this technology, shouldn't we take advantage of that? What is wrong would be to let die when life is an option. I see where some of my classmates were coming from, that it is just the first step to a Matrix-like reality. But come on, let's be reasonable here. It's like saying you shouldn't let people get an organ transplant, because that will lead to some real life Dr. Frankenstein taking the transplant procedure to the ultimate extreme, creating an entire new person out of transplanted body parts, kind of a living corpse and an abomination to the essence of life. But that probably won't happen and we all know that transplants are an amazing and wonderful thing. Although I must give the argument some credit, it IS intriguing. I myself have often wondered what is the limit of human potential. People are continuously getting bigger, and stronger, and smarter. We are living longer and technology is becoming an ever greater presence in our lives. Will humans continue to grow until we are all walking the Earth as half-robot Titans? or will we even stay on Earth? Will humans branch out to the farthest reaches of the galaxy? Where is the limit? Oh man, this is getting way too deep. I wish I had some kind of microchip to do this kind of thinking for me.

2006-04-13T12:32:00.000-05:00

Maybe this will provoke some discussion....

Our conversation about network culture made my head hurt. I still don't know exactly what conclusions I'm supposed to be drawing...I'm tired, I'm hungry, I don't want to work tonight. Life is random, a blog is randomness contained in a little box. Is the Internet a real space? You can't touch it or visit it, other than in your own mind, framed by the parameters that society and you the individual have placed on it. Yet we attempt to carve our own space into a faceless, undefined entity. Blogger, LiveJournal, and myspace....our own isolated corner of nothing. "Information superhighway".....you could be on the busiest highway in the world, but it doesn't change the fact, at the end of the day, we're still alone in our metaphorical car. This is the paradox of an age of hyper-mediocrity. We can communicate with each other instantaneously, yet the days seem to pass more and more slowly. The ease with which we communicate, and subsequently relate, to each other has rendered those relationships meaningless. Now more than ever, the neon sign ALONE, blinks in the periphery of daily life, made manifest by the marginal importance of those around us. Now more than ever we deliberately isolate ourselves, creating technology to free us from the technology we've already created (the Ipod is the example coming to mind). Am I the only one who sees the network culture as a little absurd?

New template!

2006-04-12T15:48:00.000-05:00

Don't worry: it really is our class blog! Thanks to Megan, we have a cool new template.

It's Official

2006-04-12T10:09:00.000-05:00

I now feel like a full fledged member of the blogosphere. I should be getting my badge and certificate next week.

Click here to view my credentials.

The other day I posted on the class blog a followup to my presentation, "Vlog: Blogs In the News", which you can read here. That same day I visited one of my regular blogs, Thought Mechanics and noticed that they were now featuring guest columnists. Off to the side on their main site was a link to submit your own post. Seeing as my post on ABC offering shows free over the internet fits with the general tone of their blog, I gathered up my courage and hit send on the submission link.

Amazingly, enough this morning I had an email in my inbox from the blog's creator, Theorn Parlin, saying he had posted my submission.

It's weird, I never actually thought that they would put that post up. After all it was just me ranting. But I guess that's a great illustration of how the blogosphere is really a grassroots movement. Heretofore I considered a #7 blog on Technorati out of my reach. Those guys obviously know what they are talking about and I write about a class I'm in and the books I read and my terribly agonizing experience trying to get into graduate school. But this one time I had something to say about the world and it feels good to be taken seriously.

Of course, this is a great chance that I'm making a much bigger deal out of this than it really is. They probably looked at it, said hey this contains the right amount of skepticism, seems semi-coherent, and doesn't having spelling errors (I think)....Let's post it. But still it means something to me and now I finally get it, this whole blog thing, I just wish I could articulate this feeling better. Everyone should give it a try. Make a new connection. Contribute to something larger than yourself. It's 9:57 am and I feel like I've accomplished a whole lot today.

[Crossposted at An Ideal... and Chronicle of a Book Retold]

Network and Grid

2006-04-11T18:58:00.000-05:00

Something I thought that was interesting about Millennium Park is that it used to belong to the Illinois Central Railroad. Railroads fit right into this "grid" idea that Mark C. Taylor discusses in the reading for today.
If I am grasping his idea correctly, railroads are a great example of grid. They transport a product from point A to point B. They symbolize the Industrial society that Taylor associates with grid. As this industrial era came to an end, the importance of railroad also came to an end. I don't know much about Illinois Central Railroad, but I am assuming it fizzled away like most railroad lines in the United States.
Here comes the emergence of the network. As concluded in class, the Millennium Park represents network because of the lack of balance, the lack of clean cut edges, etc. I think it is significant that this symbol of network was created in a space that was left vacant with the end of the industrial revolution- the dwindle away of the "grid." If you want to know a bit more about the history of Millennium Park, check here.
That is what sparked my interest in the reading and class discussion. I hope it has caught onto the point somewhere.

*Crossposted on -In the Margins-

From grid to network

2006-04-11T14:54:00.001-05:00

Building off of Donna's previous post (a metaphor in iteself: am I "grid-ing" or networking?), the idea is put forth that blogging (networking) is an extension of traditional literary culture/expression. Links provided in blogs aren't wholely different from what could be termed the link's ancestor: the reference. In scholarly works we reference other authors to support our own point or prove our knowledge and authority. But how do these different forms of expression fit into these spheres of grid-like organization and networking organization?

The fictional work (or the poorly written scholarly work) seem to reflect the visual organization of some urban campuses as Donna discussed in class. It's grid-like but not complexly so. Like this:

The buildings are relatively rectangular, uncomplex, stand-alone structures. Fictional work (and again, poorly written scholarly work), like these structures, doesn't often connect to other works; it stands alone.

Moving into a complex grid organization and closer to networking there are scholarly works (and perhaps a few pieces of fiction: satirical pieces that play off previous works; stories that extend the tale of specific characters from other works). These literary peices resemble the more art deco style discussed in class. It is geometric and relatively stand-alone, but has a more complicated structure. Like this:The structure, unlike the campus structure is more complicated. Likewise, the structure of the scholarly work includes references to other authors, ideas, and studies. The ideas in the work, like the features in the architecture, are supported by other ideas or features and demonstrate a relationship.

But, blogging takes this one step further. In any paper-published work references have limitations. Most often we read the work, acknowledging the reference, but don't seek the referenced author or work out to find out more information. And, if we do, we don't likely then take that author's references and seek them out.

With blogging, though, we do. Blogging establishes a network. It lacks the geometry or balance of it's ancestral literarly forms of expression. My site might contain one link to another site, which in turn contains 3 links to other sites . . . all to the point that a blog reader may end up following a blogging trail to a distantly related idea through a series of more closely related links. I might click on a post about the latest sports game, select a link about an athelete, then a link about a recent scandal involving him, then a link about the police report, then a link about rape statistics, then a link about how to protect yourself. All of the sudden I have gone from Saturday's big game to how to be careful when out at night. It's a hypothetical, but you get the idea. I never would have done this with a book. And it happens because with blogging it is so much easier -- a simple click replaces a drive to the library and time spent searching through the stacks of books.

*Update: Crossposted at Look to the Sky

Network...we don't need no stinking network

2006-04-11T14:54:00.000-05:00

"A fabric or structure in which cords, threads, or wires cross at regular intervals."

That's what one dictionary.com entry says about network, but that leads me to think more along the lines of a grid with the "cross at regular intervals" part. So is there any real sense of what a network really is? Basically it sounds like a grid with some exit ramps. The thought of just putting this out there for others and letting them read it should excite the "networker" in me, but in reality it will show up just above the previous post. The title will be printed in just the same style as the rest of my titles. The text the same format as the rest of my text on previous posts. So is there really any difference? Does the grid appeal to the functionalist in all of us and the network serves our wild and crazy sides? I think, in blogging, it is hard to distinguish where the "grid" ends, and where the "network" begins. The look of our blogs are generally pretty "gridish", but the subject matter can be very "networky." And the ability to connect with others and link to things seem to fight for the network, but wouldn't the thought of connecting to something appear geometrically as a straight line that would be very grid-like?

so who knows...I'm just along for the discussion

From grid to network; or, metaphors we blog by

2006-04-11T12:53:00.000-05:00

While in Chicago for the CCCC convention last month, I stayed in a hotel that that had been built pre-World War II. I took a picture of a doorknob:

I find Art Deco design very satisfying: so geometrical. So grid-like. The beauty of precise, bordered form.

On my last day in Chicago I took a walk down to the new Millenium Park.

And yet I love this, too, though it is an image not of the grid, but of the network. Yes? How so?

Is a blog more like Millenium Park than like the doorknob? What forms of writing are like the doorknob?

Please. Talk among yourselves.

Latest Readings, blogging, technology, etc.

2006-04-10T21:36:00.000-05:00

The readings we have done for the last couple of weeks have given me a lot to think about, but they're almost discouraging in a way. From what they've seemed to say, people who don't have the background in computers, technology, and so forth, are in danger of being left behind as the world moves further into the information age. This prognostication is threatening to people like me, who tended to ignore a lot of the possibilities computers and technology could open up for you. If only I'd taken the time to get in on the ground floor of that! A class in blogging seems like a minor recourse at this point, especially given how much I've missed already. The Taylor article from today was a bewildering perspective on the direction civilization has taken and, evidently, will continue to take. What I would like to know is, how big a part will art have in the new culture of tomorrow (or today), and how strong will the relationship between art and real life be in a world that is strictly adherent to this model of reason over desire? Where's the passion and the conflict in the real world if no one plays the part of the pack-donkey and follows the curve anymore? Are such things merely confined to the works of Shakespeare and Milton from now on, to have no more in common with the real world than the architecture of Star Wars has in common with the New York City skyline today? Is pondering questions such as these the very thing that keeps me from noticing when a new age in the history of mankind begins and worlds of new opportunity are suddenly (if fleetingly) athwart me?
But I digress. If the qualities that kept the old world running are invalid in the twenty-first century and entirely new dimensions of information and technology are needed to keep abreast of the world of tomorrow, I am definitely glad that I took this class, given how little I knew of the subject of it beforehand, that I could be duly issued a "heads up."

Follow Up to My Blogs In the News Presentation...

2006-04-10T17:53:00.000-05:00

This is a follow up to my presentation on the Vlog, which I gave in class a few weeks ago.

I heard this morning on NPR that Disney is going to offer it's ABC shows free to viewers online the day after the shows air. Reports so far indicate this will be a 2 month free trial, so we can guess where this phenomenon is going after that. The downside to catching Lost on Thursday mornings is that you will not have the ability to fast forward through commercials. You can buy these episodes of ABC and other network shows already through iTunes at approximately $1.99 a show and those do not have commercials in them, although they can only be played through the iTunes player or Quicktime (another Apple program).

This story has really grown throughout the day. As I've been working on this post, I've noticed that the coverage on it has been really expanded. NPR discussed the matter again on their evening "All Things Considered". During that piece they were considering the effect this move was going to have on ABC's network affiliates. Apparently, when shows first began being sold on iTunes there was a lot of concern that local stations were going to bear the brunt of the shift, because people would no longer tune in during the regularly scheduled time, choosing instead to watch commercial free for a small price that would go directly to the parent network. The opposite, however, proved to be true. Network affiliates actually saw rises in viewership, which experts have attributed to more people viewing the shows and then becoming involved to the point of becoming regular watchers. While I must admit I, too, am surprised by that result, it does seem to make sense. I know from my own experience that watching season 1 of a show after it was released on DVD has gotten me interested enough to watch season 2 and so forth (this is especially true for me when it comes to premium channel shows like Sex and the City and Weeds). There is speculation that the same thing will happen once ABC begins these new streams, but there is an equal measure of anxiety. So what does this all mean?

It means that television is changing and it may not be for the better. While watching traditional network television or even cable is a pretty standardized process (shows interrupted by increasingly more commercials), the internet provides a lot more possibility...a lot more possibility for viewers to get swindled. Like the old addage states, "With great power comes great responsibility" and the internet represents a lot more power for networks and advertisers alike. The whole thing, like a lot of technology, is moving far too quickly for experts to keep up, meaning that no one is really sure what is going to happen. It's like a new drug getting pushed quickly through the FDA approval process, the problems are only discovered once people begin taking it on a wide scale. While I personally like to have flexibility in my viewing schedule (I record shows and have also downloaded from iTunes) I am also wary of being taken advantage of. I have to ask myself if I'd rather pay for the pleasure of the shows I enjoy with my time (by watching advertisements) or with my money (by paying for my own personalized broadcasts).

Update: I can't believe it but one of my favorite blogs to read Thought Mechanics (#7 on Technorati's Top 100 Blogs) actually used this post and has listed me as a guest columnist on their site. I submitted it on a whim, thinking it was along the lines of their political/social watchdog theme and they apparently agreed.

Umm, yyyeah . . .

2006-04-06T18:08:00.000-05:00

In class today we talked about the use of corporate blogs for both external and internal communicaiton. Hannel led a discussion about how companies are increasingly using blogs as a method of of communicating with consumers and other publics. But, isn't a blog in this sense a glorified virtual press room, nothing more than a "looky, looky what we've done!"? Who would read it? Probably only those who visity the news/media section of the website. Not that the news is always incredibly reliable, "fair," and "balanced," but at least news stations filter out most of the absolute crap. If I read company websites I've got to expend the my own valuable time to filter the "Target Corp to Webcast 4th Quarter and Year-End Earnings Conference Call" (crap) from "Cancer Vaccine Discovered" (holy crap!). Not interested.

Then we discussed company's use of blogging for internal communications. Arnold Kling says,

"If I were an executive in a large organization, I would encourage the organization to experiment with using blogs instead of other forms of communication. My guess is that blog filtering could enhance productivity by improving the relevance for workers of the information that they have to process."

Granted e-mail can be annoying, especially when your inbox is innundated with e-mails of no use to you. And, admittedly newsletters are often a lot of fluff. But, blogging increasing productivity? How do you figure? In even a 40 person company a person could likely spend 20 minutes just checking blogs to find any new news. And, if a person checks the blogs 3 times a day (which is hardly more timely of efficient than the instantaneous communication speed of e-mail) the person could have wasted a full hour just checking blogs. And, what are the odds that the majority are even of any relevance to the reader?

Bob Slydell: You see, what we're trying to do is get a feeling for how people spend their time at work so if you would, would you walk us through a typical day, for you?
Peter Gibbons: Yeah.
Bob Slydell: Great.
Peter Gibbons: Well, I generally come in at least fifteen minutes late, ah, I use the side door - that way Lumbergh can't see me, heh[. I check about 52 different Initech blogs. Most of them don't really apply to me. There's about six of them that usually include the same memo, which I could generally just get from Lumberg's Did You Get That Memo blog. But, I've got to check them all, ya know, just in case.]- after that I sorta space out for an hour.
Bob Porter: Da-uh? Space out?
Peter Gibbons: Yeah, I just stare at my desk, but it looks like I'm working. I do that for probably another hour after lunch too, [Then I check the blogs again. Just to see if something has changed since morning. usually by that point I've missed a memo or two] I'd say in a given week I probably only do about fifteen minutes of real, actual, work.
(Office Space)

How's that for company productivity?

*Crossposted at Look to the Sky

Secrets from the conference

2006-04-04T13:28:00.000-05:00

OK, not really secrets. But perhaps I got your attention?

I have a number of links on the schedule (link in the sidebar)to notes on blogging from the conference I attended the week before Spring Break. I would especially like to draw your attention to Clancy Ratliffe's presentation notes, because she asks some interesting questions and also because she offers a great graphic illustration of one of the topic's we'll be considering in some detail in the next couple of weeks: networks.

She also asks these questions, which will make more sense if you take a look at the presentation itself:

* Couldn't this same discussion have taken place on a listserv?
* How could P2P review be implemented in scholarly journals?
* Can P2P review be used in a deliberate and systematic way in the classroom? If so, how?

I'm especially in the first question: what makes blogs (or are blogs) different from a listserv or discussion board? What's gained/lost/changed across these different applications?

But because much of the talk was about how to use blogs in classrooms, I'm also interested in your own experience (outside of this class) in blogging as a class requirement. Could this notion of "peer to peer review" be implemented in, say, a journalism class? An upper-level literature class? Etc.

Bloggers of the Class Unite!

2006-03-19T16:49:00.000-06:00

A lot of us have been grumbling about the look of our class blog. Since I couldn't think of a good way to contribute verbally this week, I decided to contribute creatively. I've created three new templates (complete with custom banners) that we, as a class, can vote on for our blog. Of course, I don't want to declare myself the class designer, so if anyone else wants to create one, go right ahead. And, since I'm not the teacher, I think Donna should reserve the right to the final decision. And for my final disclaimer, any of the following templates can be tweaked and modified. For example, any one of those banners can go on anyone of the blogger template choices and any colors can be modified quite simply. So if you have a suggestion for a tweak, please leave a comment and I'll put together a new template for the class' consideration.

Now, without further adieu, here's the fruit of my labor for your consideration. When you visit, make sure you roll your mouse over the banners at the top, they change if you do:

1. Green Rounded Corners
2. Blue Minima White
3. Pencil Minima Black
4. You can also vote to leave the class blog as is
5. Or you can vote for none of the above options, but if you do that I think you should be willing to offer an alternative.
New choice: Green Pencil Rounded Corners

I tried briefly to incorporate a poll, but I thought that people leaving comments might be better because then everyone can offer any suggestions for tweaks or add their own template for class consideration. I'll leave it up to Donna to decide when the new (if we choose one) template should be implemented. For now, enjoy and vote for your favorite.

Update (March 20, 2006): If you want to incorporate a banner into your blog, I've written up a page detailing how you would do that. On said page, you can also download one of the banners I've made (including some not shown here) to use, if you are not artistically inclined. You can check that out here.

Update #2 (March 20, 2006): KR suggested that we give the black and white banner a green hue to match the green Rounded Corners template and mesh those two styles for our new template. So now we have another option to choose from. You can view the new choice, Green Pencil Rounded Corners, by clicking here or in the list above.

Megan @ Chronicle of A Book Retold

Did you guys know...

2006-03-16T17:32:00.000-06:00

...that the name of our class blog "We Blog" is just "weblog" split into two words? Am I really that oblivious? Please tell me you guys didn't notice either.

Megan [Chronicle of a Book Retold]

Arrangement/Design as voice

2006-03-16T13:43:00.000-06:00

So the readings for today leave something to be desired: I'll readily admit that. What I was trying to gesture, towards, though, were aspects of "style" or "voice" that go beyond how you sound. How things are ordered or disordered, how they look, how they are arranged are also ways of affecting a person who comes to your blog.

But I did want you to marvel at all the ancient rhetorical figures for order. And if we take a cue from Ulmer, who uses lots of analogies to prompt invention, we might also be able to use some of these figures to prompt invention. What if we think about one or another of those figures not as a way to order text, but to order a page? Or what if we do use one of the figures to come up with a kind of blog entry that isn't like one of the "seven basic formats"?

Above all, though, the goal for today is to think in terms of design. Most everyone (including me) has a standard blogger template. A couple of you have altered that design a bit. How could you alter your design, both of the page and of the daily experience of your blog?

What kind of "voice" does your design--both your page design and the accumulation of your blog entries--bespeak?

I get it

2006-03-16T10:23:00.000-06:00

I think I had a hard time negotiating the concept of this class, because I tend to be fairly critical of things. I am sometimes critical of people or things, but I mostly am critical of myself, particularly when it comes to the work I do for school for some reason. I had heard that a good approach to blogging is to cancel some of the self-editing that might hinder one's blogging capacity, and I am starting to think that's about the best way to go about it. Just now I posted three pretty lengthy entries on my blog about things that have been stressing me out lately, and it feels good just to have that kind of junk off my chest. As far as politics and some of these things goes, I'd like to get in on them, but the fact is I just don't have much of an opinion about any of that stuff. I'm a lot more concerned with things that are going on in my own life and how I'm managing to stay abreast of them (or not, you know). Even if I don't wind up with a great grade in this class, I won't be sorry for taking it, because I think it's cathartic in some way that I definitely wasn't cognizant of before. A friend of mine writes in her journal a lot because she says it keeps her from going crazy. I think I've found a pretty good use for the assignment in this class by doing the same thing.

Let me Hear You

2006-03-15T23:15:00.000-06:00

I was walking through the park today when I overheard this piece of a conversation:

"Journalists . . . suddenly it's okay for them to spout off their opinions as
long as its on their blog. And what does that say . . ."

Instantly, the man's critical tone and the negative air of "spout off" irritated me. I wanted to stop him and ask "What does that say about what?". I will concede a common ground with the man: journalists should strive for objectivity. But, a degree in journalism doesn't make one inhuman. We all have opinions, we have beliefs, we have perspectives, we have unique insights. For a man in a field (journalism) founded upon the the notion of offering "a voice to the voiceless," his comment is a little shocking. He seems to be suggesting an unwritten caveat, that voiceless is more select than we might have thought.

Blogging, to me, counters that. Newspapers, news shows, and internet news sites are inarguably key to the functioning of our society. But, in reality they don't, they can't, offer a voice to all the voiceless.

Enter blogging.

Even from the variety of blogs of my classmates (see my blogroll) it is evident that each of us has our own unique interests and thoughts -- and with that, our own unique voice, even voices. This is the attraction of blogging -- it has a voice. Something audible comes from the written word. We read blogs, good blogs, make us hear and feel the speaker. The blog has a life breathed into it by it's author. And, addictively we flock back to good blogs because we feel them, we hear them. They make us feel like we are in conversation, like we know the author.

Journalism, for the most part (exceptions being editorials, op-eds...), doesn't really offer this. It offers valuable information. But we don't hear the author when we read it. And, we don't read it to hear the author; we read for information. The same is often true about papers we write for classes: we focus on information over voice.

Blogging is personal, though. Toby at Diva Marketing notes:

"Sometimes when I come across a new blog, I click on very first post and read a
few of the beginning writings. Then I'll skip back up to the current level. It
helps give me a sense of the person." (through We Blog)

Blogging expresses our unique identities, our voices. In answer to the man's question "What does that say?", it says this: It says we are all human. It says we are unique. It says we grow and change.

Crossposted at Look to the Sky

My voice

2006-03-14T15:10:00.000-06:00

One thing I've never had a problem with is finding my voice. I've always known what my opinions are, and how to say them. I think that is my most powerful attribute in writing, and pretty much carries all the weight of my blog. I love this class because so much of it is about voice. I really feel like it's the one class where I do have a voice. My other classes are pretty boring and most of the things I say in class or write about really lack any motivation other than to churn out another paper or get a good participation grade. It's just that I don't care. I don't care about Byron or Melville, or Patrarchan sonnets. I try to bring my own voice into those other classes, but it usually comes off stale and totally forced. This class is the ultimate outlet for a free voice.

Voice

2006-03-14T13:13:00.000-06:00

Toby, at DivaMarketing, says:

Sometimes when I come across a new blog, I click on very first post and read a few of the beginning writings. Then I'll skip back up to the current level. It helps give me a sense of the person.

You've now been blogging for about six weeks (as part of this course). Try this experiment on yourself. (And plan to try it again at the end of the semester.) Anything interesting to note?

When I do this comparison on my own blog, I notice not so much a change in my written "voice," but I do notice what Toby might call "growth" in what I do. I've used a lot of visuals, lately, for example. I'd also like to think I've got some "texture" in my blog, that I don't always do the same thing, that the blog as a whole is a sum of at least a few parts, not just the same old thing stacked up.

What *is* voice, anyway? When we say we like the "voice" of a given blog, what are we talking about? Can you give examples?

And would anyone argue that it could be possible to have an interesting, highly readable blog that doesn't have what we conventionally think of as "voice"?

Is wabi-sabi about voice, for example?

Rod Padgett, a poet, has a somewhat satirical poem called "Voice." Another contemporary poet, Bruce Covey, has this to say about the poem and about the concept of voice:

I think the idea of a singular “voice” is something that many poets try to achieve, something that’s taught in many graduate writing programs. My feeling is that a poem is so many things—a visual, rhythmic, structured text invested with some sort of intention—that voice seems like a rather arbitrary quality to make absolute or constant. I prefer a more elaborate matrix in which form and content, visual and oral, are always interrelated and dependent upon one other. I’m not sure how I could—or why I would—write in a single voice all of the time. I applaud those who wish to and do. I’m a fan of Ron Padgett’s poem “Voice,” which ends, “I hope I never find mine. I / wish to remain a phony the rest of my life.” That said, I do believe my poems are united in different ways, particularly within each book.

Can/should a blog have voices rather than voice?

[And I also want to explore this theme today: Close Encounters. More on that in class.]

my midterm assessment

2006-03-13T16:35:00.000-06:00

Two of my entries that I find to be particulary "blog-like" are "Bottled Water?" and "What Will You Be Watching this Sunday?". what I like about them and what is probably denoted by the question mark that follows both of the titles is that they spark conversation, like a blog is suppose to. In these two blogs I more so took fairly relateable issue that was in the news and found a way to personalize them, and give an opinion to which others would have an opinion.

As for our classmates, I'm a fan of JL"S blog. In particular I like "rhythm me this, rhythm me that" . It shows just how strong a writer he is--halfway news-oriented and halfway column-like. I also "My National Pastime" from "My First Attempt". Actually I more so like this blog as a whole. It gives a look inside, little by little, into the life of this person through the experiences, sometimes daily habits and sometimes more like characteristics into this person. It's kind of a compilation of all the things that this blogger sees himself as.

2006-03-09T15:05:00.000-06:00

I've been thinking a lot about what Professor Strickland was saying in class on Tuesday. She was talking about a blog as the sum total of the posts, a compendium. But a compendium of what?

For me, looking back over my blog after 130-ish posts represents my intellectual history over the last year and a half (give or take). I decided to name my main page An Ideal because that was the best representation of where the power of the blog resides. For me the blog is a place where I can record - and sometimes recieve feedback - what I've been thinking about. It's my very own Thinking Out Loud. As much pleasure and benefit I may recieve from siphoning off my thoughts to this amorphous thing, a blog, it is equally as interesting to look back over the things I've written, the trains of thought I've carried (or dropped), the oscillations between waxing and waning interest on any given topic.

My blog is a dialogue I'm having with myself. The comments I recieve get filtered through and inevitably change the trajectory of my brain for the future. The reason for publishing this (a journal could accomplish the same) is interactivity. Not only do I benefit from immediate feedback, but it's there for others to read. Regardless of whether a reader agrees, disagrees, or even cares, they've interacted with what they've read, they've interacted with this alternative presentation of me and my thoughts and ideas have become part of their trajectory. The interactivity goes beyond being instantaneous or being able to compact large quantities of information. Through blogs one neurosis interacts with another in a reciprocal relationship.

If you are written you are subject to revision and change.

Megan [Chronicle of A Book Retold]

My cape, my shield, me

2006-03-09T14:50:00.000-06:00

Talking about the overarching symbols that make up people and who they are. I thought about what makes me, well, me. Frank Gehry showed me that what represents me best is a baseball cap. Something old, smelly, grimy, worn around the edges and ready for any adventure that comes my way. See, the cap was worn as a child to play on the dusty diamonds of baseball fields where I roamed. But then, as I grew in size, the cap started to mean a sense of belonging to a certain group or affiliation, and now it is something that I can use as a blinder to shut out the rest of the world. It can be my way of hiding behind a facade when I don't want others to see my expressions, it can be something that I fiddle with as I'm nervously trying to accomplish some task. I feel naked without it, and totally relaxed with it. Whatever the function, my hat is what I am most closely associated with. For better or worse I am the symbol that is perched upon my head. Just like me...slightly off-center and ready for anything.

Midterm

2006-03-09T13:59:00.000-06:00

I don't think a lot of my blogging qualifies as "bloglike," but I liked "A Random Deep Thought" from my posts last week, because it had a story that made me think, and I wanted to tell people why I had thoughts about it and see if anyone else had any thoughts on the same wavelength. Maybe the fact that I've only gotten one comment on it so far indicates that it's a deep thought far more random or out-of-left-field than I thought. I think the friend who told me the story in this entry has a better knack for storytelling than I do or something, plus he actually witnessed it. Is it a bad thing that I'm actually going into detail about what was wrong with the blog I picked for my most blog-like blog? It wasn't the one I enjoyed writing the most, but I kind of got excited about it once I got going.

As for other people's blogs, I liked the one called "Wild Week" on "Blog," because it talked about some crucial local sports news from the perspective of a local journalist. This stuck out to me because I like sports and used to have journalistic aspirations myself. Whoever does that blog hasn't posted in a couple weeks. I don't know if that guy's still in this class or not. But he had a shining moment there. Obviously, I have spent a great deal of blogging time talking about sports myself. So I liked seeing that someone else in the class had sort of the same idea that I did.

I also liked "Underage Drinking" from "Just what I think," because JL indirectly brought up a point I've always had for the "I-can-die-for-my-country-but-not-buy-a-beer-on-the-weekend" people, which is, Most of the people I hear saying that aren't even considering enlisting, so you really can't die for a country. If a proposition came up saying that all eighteen-year-olds in the military can legally buy alcohol, I'd vote for it in a second. Aside from that, I know I've blown a lot of brain cells, not to mention precious time and money, drinking, both before and after the age of twenty-one, so I'm not in such a big hurry to see younger kids drinking anyway.

Assignment for Thursday

2006-03-08T13:46:00.000-06:00

I've been delayed (and am continuing to be delayed) in getting the new schedule online. So, for now, let me at least get up here what I've asked you to do for Thursday (which I mentioned in class yesterday):

Thurs., March 9: Blogging as invention space
Please read/view these before today’s class:
• From Gregory Ulmer, Internet Invention
EmerAgency
The Image of Wide Scope
Epiphany
The Process of Felt Making
Haiku Reason
Haiku Design
Wabi-sabi

Also before class: Begin a blog entry that does something with one of these webpages (ie, uses it as inspiration, as model, as jumping off point, as something to comment on, etc.)

Blogs-in-the-news presentation: Andrea Fridley

My midterm post

2006-03-07T15:39:00.000-06:00

The blog post of which I am most proud from my blog, The Hamster's Wheel, is "It's my religion, not my lifestyle." I think it's my best work because I really wanted to write it, not just fulfill the posting assignment. It was something I wanted to deliver to the class and I was so pleased with the response I got.
I also like my last post, "Relating to Peanuts" I must admit, it's not as profound as religion, (which I shamefully admit I take pretty lightly as well) and the whole post is kind of silly, but I like it. It's not as bloggish as I would like, but I kind of felt like I didn't need all the links and extra help to convey my message. Overall, it's something that I thought about, but it related well with other people, which is what my goal was in the first place.

Of my classmates posts, I thought Amy's Teens and Blogging was great, and she actually engaged the class in her presentation. I think all of her posts are inciteful on In the Margins, and she's got great writing skills. She makes good use of links, which is great because I start by reading her posts, and the next thing I know I've just taken a long journey of links and I've learned so much all from starting out at her blog. I recommend it.
I also think Hannel's post Blogging/bleeding post was really good. It really put into intelligent words how I felt about the whole teens and blogging issue, without my non-sensical rantings that I often soap-box on my own blog. I like Hannel's blog, a melange, she sounds super smart.

Anything from Chronicle of a Book Retold is literary genious and REAL blogging, and Tanner's got a good one going with My First Attempt.

My Midterm

2006-03-07T13:09:00.000-06:00

After having been asked to reflect on this blog, and the blogs of my classmates I have come up with the following thoughts:

Of my own blogposts, I think My Mixtape Experiment and My Drug of Choice demonstrate some of my best blogging.

My Mixtape Experiment came out of a assignment from but I was absolutely happy to do something a little different.

My Drug of Choice combines a personal experience of buying coffee with the situation in New Orleans. I have seen some of that in other "more professional" blogs.

As for my classmates, Megan's I Miss Field Trips was good. She conveys the point she wishes, in this case information about an exhibit, and includes some great visuals.

Steve's NERD post is really good as well. It's funny and sort of a combo post.

(cross-posted from My First Attempt)

blogging/bleeding

2006-03-04T16:41:00.000-06:00

Let's take a moment to throw scholarly reason and approved logic out the window. And while your at it, invite the self-centered, naive and socially awkward teenager inside you to come out and play.

Done?

Now, let's talk - as Facebook, AIM, Blogger, MySpace, Xanga users - a little about the Internet and personal expression.

I'm aware that there are safety and professional image issues when addressing this topic, but those aren't on my docket. We've all heard about MU's Facebook task force and of stalkers that track children down through instant messenges or MySpace. But I'm going to pooh-pooh all that for now.

Because I think young America's obsession with online expression is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

Instead of condemning the sometimes socially blasphemous, often rebellious content of Internet communication and communities, people should be celebrating that there is content at all. Think about this: young people are sitting down and writing. They've found - I've found - an outlet that suits their contemporary, technology-savvy generation. Blogging in any form and on any topic exercises teens' and young adults' minds educationally and emotionally. I wish people in power would give kids a break, get over themselves and stop being threatened by the things that go against the status quo.

On a side note, I think blogging as an emotional outlet is particularly important for teens. I once read that writing is like sitting down at a typewriter, opening up a vein and letting yourself bleed onto the paper. Don't know about you, but I'd rather have teens bleed out through blogging than their wrists.

And that's where I stand. You can let reason and evidence back in now, if you want. Cheers.

crossposted from a melange

You're Different . . . and That's Bad.

2006-03-04T14:13:00.000-06:00

In her presentation on Thursday, Amy talked about teen blogs and specifically mentioned the efforts of some private schools to prohibit the academic or personal use of blogs. But,

“Going to school does not make a person educated, any more than going to a
garage makes a person a car." - Unknown

Similarly, Mark Twain said:

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. - Mark Twain

The point is not to question the value of school. But, educators must acknowledge that life is full of teachers outside of the four school walls. How individual do we expect children to be who are all taught the same thing in an environment where they feel the constant pressure to conform or be ostracized by peers?

The internet, blogs, allow children the freedom of movement from the safety of their own home. If we embrace blogging as a form of expression for children and focus on educating them on safety issues, we allow them to access the world at their firngertips, to foster their ideas and to learn from others.

We tell children to appreciate and be tolerant of diversity. But, in actions, we (as society) condemn the exploration and expression of variant ideas. If we fear the internet because we don't understand it, we suffer. Why can we not make an effort to learn about blogging and teach kids how to use it, but use it safely? Perhaps if we allowed children to use the internet to explore their interests and talents and to connect with others like themselves, we would see greater self-confidence and more well-defined sense of identity among kids.

Crossposted at Look to the Sky

Teammates

2006-03-04T00:30:00.000-06:00

I've been fortunate enough to play sports with some great friends of mine. Every now and then we have chances to sit down and recount old games, stupid moments, and the joys of sharing the field with each other. And that can hopefully be said by every person who's played sports and enjoys being a part of the game.

I found this article on

TarHeelblue.com

and it got me to thinking about how important teammates are.

Individual sports are nice, but they just don't compare with the joy of winning alongside your best friend or the guys that have put in the hundreds of hours to make themselves better.

Being an only child I haven't had the luxury of having a "teammate" in the game of life. I've always played sports as myself with no other person to stand with me and challenge me to achieve a little more. I never to the opportunity to play tackle football with my brother or play catch with a brother that is just a little better than me so I have to work that much harder to try and be better than him.

Nope, I had no competition in my household, and sometimes I think that made me just a little more fragile in the game of life. Not that if I had a brother I would have been some sports great or something, but just having someone to compete with may have made me into a completely different person than I am today.

Maybe, just maybe, I could have been some great athlete because of all the days when I had to play with my brothers' friends who were bigger, stronger, faster. But I never got that chance and that's ok.

But the article above talks about how important teammates can be. How much they can help you get through the tough times. So don't let the teammate in your life go without knowing just how much help they give you throughout the trying times in your life. Whether it happens to be a spouse, sibling, or friend, let them know how they help you get through the days that are your life. (crossposted)

Reflective assignment for Tuesday

2006-03-02T13:02:00.000-06:00

Because we are now at midterm (and at the end of another unit), it seems like a good time to assess where you are and where we as a class are. With that in mind, I would like to ask you to complete the following set of reflective activities before class on Tuesday (the 7th):

(1) Which one or two of your own blog entries do you most like or find most "blog-like"? Write a paragraph or so in which you talk about the features of this entry (or these entries) that caused you to select it.

(2) Now do the same for two or three of your fellow class members' blogs.

(3) Post the above paragraphs to either your own or the class blog, with links to the appropriate entries.

(4) In an email message to me, evaluate where you think you stand in relation to the course requirements, which I'm copying from the syllabus. As you'll recall, we agreed in class that meeting these requirements would constitute a B.

Maintain an individual blog and write substantial entries at least three times weekly, beginning no later than week 3 (40%)
Contribute at least one entry per week to the class “mother blog,” where the focus will be on metablogging (10%)
Contribute generative comments to class blog and to class members’ individual blogs: aim for at least two comments per week on class blog and at least one comment every other week on class members’ blog (20%)
Give two 10-15 oral presentations to class: (1) how-to presentation to enhance blogging, and (2) discussion-prompter on blogs in the news (10%)
Create an electronic portfolio at the end of the semester to highlight your best blogging (20%)

(5) In that same email message, tell me what I could do to make the class more helpful for you, what you already find helpful, and what questions/concerns you have.

My new exercise

2006-02-23T15:12:00.000-06:00

I totally agree with Steven Johnson that TV is good for you. I think that it definately CAN make you dumber, (I'm talking about pretty much every show on MTV. Seriously, those shows are so worthless it makes me sick) but it's so much more fun to learn from television and movies, and I think that's better because it keeps my attention, something really difficult for a lot of people. I read in an article back in high school (which I've been unable to find) that this multimedia generation is actually spawning children with so far unheard of hand-eye coordination. Think about it, skilled musicians and artists taking the arts to new places, or better even advanced surgery from more skilled surgeon. This article's hypothesis: computers and video games are breeding a generation of kids with the most intricate hand-eye coordination, and so in tuned with detail.
For this round of posting, I decided to try a little poetry. It's not really my thing, but I thought it would get my brain working in a new way. That is the task for today, right?

Blog-itation exercise

2006-02-23T12:49:00.000-06:00

Steven Johnson ("Use the Blog, Luke") got a good bit of attention last year upon publication of his book Everything Bad Is Good For You. Steven Shaviro, a professor at Wayne State University, offered a in-depth and balanced review of the book last May, beginning with this overview:

As its title and subtitle indicate, Everything Bad Is Good For You is a polemical defense of the value of contemporary popular culture. Johnson contests the all-too-often repeated claims that American popular culture is vile and debased, that it appeals to the lowest common denominator, that it is all about sensationalistic exploitation and dumbing down. He argues, instead, that popular culture is actually making us smarter, in ways that can even be quantified by intelligence tests and the like. Johnson’s method of analysis is basically McLuhanesque; that is to say, he pays attention to the medium rather than the message; or (in the Deleuze/Guattari terms that he cites briefly in an appendix) to what works of popular culture do rather than what they mean, what connections they make rather than what symbols they deploy, or what ideologies they express. Rather than lamenting any alleged decline from print/books/literature to the various multimedia modes in vogue today, he asks the McLuhanite question of how these new media engage us, what modes of perception, action, and thought they appeal to and incite, and how this makes for a qualitative difference from print/literary sensibilities.

What do new media forms *do* to us? How do they work on our brains, on our emotional states? Asking these questions presume that spending time interacting with a new media will *do* something to you: it can even make you smarter!

With that assumption in mind, I would like to encourage you in your blogging to try out new things. My fellow writing teacher blogger, Jeff Rice, (also, coincidently, at Wayne State) recently published a short essay arguing that blogging as a medium demands experimentation: none of us really knows what a blog is. We have to play around to figure out what can be done. He cites Boing Boing, Cory Doctorow's group blog, as an example of the good things that can happen when you let yourself experiment:

Some of the most provocative and exciting weblogs are, in fact, those that experiment with content and form: Boing Boing’s daily juxtapositions of Internet oddities and current events, Warren Ellis’ s explorations of fetish, comic book culture, sci-fi, and related topics, Oliver Wang’s Soul-Sides, an archival replay of forgotten soul tracks (and which incorporates music into the blogging experience), dETROITfUNK’s photographic exploration of Detroit’s ruins, forgotten sites, and surprising charms, Wonderland’s mixture of game related and consumer items, and Drawn’s highly visual, daily updates of cartoon and graphic art developments are but a few blogs functioning in a fairly experimental manner. By experimentation, and not by seriousness, they explore how blogging may change or enhance their interests.

With the goal of experimenting and potentially positively effecting the way you relate to the onslaught of information represented on the web, I would like to ask you to spend part of classtime today composing an experimental series of posts. You can mimic what Boing Boing does, or you can do something else. Whatever it is, make it unlike any of your previous posts in the way it manipulates the medium of blogging.

Blogging and journalism

2006-02-21T19:41:00.000-06:00

Today's assignment was to consider the relationship between blogging and journalism. As both a budding blogger and aspiring journalist, I'm a little torn. I like blogging, I like journalism. I don't want either to disappear, nor do I want one to be revered over the other.

Of the articles assigned, Staci D. Kramer's "Journos and Bloggers: Can Both Survive?" resonated most with me. Instead of forcing debates of which is better or whether blogging should replace journalism, Kramer refuses to see the two as separate entities. Here she puts it best:

The constant drum beat of the notion that blogging and journalism are mutually exclusive -- that one can or will replace the other, that one is better than the other, that they don't require each other to exist -- damages all involved.

Recognizing that the two mediums are unique yet interdependent certainly appeases my thoughts, but is there truth in it? I'm pretty sure there is, and so is Kramer. Later on in her article, she lists things that bloggers and journalists can learn from each other:

What journalists can learn from bloggers:
-- you can blur the line between the personal and professional without corrupting the process;
-- you can learn to improvise in real time;
-- how to have a conversation with their readers;
-- to be humble - you don't know everything.
Bloggers can learn from journalists:
-- the value of leg work;
-- the nature of accountability;
-- that editing is a good thing;
-- to be humble - you don't know everything.

These are all valuable points on both ends, especially for those wearing press hats. That first point, that you can blend the personal and professional, is especially important, and from my assessment, effective.

Take the Missourian's account of the events that culminated with Quin Snyder's resignation. Our classmate and a lead reporter said the story was the best of any paper that Sunday, and I tend to agree. He and his co-writer could have easily recounted the events in a traditional, inverted pyramid news-story format. Instead, Columbians got a easy to read narrative full of clear voice and conversational dialogue. Using blog-entry characteristics, the Quin reporters turned the article into a true story.

And the first on the list for blogger lessons holds some weight, too. Look at Jim Robertson's blog at the Columbia Tribune. He posted two entries on Jan. 30, the second merely to report information he missed in his first attempt at research. A little more leg work the first time around could have helped his point.

(cross-posted from a melange)

Blogging as an Editorial Form

2006-02-21T14:54:00.000-06:00

Who is to say what role blogging will play in journalism?

Megan pointed out that if you watch a 24 hour news network you will find punditry everywhere. The question here is: Are the pundits the journalists?

I think, in the purest sense of the word, no. The mediator would seem to be the journalist. This, to some extent, is supposed to be the information gathering stage.

The 24-hour news networks have slightly corrupted journalism. Conflict draws ratings and having two people yell at each other on national television is "entertaining."

Thus far, it seems that in many ways blogging is an extension of that. In many cases, the news blogs will have an angle. As it is, the blogs must begin to have some accountability.

However, this does not discount the blogs worthiness to journalism. The editoral page has long been the place in the newspaper where where reporting stops and the conversation begins.

This is where blogs usefulness to journalism can really be found. The conversation on blogs is unlike what can be found in other forms of media.

I don't think that blogs will ever replace The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal, but I would say that this does not seem to be blogs intentions.

Therefore, I would say blogging can play an important role in journalism. However, just as with the editorial page, the engaged reader must be able to seperate actual reporting from editorializing.

Blogs and Mass Media

2006-02-21T14:50:00.000-06:00

Something I have been thinking about after reading the articles is MASS media. I am not attempting to discount blogs as journalism by any means. I definetly think that some blogs can be considered serious journalism. However, one of the abilities that mass media outlets, such as television news and newspapers, have over blogs is the ability to literally reach masses. Although the internet is available to everyone, not everyone utilizes it. (I know this brings up a hot journalism topic of Broadcast Journalism as "real" journalism- but I think we'll leave that for a different class at a different time.)

The example that I am thinking of is James Frey and his Oprah Book Club scandal. Although smokinggun.com broke the story, mass media resources delivered it to masses of people. I didn't read about the scandal on their website, I heard about it on the news. So I guess what I am trying to expresses is that although blogging can be counted as a form of journalism, I don't think it will surpass traditional media sources. I think the way the two- being blogs and traditional media- work with each other provides for interesting conversation.

Blogging as Journalism

2006-02-21T14:43:00.000-06:00

I like the point JL makes in the previous post about opinion in blogging. I think this is one of the key issues with respect to the differences between blogging and journalism. That is not to say that blogging can't be journalism, just that most of it isn't. And, I am wary to trust blogs on the whole as a form of journalism as the majority are not journalism.

In the article Lasica says, "Weblogging will drive a powerful new form of amateur journalism as millions of Net users — young people especially — take on the role of columnist, reporter, analyst and publisher while fashioning their own personal broadcasting networks." I think that depends on how loose your definition of "amateur journalism" is.

Perhaps we can turn to The Elements of Journalism, a leading text on the guiding principles of the field, written by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel. In an article on the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the book is outlined. Kovach and Rosenstiel offer the following pillars on which journalism stands: truth, journalists' loyalty to citizens, verification/accuracy, a monitor of power, comprehensive and proportional, a responsibility to conscience. We can put blogging against these to find how like and unlike blogging and journalism are. For brevity, I'll comment on only a few points.

The article restates Kovach and Rosentstiel's argument that journalism should "separate itself [journalism] from entertainment, propaganda, fiction and art." In contrast, I think blogging often blurs the boundaries of these different arenas, splashing in entertaining opinion, art, or embellishments that make "blog news" more exciting than traditional news.

Additionally, blogs are likely, in sum, very comprehensive and proportional. Individually, however, most blogs do not strive to equally represent both (or all) sides of an issue, rather blogs often offer substantial evidence and argument on one side.

On the positive side, blogging does, arguably more so than journalism itself, offer what Kovach and Rosenstiel call "a voice to the voiceless" in that blogging has much less costly and time consuming barriers to entry than would, say, owning your own television channel or broadcast station.

So is it journalism? I think not. Unfortunately, though, I think we are afraid to admit it isn't for fear that it belittles what we as bloggers do, it belittles our cause. I think blogging and journalism can go hand in hand; they can help and build off of one another. But, that does not mean that blogging is journalism and it does not mean that it must be considered so to be valued.

Update: cross-posted at Look to the Sky

Good Night and Good Luck

2006-02-21T14:03:00.000-06:00

This week's topic about blogging and journalism reminded me of George Clooney's recent film Good Night, and Good Luck. The movie chronicles Edward R. Murrow's 1950's challenge to Senator Joe McCarthy's Communist hearings. Although this film is about that era in American politics and culture, it is relevant to our current debate about media editorializing. At one point, Murrow is discussing his first show regarding McCarthy with one of his producers. The contention of the producer is that Murrow's planned commentary does not portray the facts objectively but is instead a direct editorial on McCarthy's actions. This struck me because we live in the age of the television pundit. Not only are people paid to editorialize, we expect when we turn on FOX or CNN or MSNBC to hear opinion journalism.

Whether or not editorializing is good in the news or not I really have no opinion. There are others in this class that have much more experience with journalism and journalistic ethics, who can expound on this issue. The point is that I never realized the complexity of the debate. Is responsible journalism portraying the facts for the audience to interpret? Or is it challenging the status quo by presenting cohesive arguments for or against a particular issue? Or is it some of both?

To relate this back to blogging, I thought the movie captured a moment in television history that is akin to our present moment in Internet history. Murrow was an established television journalist exploring the possibilities of television to engage its audience intellectually, politically, and socially. His challenge of McCarthy was not based on a pro-communist platform, instead it was focused on the inflamatory rhetoric and scare tactics behind McCarthy that were causing people, journalists included, to exist in fear to the point of self-censure. Murrow posed the questions in his broadcasts and left the answering to his viewers. I think blogging operates in a similar way. Most bloggers do not blog objectively, most present their opinion very clearly. But the medium allows for easy and quick debate over these topics. If the original post offers one viewpoint, when the comments are added in a fuller picture of an issue results. Basically a blog allows what Murrow's broadcasts lacked, a chance for the audience to respond.

Megan

Comments on blogging as journalism articles

2006-02-21T12:07:00.000-06:00

I thought there were some interesting ideas presented in the articles about blogging as a form of journalism. In the first article, Paul Andrews and Deborah Branscum talk about the rise of blogging as a form of journalism, and give various reasons for their beliefs. I agree that blogging is booming, largely because of what Branscum refers to as "instantaneity." She writes that, "with a Weblog, you hit the send key and it's out there. It's the perfect disposable journalism for our age." I think this is particularly true because of one point Robert Niles makes in his article. He says, "when I ask students how many have read the newspaper or watched TV news within the past day, few hands go up. But every students acknowledges having gone online within the day to read the news. Even if few have considered a job in online journalism, in my experience, today's students implictly understand that medium better than they do print and broadcast." I find that in my journalism classes, and in my circle of friends this is overwhelming true. Almost everyone I know goes FIRST to the internet to learn about breaking news. Some rarely ever pick up a newspaper or tune in to broadcast news. Here I think online news sources and news blogs are really breaking through. I disagree though with Paul Andrews assertion that "the Web is actually becoming more credible while established media are losing ground." While I think people may go first to their favorite blog to find out what's happening, I think the New York Times Online and the CNN.com's of the world wide web are still the ultimate destination because of the credibility associated with those news sources. (Cross posted)

2006-02-20T18:48:00.000-06:00

For today's reading we learned that blogging can help journalism and journalism can help blogging. Some could say that this lesson could be applied to all walks of life and that the theme should be shared among everyone in the world. But here's my rant against sharing.

J.D. Lasica's piece

Blogging as a Form of Journalism

states that you can get the true side of the issue with blogging because it allows people to give the side of the story that the big media doesn't cover. It allows people to voice their side of the story.

Thanks for opinion, but I really don't think this is the case. 'Good" journalism is supposed to remain unbias towards reporting stories. And I think for the most part journalists do a good job with this. I think the accusations that people make against the media aren't really fair because people really hear what they want to hear. Even if someone's opinion is touched upon and not stated enough for someone's liking they will say that their opinion is being suppressed, but it is pointed out. And maybe the other side's opinion isn't overtly stated as well. You never hear someone say that their opinion is said, but neither is the other side.

Look, if you want bias news you can find it. Republicans have Fox News, and Democrats seem to have everything else. And that works, but most journalists practice some sort of transperancy in their reporting.

Blogs on the other hand don't even try to hide their opinions. People who have webcams and show up at some rally or protest aren't trying to find the opposing side's opinion. And that's ok. Bloggers don't have to show both sides of a story. That's their right, but let's not demolish journalists by saying that their work can be enhanced by bloggers. No one will ever have all the information, but as long as people realize that what journalists do is astounding in the spectrum of information.

Stuff about blogging

2006-02-20T12:29:00.000-06:00

(as if I knew anything)--Okay, so blogging is something I definitely never thought I would do until I got into this class. I think a friend of mine blogged his trip to Europe last year, but when I heard about his "blog" I didn't know exactly what it was a reference to. It was a word that sounded like "blob" but was in some way facilitated via the information superhighway. Now that I am an amateur blogger myself, I can see why people get into these things, especially when they are communicating with friends or family from long distances. My number one problem with blogging at this point is my life is much the same today as it has been for the past several years. I therefore have a hard time picking out salient details that strike me as inspiring to write about. I'm going with the St. Louis Blues right now. One thing that's nice about sports is that it always offers something to write about, for periods of months at a time. Another nice thing about sports, as a good friend of mine so eloquently put it, is that they have absolutely nothing to do with anything that's going on in the real world. Is it any wonder so many people find such meaningful escapism in the accomplishments of superhuman athletes? I certainly don't think so.
While the NHL is inactive for the next couple weeks, I may well be reduced to writing about the goings on in my personal life. Steve's Hamster's Wheel analogy is a particularly apt one, I think, but if hamster's had poetical or literary tendencies it is conceivable they would write about running on those skinny little bars--and all the glory and the agony that accompany.
Someday I want to take a trip to a foreign country, just (okay, well not "just") so I can start a blog and write about things being totally different, and know that people back home will actually read it sometimes and be interested in it.

Tip: Order of Posts

2006-02-17T09:42:00.000-06:00

Someone in the class recently asked why entries post alphabetically or according to when you started the draft rather than when you post it. Many of you may already know this. If so, stop reading now. I, however, just figured out that when you make draft, there is a little link below the window where you type (in the cream-colored bottom bar) that says "Post and Comment Options." If you click on that you can change the time of the post to the current time instead of the time when you started the draft. Viola! As far as alphabetical postings according to the title -- your guess is as good as mine. Maybe check your blog settings. Now, does anyone know how to do the thing where only part of your post shows and includes a link to the entire post. My entries (for those who haven't noticed) are a little verbose. Not really my intention, but it happens. So, to save readers from all that scrolling, I'd like to find out how to do the links. Help! (and have a great day!)

Next Tuesday

2006-02-16T13:44:00.000-06:00

I'll post the schedule for the next unit a little later; for now, I'm giving a heads up on the reading for Tuesday. We'll be discussing the confluence between (and divergences among) blogging and journalism--please read and contribute to the class blog!

Tues., Feb. 21: Is blogging journalism?

Please read these before class:

• J. D. Lasica, “Blogging as a Form of Journalism”

• Stacy D. Kramer, “Journos and Bloggers: Can Both Survive?”

• Robert Niles, “The Importance of Blogging in Journalism Education”

• Don Gillmor, Introduction to We the Media

Technology presentation: Justin Light

2006-02-15T23:28:00.000-06:00

I'm starting to get the hang of the blog. Actually, I'm even starting to like it. When the class first began, I had my reservations. It seemed like we were expected to know a lot about the technology very quickly, which I think we still are but as with everything, it gets easier and more comprehensible as you go along and began to utilize the skills you're learning. I think this is a very good class and I hope they keep it around. Its nice to know that colleges in general are making an effort to keep students up with mainstream technology and society. I appreciate that. I know that I will get a job or internship in the future and be able to say, "Not only do I know what a blog is and how it works, but I have one!" I had an inernship last semester that hosted a blog of which we were suppose to write for. I had no idea what a blog was or how it was suppose to work, or what contents were expected to be included. I left that internship with about the same amount of blog cloudiness I had when I first arrived there. Now, I am relieved to say that I can blog. Now I just have to get in the habit of remembering that everyday.

A question for 4040

2006-02-14T13:41:00.000-06:00

So hey, I'm going to try to get some feedback on a particular question I have:

Is it better or worse to publish posts that I started last week? I mean, it shows up on the page, of course, but does anyone ever scroll down there and look for them? Should I just start adding recently finished posts at the top from now on?

Being new to blogging, I don't know if people surf the way I do. I usually go all over a page looking for comments and reading things, so I'm more likely to see new posts from a few days ago. Or do you tend to skim the newest story and move on?

I just want to make it easy for people to comment on my blog (post-december), so advice is appreciated!

Please read and respond

2006-02-11T23:52:00.000-06:00

Hey, I wrote this last spring and wondered if people could respond to it. I know this is a lame way to post, but I've wanted people to read this for a long time. The only people who have read it are people that think what I write is great anyway, no matter what it says. So here it is. Can you please give me your first responses? Thanks

March 2005

To the Way that I see it

This evening probably has to go down as one of the best nights of my hopefully long life. See, UNC won their first final four game in their last five tries and I got to attend an amazing concert with my lovely girlfriend.
Now, UNC winning and making the national championship game is a very big deal, but that’s not the issue that I’d like to discuss tonight. (Actually, very early this morning)
No, this issue at hand is something that inspired me to write this memorandum in the first place. This letter won’t be dedicated to the performers who put on a great show, or the crowd who was so energetic throughout the almost four hour concert, but to one little girl who owned this night in my eyes.
For once this was not my own girlfriend, but a handicapped girl that sat just a few rows behind my friends and I. Probably only visible to the one friend that she looked as if she had brought to the concert. The amazing thing about this situation is that this girl continued to infatuate me this evening. She wasn’t popular, or pretty, or maybe even smart, but in my eyes this night belonged to her because she took center-stage in her own world while everyone else was living in someone else’s. This girl knew all the words like many of the other fans there. And she was more than happy enough to share those entertainer’s words with everyone within earshot. But what stood out to me was the way that she paid no attention to the people that didn’t concern her. The people who have naturally come down upon her and told her that she wasn’t good enough.
For one night this girl stepped out and showed that she had her own life and not one in which she lives to please other people. And I think the lesson here is that people will always have opinions. One can’t change that. But the people who make the most of their lives are those who can live their lives without consent, regret, and repentance for those who must “fit in”. For it is truly the mark of a great person that doesn’t acknowledge that others are standing in the way of their greatness. And as a performer was standing on stage hundreds of feet away it took the singing of one little girl to show me that what’s important isn’t what the whole crowd is staring at, but the smallest little details that make up my life and the wonderful moments that they encapsule.
For one night I paid to see someone entertain me, and the one person that did wasn’t within 200 feet of the stage.
One little girl who had probably been neglected by society if not by her own family took the stage for a performance tonight that amazed at least one person. And she didn’t care who saw it.
The smallest details are our lives, and the attention to detail is what makes us who we are.

JL

Better late than never

2006-02-10T12:01:00.000-06:00

I was supposed to post last week about three exemplary blogs. Well.. a week later, I am getting around to that task.

Apartment Therapy
This is a blog devoted to "Helping people to make their apartments better places to live." I introduced my roommate to this blog about a year ago, and we have both been avid readers since. It is basically a blog aimed at good home design. I am a stickler for good design, which is the main reason why this post is so late. I spent most of my weekend trying to learn a few basics of CSS. Bad design makes me cringe.

Maud Newton
As I mentioned in a previous post, I used to be pretty engulfed in literary blogs. Maud Newton's blog is one I frequented. Her posts sometimes rely on the reader being as informed as she is on all things literary, so I sometimes get lost. However... ocassionally I do comprehend what she is talking about, so I continue to read. If you ever need a few hundred hours of entertainment, check out her huge links page.

The Elegant Variation
This is a blog I stumbled onto recently. I scoured his archives, to see if I missed anything incredibly interesting. And I did! He posted in a topic I posted on (along with the rest of literary community I am sure) which was the supposed retirement of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I liked that he had linked an article I had not seen yet. It is nice to get others perspective on an issue.

This is cross-posted at -In the Margins-.

I got the powa!

2006-02-10T09:16:00.000-06:00

There is an article on the BBC website that discusses the importance and influence of bloggers. The author discusses the power of the blogosphere in bringing information to light and initiating change. He specifically mentions bloggers' roles in the current cartoon controversy and in pointing out errors made in response to hurricane Katrina. He says that many news organizations have not yet established a policy on blogging. I don't really find this surprising. MSNBC is the only news site I regularly check that has a specific link to "blogs." Even on BBC I had to do a search for "blog" or "blogging" to find stories. As the author of the article warns, it is imperative for news organizations to etablish a policy on blogs, both responses to blog criticism and the blogging done by organization employees. He says:

If the MSM does not respond, it will suffer. The same is even truer of businesses, whose products can be disastrously damaged by web-based attacks.

If the criticism is fair it must be answered, directly to those making it. Remote, computer-generated responses are counter-productive.

And mistakes must be quickly corrected. If the criticism is unfair, then the MSM has to know about it early on and develop defensive tactics.

Blogs allow people to organize like never before. With relatively little effort, in your pjs, from the comfort of your bed (and the aid of your wireless laptop) you can dispense information to the world. I checked ( at 10:21 on February 10, 2006) and that is 6,496,873,670 people. Granted, estimates state that only 1,018,057,389 people use the internet. But, that's still more people than you could organize with, say, a PTA phone tree. That is also much larger than the number of employees at any news bureau (or even the sum of all news bureaus), which means a lot more minds and hours spent finding information than is spent by any newspaper or tv news program. Instead of relying on our papers and TV for information that we don't have time or can't find on our own (and if you read a paper or watch TV you know it's really a limited pool of info) there are over one million people all over the world, combining their divergent interests and spare time to bring light to a limitless number of issues and ideas. It is a force to be reckoned with. We are a force to be reckoned with. Kinda makes you want to sing Snap!'s "The Power" . . . I got the powa! . . .

Sampling the Blogosphere...

2006-02-09T14:38:00.000-06:00

This week in my blogging class, our assigment was to identify and post about three exemplary blog entries from the various blogs we read. That means that all this week I have been scrolling through the various links my classmates have thrown up as their favorites. When I posted my entry, I thought that it was going to be different than everyone else's because we mainly talk about political blogs or watchdog blogs in class. I, on the other hand, really prefer the more personal (but not necessarily journal blogs) and decided to pull my favorite entries from there.

Turns out that a lot of the other people in my class have also found blogs that speak to them contextually or tonally and not necessarily blogs that are out to make a huge social impact. Among the choices of my classmates were celebrity gossip blogs, random people's funny chronicle of their lives, blogs of people they know, a few political or issue blogs, and even a Gumby blog.

It seems the rest of the class has come to the same conclusion that I have. While it may be interesting to scan through random people's blogs when a hot issue arises (see the most recent example of the muslim cartoons) just to get a feel for how other people think, frequent readability is determined by a much more personal reaction to a person's style. I'm fully aware that the blogs I find interesting probably won't appeal to anyone else in this room. After all, after scanning through everyone else's choices I can't say any one blog made a particular impression on me (at least not enough to grace it with an almighty bookmark), but, Hey, to each their own.

Seems to me the choice of what blogs to read is kind of like choosing what people to talk to at a party. You seek out the people who seem like they're most like you, or the people with the common interests and make a connection.

Megan @ Chronicle of a Book Retold [crossposted]

Some good reading

2006-02-09T14:37:00.000-06:00

I like this blog. Simply put, it's called THE NEWS BLOG. It has some good stuff, the mainstream news stories and also some small stories a lot of the big guys overlook. The writer(s) has a good style, very straightforward and sounds professional. It also has the face and personality that the huge news broadcasts lack. For an interesting take on breaking news, this blog is where it's at.

Another thing I've always been interested in is animation. NOT ANIME, I freaking hate anime. But real animation, for its wit, its simplicity, and its overall message of animation: the best thing about animation is that it engages our imagination, something which we allow to get lazy as we get older. But animation brings it back to us. And animation is limitless. No need for technological special effects, or stunt doubles, or million dollar sets. One is only restricted to the reaches of their creativity. Check out Cartoon Brew for the classics and the best fresh animation coming out. Oh by the way, Check out Bill Plympton's work. He's an animating genious, way better than the more celebrated Don Hertzfeldt. I'd like to write more on Plympton's work, but it might not be entirely appropriate for the class blog. See my blog for some incite on Plymptoons coming soon.

it's raining blogs (hallelujah)

2006-02-09T14:15:00.000-06:00

Stereogum
It's pretty, it's informative, it's about music. That pretty much sums up why I like it.

Soviet Panda
Anything named Soviet Panda has to be good. Mostly about rock music, but lately this blog has been exploring different types of music in addition to the rock content.

Ultragrrrl
I actually hate the girl with a passion who writes this blog...I read it just to make fun of her. She's a DJ with terrible taste in music....she has a book out now, which proves just about any fool can be published these days.

three blog entries

2006-02-09T13:46:00.000-06:00

Irregardless is a word

Trent's is one of my favorite blogs to read. It gives me a good fix of celbrity gossip, but I also like the amount of personality he puts into it. This post is a good example of it. I've never met Trent, but I've gotten to know him through his postings. I bet we'd be good friends.

Exxon

This one comes from one of my friend's blogs. I know there isn't much original writing in it, but that's why I like it. His audience is most likely his friends, family and people that know him and thus know his views on social and political issues. By just picking out quotes, he was able to convey his feelings, but still allow his readers to come to their own conclusions.

Anybody else have an ethics issue with this?

This post comes from Fred Vultee's copyediting blog. (Vultee is the j-school's resident copyediting guru.) I like it because it really creates a forum for conversation. The title itself opens it up for question. By placing the article first also allows readers to come to their own conclusions before reading Fred's. That is less intrusive and more welcoming for comments.

Next Week

2006-02-09T12:52:00.000-06:00

Today we wrap up the first unit of the class (Getting Started). When we were going over the way you'll be graded for this class, we agreed that I would give you feedback at the end of each unit. Because you just started blogging full-time last week, I thought it would be useful to give this feedback in person.

To that end, I would like to change our class format for next week: we'll meet, as usual, at 3:00, and we'll hear from the person in charge of presenting on each day. We'll also have time for general questions, etc. Then, at about 3:20, half the class will be dismissed. I'll meet individually with each person remaining for about 5-10 minutes: we'll go over your blog, your goals for the blog and the class, and we'll talk about where your current level of blogging is placing you on the grading scale.

Will that work for everyone? Let me know--here or over email--if you have any questions about this plan and/or if you have any specific questions you want to make sure we address when we talk.

2006-02-09T12:47:00.000-06:00

Like many others, I have had difficulties finding a blog that I like enough to keep up with. I think this is probably because there are just so many blogs out there. But there are a few I have found to be somewhat interesting.

La Shawn Barber's Corner is a blog that I found really interesting. She blogs about her faith and politics, she is also a freelance writer(which is of interest to me as a English writing minor and print journalism major). This is a woman who does not prescibe to either the Democratic or Republican party,so I think that reading about her views on certain issues is interesting.
In my Online Journalism class, we have been looking at blogs so I have been exposed to some local Columbia blogs. One that I liked is Haphazardous, a mom who takes pics in/around Columbia. It's just a different view of our town, and some of her pics are pretty good.
Mostly, I like to read blogs for enjoyment...not to read someone's rant about politics or current events. Most of the time, I would rather read the paper and create my own opinion. I am fashion
is really visual and fun for anyone who likes to read mags like Vogue or Harper's Bazaar...
A guilty pleasure would definitely have to beA Socialite's Life. It is basically just a socialite dishing about random Hollywood gossip and making fun of celebs...not very intellectually stimulating but great for when you sort of feel like shutting your brain off for a while!
A truly funny and relatable blog I found is Waiter Rant. If you've ever been a hostess or server, you will completely relate to these entries. Most of the entries are humorous, but some really hit home to larger issues. Look at Heaven and Hell. This is some good blogging that gets tons of responses.

Three awesome blogs

2006-02-09T11:41:00.000-06:00

The first blog I found which was really sweet is this one, because some guy goes off on the history of hard rock in three parts. It kind of took me back to the old days of high school and my die hard metal enthusiasm (I still think the shirts are awesome). The guy goes into detail about the careers of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. I think it is essential that the young 'uns be made wise to the best of early '80s metal, so I respect the man's mission.

Here's another cool blog. It is comedy-oriented, which I think is a creative and fun way of making use of blog theory. I found a link from this site to "30 second Pulp Fiction with Blood Bunnies," a thirty-second adaptation of Pulp Fiction with little cartoon bunny rabbits shooting each other and overdosing on heroin. Pulp Fiction is my all-time favorite movie, so I could not help being affected by this poignant bit of cinema.

The third and final attention-getting blog I observed is from gumbyfresh.blogspot.com. I have to admit that the only reason I stumbled onto this article is by searching Blogger for "Gumby," hoping that some fan somewhere might possibly have a whole blog dedicated entirely to Gumby. So far, my research has proven this not to be the case. But I will not give up. Anyway, the article I liked in this blog is called "Hellooooooooo Rheingold" and it's about a guy from Brooklyn writing a letter of protest to some local beer baron who wants to build a Brooklyn arena and move the New Jersey Nets to the former home of the Dodgers. I think it was mostly the subject matter of this article that struck me as amusing; the blogger's voice is very dry and humorous, though. I liked the piece.

Some good blogs

2006-02-08T14:01:00.000-06:00

As I am relatively new to this blogging thing I have to admit there are not too many blogs I read on a regular basis. That has been slowly changing over the past few weeks since I have been in this class. One of the blogs I have kept up with for some time is the blog of my friend Jonthon. Obviously this is probably of more interest to me than it would be to any of you because I know him personally, but I actually think an outside reader who stumbled there accidently might enjoy what he has to say. It is a good mix of news and humor, and often he posts things specific to our campus that I find useful and informative. I also admire the way he says what he thinks, I don't think I could be that honest or forward about a lot of my opinions (although they aren't ALL commentary) Here is just one example. On that page he also links to a few other sites that he operates, Politichaos and Blogs are the Light, a site that has some posts about blogging, like a link to a post about the revolution of the web. Two more links I think are worth checking out are Toothpaste for Dinner and You Ain't No Picasso. The first features stuff on music, writing, etc...maybe it's not a blog, but the drawings they feature are just hilarious, so I had to include it. Anyone remember the keytar? (Don't ask me why I chose that one as an example...I'm sick and sort of delirious, give me a break. It made me laugh...). The latter is a music site about new bands, albums, songs, etc. and usually has a lot of stuff before other media outlets get wind of it.
I've been trying to incorporate reading more blogs into my daily life. I have enjoyed some of the links you guys have posted. I'm even reading all my Apple RSS news feeds daily (instead of waiting until I have 257 new articles)...that's a start!

What I think about good blogging

2006-02-08T12:26:00.000-06:00

Blogs can do so many things that it is hard to say what good blogging is and what it does. At least it's hard for me. I don't know if blogging for the purpose of journalistic reporting is something that should be done, or if on the other end of the spectrum someone should only keep a blog for the purpose of using it as on online journal. I think that the definition of good blogging, like most things on the web is a fluid definition that goes through sways of public opinion.

Having said that, I would like to offer what is in my head about good blogging. Blogging that is worth reading to me has to do a few things. 1. it has to be revelant to something I like or have and urge to read about (simple enough, but no one ever offers this as something they like, and I think it needs to be said) 2. It has to be coherent. I hate it when I have to read something three or four times because I can't get the meaning in one close read. 3. It has to pose some sort of question. I like to read something that makes me think about an issue or at least spurs some neurons of mine to fire and get some activity going. I'm not saying it should offer some cure to cancer, but at least stimulate some good discussion. Something can be thought-provoking without being philosophical. It can be spurring by presenting an argument on a touchy subject, or looking at the same thing through a new perspective. And finally, I think (against the thoughts of our professor) that a blog should talk about every topic under the sun. I know people have emphasis on their blog, but no one thinks about only a handful of things during a week, month, hour. So why should our personal thoughts and perspectives be limited to only a few topics. Personally, I tend to think about writers the same way. I have more respect for a writer that expands upon his writing and covers many different topics to a writer that writes in only one or two literary genres.

So there it is...let the debate begin.

interesting blog posts

2006-02-07T14:02:00.000-06:00

This first one is about Dan Brown's

Da Vinci Code

and seems to have lots of thought on the topic.

And this blog is taking the villians from the Da Vinci Code and telling their story for the world to hear. And they say that Dan Brown is the villian for portraying

Opus Dei

Linked!

2006-02-07T13:34:00.000-06:00

Did you know this very class has been blogged? Check out these links:

"Blogging in Theory and Practice" (from weblogg-ed)

FYI: A whole course on blogging (from a course on Writing for the Web at Eastern Michigan U)

There's more: go to technorati and search for "Blogging in Theory and Practice." Some people even comment on specific posts--we're in the network!

Posts I Like

2006-02-07T13:22:00.000-06:00

Here's the problem: I love short posts because I am usually skimming things in about 30 seconds.

Bora
Nonetheless, I love Bora Zivkovic's entire blog, aptly named Science and Politics. If you go look through his posts, you'll find it's a current alphabetical list of research blogs and articles.

Ok, don't all roll your eyes at once. I don't actually think about science all the time. But when it's time to find new and old links to continuing research stories, I think this is the best tool I've ever seen. It's so hard to trace a research project from the beginning through different research journals. Not every article gets in to the good journals, so researchers have to vary their submissions. It can be a real pain to search and search for a single topic through the years.

This site is maintained by a single guy, though, and I don't know if he lists sites based on his own biases. But just look at him. He's so nerdy and cute! He couldn't possibly be pitching his angle. So, much love to Bora.

Elise

(Image from www.elise.com, back by popular demand)

Believe it or not, someone really did find out how to bake the best pie crust in history. I made a killer strawberry-rhubarb pie last August, and kind of accidentally found this site while searching the web for help. I used this recipe, and to date, my friends remember that pie. I think that the diagrams and the links in this post are so helpful to explain any missing details.

SteveJames (not Rick James)
I realize that I'm not really doing too great a job with linking the exact posts I like. However, the highest concentration of posts I like to read is found at SteveJames' blog Round the World in 2005: A Year in the Life. It's a journal of his travels from January 31, 2005 to January 15, 2006 literally around the world, except for the Middle East and Midwest, which he avoided for some reason. The posts themselves are not always well-written, probably because he's been writing them really fast from Internet cafes. But you can actually hear his British accent as on the Christmas Day post, when he refers to holidays celebrated in England.

What's really funny is that you can contribute to his travel fund right there on his blog. I highly recommend looking at some of his photo album, too, if you have time. Also if you've never looked at Travelpod.com, it's really fun. I wish I could travel a lot more, but I don't have the means at the moment, so I live vicariously through the bloggers who do roam the world.

A few good blogs

2006-02-07T13:10:00.000-06:00

As I've mentioned before, I tend to read the blogs of people in my field or in similar fields. The content of the blogs, then, may not have as wide appeal as some, but I think I can generalize about what makes them good blogs, all the same.

So here are a few blogs I enjoy, with links to exemplary posts. I'd like to take a look at these in class and talk more about what seems "exemplary" to me (and you!).

Collin vs. Blog:
"If only they would feed me"
"Interpellation"

Earth Wide Moth
"Forming with little hands"
"Rrove"

Culture Cat
"Noted and recommended"
"Digital scholarly publishing: beyond the crisis"

E-mail, the E is for Expensive.

2006-02-07T12:56:00.000-06:00

Ready to pay for e-mail? Well, get ready, because AOL and Yahoo are starting a US Postal Service-esque system, and soon will start charging companies to send e-mail. They're founding a system of putting stamps on e-mail "to get e-mail where it ought to go". The rationale is that businesses will then accept only certified e-mail, which will cut down on the amount of spam flooding mailboxes everywhere.

The major e-mail account providers may also consider expanding the practice to private surfers, if this corporate test-run works well. For now, the charge is just a quarter of a penny to one whole penny per e-mail. I know, break the piggy bank, eh? But as we've seen with our own snail mail stamp prices (now up to 39 cents), that figure may start the same uphill trend.

Should this sending charge be expanded to all AOL and Yahoo accounts, I'm betting the public probably won't want to deal with a complicated system of paying e-postage, which may expose credit card numbers to hackers or malfunction. Personally, I love e-mail because it's free and fast. Who wants to start PayPal'ing to send a quick note to Aunt Marge? Mm not me, thanks. But if we can't pay that bank-blistering quarter of a penny, do we have to live without e-mail?

David Sheets of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch offers another option: blogs. He proposes that 2006 might be the year that we start to see the death of e-mail, and an increasing use of blogs as direct communication:

"Think of it: Blogs are mostly personal correspondence, anyway. Imagine subdividing a blog into different pages, with each page devoted to correspondence for one person or a specific group. The blog writer then creates a subscription feed for each page and offers the feed to only preferred readers.

This way, subscribers know there’s a new 'blog-mail' when the feed stream updates. So maybe, instead of e-mail, we’ll have 'e-feeds' or 'feedmail' occupying our time.

Of course, spammers will find a way to make paid e-mail work for them, too. By then, perhaps we’ll be too busy with our blog-mail to notice."

I find the idea that blogs on the Web, the most public outlet, could in time substitute for password-protected e-mails humorous. But charging postage for e-mail will probably cause problems down the road, and blogs seem like the best alternative.

[cross-posted on Post-December.blogspot.com]

Inspiring Illustrations of Individual Ideas

2006-02-07T12:37:00.000-06:00

When I first started reading blogs it was just the blogs of people I know, so I totally understand how hard it is to find good, personal blogs of people you've never met. But once you get the hang of it, you'll find that you have too many blogs to get through everyday. Picking three entries that I particulary like was not an easy task, so keep in mind that I have about 8 billion posts that I've filed away in the back of my brain, even some that have truly influenced how I look at the world.

I personally get bored reading blogs that comment on the news or raise controversial issues. It's not that I'm not interested in the issues, it's just that I usually have a pretty well-defined idea of how I feel. The posts that have really spoken to me are usually of a personal nature, ones that get to the heart of what it means to be alive, and in particular what it means to be a creative observer of this great big world. Maybe you'll be interested, maybe you won't, but here goes...

Christina Rosalie @ My Topography

This is a blog that I just found recently through some links on other blogs I've been reading for a long time. I was immediately hooked because this blog seems to be the supreme example of the type of blog I like to read. This post is from very early this morning and it seems to summarize exactly what the site is about. In this particular post, Christina follows seemingly unrelated events over the span of a few days and processes them to draw a conclusion about herself, "She is an artist." I think this post exemplifies the personal potential of a blog. Things happen to us all the time, but we don't always stop to think about the course of our lives. Blogging, putting it out there for others to read, forces us to examine the things that happen to us, or the things we choose to do and suddenly we see an aspect of ourselves that maybe we didn't recognize before. I have often found that when I blog, I'll start with an idea and then end up somewhere completely surprising. It's a good way to internalize the chaos and come out refreashed.

Andrea Jenkins @ Hula Seventy

This is a site that I have been reading for a long time now, in particular because I like Andrea's approach to the messiness of her life. Sometimes you do just have to take a step back and complain, or laugh, or try desperately to find the positive. Sometimes it's so easy to overlook those little moments every day that remind you to keep on doing what you're doing. Andrea has perfected the ability to find the silver lining and I read her blog because it reminds me to do that myself.

In this particular post she has answered the call of the meme "4 Things." For those of you who don't know, a meme is kind of like a blogging chain letter (it's also referred to as tagging). They start on inderterminate blogs and get passed around until they start looping back on themselves. Basically everyone who ends up in the chain makes a post (usually in list format) relating to a particular topic, or aspect of themselves. This one is pretty self explanatory, you just have to make a bunch of little lists about your 4 favorite whatevers. At the end of the post, Andrea has essentially tagged everyone who may read her site, so consider this your invitation to meme on your own blog.

Carla @ Anonyrrie

So, if you haven't guessed by now, I'm way into Illustration Blogs, and this one is probably my favorite. I particularly like Carla's illustrations because she always posts a longer thought about her subject. In this post she has annotated her beautiful illustration with an ee Cummings poem. As you can see at the top of the post, this is a submission for Illustration Friday, which is an amazing community site with a revolving topic. Every Friday a new topic is posted and from then until the next Friday artists from everywhere post their illustrations interpreting this topic. It's gotten quite popular lately with almost 700 submissions on any given week, but it's still a great way to make connections, particularly if you are interested in art and drawing.

Anyway, back to this exemplary post. I look forward to Carla's submissions because she always presents a unique perspective on the week's topic and can always be counted on for a positive outlook. I think her combination of art and literature has inspired me to look for creative inspiration in the books I read and literary inspiration in the art I see.

Megan @ Chronicle of a Book Retold

Tastes in Blogging

2006-02-07T09:18:00.000-06:00

As discovery mentioned, I too have had trouble locating blogs that I found particularly exemplary. I found entries I enjoyed, but feared that they weren't notable in terms of style or content, just funny or interesting. None-the-less, here is what I have found so far:

Jane Galt is the author of the blog Assymetrical Information. A few of her most recent posts have been on the topic of abortion. What I liked with this blog was not what she had to say. I disagree on almost every level with her. However, I appreciated her argument style. Her entries seem clever and tactful. One particular entry is entitled Specificity matters, or why abortion is different from birth control. Again, I don't agree with her argument, but I appreciate that she frames it in a new context and that she makes her argument intelligently and with a level of class (for lack of a better word) that allows those who don't agree to intelligently do so., and many do. It goes back to the article we read in class (I can't seem to find that post now) about The Washington Post taking down it's blog site temporarily. I think as bloggers we need to aim to frame our blog postings and our comments on others' blogs in a way that enhances the marketplace of ideas and does not sink to mindless bickering.

The Anchoress is another blog in which I found something to admire. Again, I don't think the blog topic or the particular views of the blogger mesh with my own perspectives. But, I think this is better in the sense that it shows that you don't have to agree with a blogger to appreciate their style. Her recent posting “Will and Grace”, Muslim cartoons and free speech I appreciated because of the sheer number of links she provided to sources of information. I thought it was good that she did not only provide her opinion, but provided the readers of her blog numerous links to associated information. On the other hand, however, I did not appreciate the length of her blog entries. That's a highly subjective (and arguably superficial) criticism to make, but I think there is much to be said for bloggers who can make an astute point succinctly. The length of this posting in particular exhausted me and I found myself struggling to follow her argument, which greatly reduced its effectiveness.

That brings me to blogger JeffAlworth who writes Low on the Hog. His entries are short. They are something I can swallow and internalize. I don't have to allocate hours of time to a single post. I can read his point and move on to something else or perhaps to others' perspectives on the topic. I felt his article Betting on American Ignorance is one good example of this. He makes a point, he offers links and supporting information and he does it all in 307 words. And, his point is all the more effective because I was able to follow him from beginning to end.

But, really, here is my favorite: McSweeney's. I was afraid Donna might not agree with my classification of this as a blog. But, it is in reverse chronological order, daily postings, a literary focus, archives. To me, it looks like a blog. I like McSweeney's because it is purely creative and artistic. It has no politics, no real controversy, no confusing technical jargon, just humor. Its witty and it makes me laugh. I appreciate the intelligence and its ceaseless ability to make me giggle uncontrollably. If you haven't visited, stop reading my post and go now. Here are a few posts I liked to get you started (in no particular order):
Health Watch:Four Silent Killers.
Seven People Who are Screwing Up Marshville, Massachussetts (Pop. 2,384), And Frank Anderson is No. 3.
My Family'sPower Rankings.
An Open Letter to the Manufaturers of Infant Sleepwear.
An Open Letter to Officials of the United States Government Regarding What's New in My Reproductive Area.
Although I Like a Good George Bush Joke As Much As the Next Guy, Some of Them Seem Gratuitous and Mean-Spirited.
The Earlier Epic Battles of Grendel's Mother.
If Bush's SpeechHad Rocked as Hard asHis Inauguration.

blog favorites???

2006-02-07T08:50:00.000-06:00

I'm having trouble locating blogs, and therefore blog entries that I really like. A lot of blogs make for interesting, often controversial reads, but there is a distinct difference between interesting and likable. I have discovered however that blogs are a good way to get good movie reviews. But then again that is dependent on finding a blogger whom you like and who's opinion you trust and find compatible to yours. so, if it safe to say that I'm still working on finding that one blogger that I will love to share opinions and reasonings with on a regular basis.
I did find a blog titled, Just Well Mixed that I instantly took a liking to. It begins really intellectual and goes on in a sophisticated fashion, void of harsh overtones and opinions, although I do understand that part of the blogs definition lies in the slighted opinion of its author but I appreciated the balanced viewpoint originally offered in "Just Well Mixed." I say originally because as it went on, I saw some elements of not necessarily biased but inconsiderate viewponts surrounding the controversy of the deaths of those recently killed while in protests of the cartoon in Afghanistan. I also want to make note that this blogger identified himself by first and last name. I actually have yet to read a blog (actually there was one) that doesn't attempt to approach controversial issues. I'm not sure if I should consider that a good or bad thing. The weblog was created as a means for every-day people to be able to express their opinion at will but I'm still skeptical due to the fact that the ability to remain anonymous and unthreatening to myself or future employers is now in question.

decision-making rant

2006-02-04T20:30:00.000-06:00

Hi,

I would like to make my pitch for embracing the indecision in all of us.

Tonight, I would not like to decide when to go to bed, or which homework assignment will be taking my free saturday night away from me. But instead I will let the natural course of action take over. That action may be sleeping at 9 p.m. or staying up until the sun rises. It may involve travel or not moving a muscle until someone else forces me to.

I don't want to decide whether I'm Democrat or Republican, smart or ignorant, or whether I'm active or lazy. I would like to embrace my completeness by not verifying what I am and what I'm not. So here's my point. I'm made up of thoughts, theories, and experiences, and I'm sure you are as well. So let's not bind ourselves by placing us in some specific category in life.

So embrace your indecisiveness and live by the seat of your pants. It's really not a bad way to live.

JL

Mining For Ideas...

2006-02-03T14:54:00.000-06:00

I am an occasional reader of Slate magazine (an online editorial site) and one thing I've noticed about them is that they have really started to focus on the culture of the internet. It should come as no surprise to me then, that I stumbled across a section of their magazine entitled "Today's Blogs." Apparently in this section they are keeping tabs on what bloggers are talking about on any given day.

On today's list, for example, they say that bloggers are "alarmed by Muslim anger over the publication of caricatures of Mohammed. They are also saddened that drug smugglers now are using puppies as mules." A couple of days ago, not surprisingly, the blog topic was the State of the Union address.

I think it's interesting that Slate has instituted this recurring section because it suggests that blogs are prevalent enough to pay attention to (something we are coming to grips with) and that bloggers tend to latch onto similar ideas on any given day. The other interesting facet is that the majority of these topics are stemming from our news media. The Muslim anger they mention is over some "cartoon drawings of the Prophet Mohammed in newspapers around Europe" and apparently the Muslims are turning to their blogs to vent. It's interesting that we can now instantly gauge people's reactions to the news and to events by simply searching for blogs. A topic's relative popularity, the vehemence it inspires, or the debates taking place can more accurately indicate how people feel about political decisions, corporate scandals, or the latest celebrity haircut. Should we be polling blogs to find out how people really feel?

I've been a little leary of assuming that blogs have taken on prominence in our culture. Just because a large section of the population has one or reads them doesn't mean we really have something to say. And in truth, communicative power is still concentrated in the hands of a few. There are a couple hundred really popular blogs that have gained enough noteriety to be mentioned as valid sources. There are still more newspapers or television journalists to tell us what to think. But I think this Slate piece points out something that I had not noticed before, that blogs as a medium has vast potential. If you don't like something, blog about it, because chances are, if enough people get on and rant, someone will notice and report it in the traditional media where it cannot be ignored.

If we truly live in a democracy then maybe blogs are the best way we can exercise our individual voice. If the government is going to insist upon scanning our internet histories and search records, perhaps we should add our opinions, whatever they may be, to the national record through our blogs.

Megan

Presentation Schedule

2006-02-02T15:04:00.000-06:00

Tuesday Technology Presentations: How to enhance your blog
[schedule deleted]

Thursday Discussion Presentations: Blogs in the news

[schedule deleted]

Why "transparency"?

2006-02-02T13:28:00.000-06:00

Let's try something a little different, even though it may overload blogger. I'm going to pose a question for discussion, and I would like each of you to add a comment. But as you comment, please take into account not only the original question but each of the previous comments, as well.

Today's readings addressed the issue of anonymity, with one suggesting that keeping your blog anonymous is a good way to avoid getting in trouble, and another arguing that anonymity violates blogging standards of transparency. He recommends simply using common sense to avoid posting anything that might get you into trouble.

Would you or are you blogging anonymously? Why? Why not? Here's one person's defense. What's yours? (For doing it or not.)

Blog Censorship in China

2006-02-01T16:08:00.000-06:00

I just read a New York Times article addressing the issue of blog censorship in China. Apparently Microsoft is being asked by the Chinese Government to shut down some blogs with content deemed inappropriate by their censorship standards.

This definitely goes along with our Tuesday discussion about what legal rights are allotted to bloggers. However, it brings up an interesting point that we did not discuss, because it probably does not effect any of us.

But Julien Pain, head of the Internet desk at Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based press freedom group that has been monitoring Internet censorship and the imprisonment of bloggers in China called the development an "illusory victory."
"There's a good side and a bad side," Mr. Pain said. "It's clear that they've begun thinking about their ethical responsibility. But it also shows that they accept censorship, and that they believe in this new form of the Internet, in which the rights of users will vary according to their geographic origin."
This, he said, "is in direct contradiction with the original idea of what the Internet was supposed to be Â something with no barriers, no boundaries."

It is really a complex issue, and I just wanted to see what everyone else thought about it. It is interesting because the internet is truly a global phenomenon, but freedom of expression is not.

my thoughts on blogging ethics

2006-02-01T14:29:00.000-06:00

To be honest, until class today, I never really considered the ethics behind the weblog. After reading the "ethical rules of blogging" in Rebecca Blood's "Weblog Ethics," I have to say that for the most part I disagree with many of the arguments that she makes for the ethics of the weblog. Although my experience with blogging is limited (and that me be why I take the idea of ethics in blogging more lightly), I ultimately view the concept of the weblog as personal diaries and statements. The blog, at least in my opinion, is for the most part, personal opinion. There are many links to true news stories and politics present around the globe, but many of those links are posted in relation to what the author of the blog has to say. I do not consider the weblog journalism in the sense in which we know it. It is not professional, and therefore should not be held to the same standards of a newspaper article as Ms. Blood lets on. However I do consider the weblog a form of literatue, of reportage, opne might say. It sometimes contains true elements relevant to the world's news but is filled with the personal opinion and emotion of its author. While it may be a form of good literature and a testimony to our society's technology and social intelligence, it can not be considered a form of journalistic truth, at least not at this point in time. Ms. Blood also lets on that the blog must follow journalistic rules of ethics in order to eventually be considered true and expert journalism. But again I have to disagree. That would again dispute the purpose of the blog. Bloggers are not professionals and cannot now or ever be held to the same standards and codes of the professional. That would be unethical. In order for the weblog to be considered absolute journalism, protected and limited to the same regulations as the journalistic media is today, only those who have training in journalism would be able to author blogs. How can a blogger be held to laws and rules in which are not his expertise. If the blog became absolute journalism, it would lose it's charm of everyday people, giving honest assessments and opinions of their views on societial happenings. The blog would be nothing more than online editorial, an extension of the online news websites that are already in existence.

In the open ocean

2006-01-31T17:10:00.000-06:00

Cutting me loose??? I guess it's kind of a baptism by fire, but I hope I can keep up. I still haven't found my direction completely in this class, but I'm thinking I can manage. I really just don't get it though. I've been reading other students' blogs, (I think Look to the Sky is a great one) and some other blogs on the web. It doesn't seem like anybody else has this problem. Which in a way, has kind of helped me. My blog is kind of turning into a sort of "One guy's journey to discover what blogging is all about." (Wow, that sounds like a description of the most boring movie ever.) But seriously, my blog is actually a kind of experiment. Will I ever see more in blogging, or will I forever stay lost in the open ocean, without a clue where to go? The thing is, I really don't know what the outcome will be. The only way to find out is to just put in the time and start typing. If anyone has any helpful information, please post a comment. I need all the help I can get.

New Blog URL...

2006-01-31T15:00:00.000-06:00

I mentioned this during my presentation, but I thought I would put it up in a place where everyone could find it. My blog address has changed to the following:

http://www.idealmeganideal.com/school

Megan Klasner

Cutting you loose

2006-01-31T13:29:00.000-06:00

This week begins your first week of official blogging for the class. Starting this week, you'll need to post at least three substantial (defined as no fewer than 200 words) entries to your individual blog, and you'll need to post at least one entry to the class blog. You'll also need to comment on blogs: see the syllabus for details.

As you blog ahead with full steam, ethical issues may arise. What are the ethics (and legal ramifications) of mentioning someone by name on your blog? What if a future employer finds your blog? What if you have strong political opinions on your blog? And on and on. To think through some of these thorny issues that may arise, or that you may want to consider before they arise, I've assigned readings on blogging ethics and blogging legalities. I'm especially curious to know how you would respond to Rebecca Blood's guidelines, and also if (before reading these texts) you brought any particular ethical, professional, or legal concerns with you. If so, what are they?

Nice cover

2006-01-31T13:06:00.000-06:00

Blog mastheads as cover art. (Along with an article about the political potential of blogs.)

via Clancy at CultureCat

Comment on reading

2006-01-31T12:50:00.000-06:00

Thursday's assignment was to post a response to something from the day's readings. As I was looking over the material, much of it seemed like familiar ground we had already covered in class. However, one line from the reading "What we're doing when we blog," stuck out to me. The author writes, "...a blog post is often an opening to a discussion, rather than a full-fledged argument already arrived at. " I began to think about this idea. It is the very essence of this topic of commenting and conversation. I really think that the blog's commenting capability is one of the best things about it. They provide an avenue for users to post information, thoughts and feelings and to receive sometimes instant feedback. I thought about this in relation to term papers or essays students often submit for classes. You put so much time, effort and consideration into formulating ideas or theories, and oftentimes the most response you get back in return is a simple question or comment scrawled in the margin. Far from an open discussion. Blogs have changed that. They challenge both the writer and the reader and brings the idea of 'critical thinking' to a new level. I think that is tremendously beneficial to everyone involved, and a great step toward creating an atmosphere of interactive learning rather than keeping education a one-way street.

blog reflections

2006-01-26T15:11:00.000-06:00

Frankly, I didn't have a positive view of blogs before coming in to this class. I had always thought blogging was nothing more than online journaling that often just served as a soapbox for anyone, no matter educated or uneducated, to spout off about their likes or dislikes. I think much of this sentiment stemmed from reading my friends' LiveJournals in high school - sure I liked my friends, but I honestly didn't care to read an account of their daily activities or what song they were currently listening to.

Since class has started, however, my definition of blogging (and thus my opinion of blogging) has changed. I never knew, for example, that blogs are generally centered on a specific topic such as politics, music or celebrity gossip. Sure, a personal journal could be considered a specific topic, but I'm starting to feel that online diaries are separate style of blogging. Realizing the true definition has opened my mind; I have more respect for the blogosphere and take it more seriously.

My flawed definition of blogging is also why I never kept my own. Since I didn't really care to read about my friends' lives, I couldn't imagine why any one would want to read about my own. Plus, as a sometimes shy person, I'm not so sure I would want others to have that opportunity. As I read topic-focused blogs, however, I can see that a blogger's personality is what makes his or her blog great. Good writing often contains a voice specific to the author, and I admire all bloggers for being able to put themselves out there like that. I want to write with personality and voice, so I'm going to have to put my shy impulses aside.

That said, I think my greatest challenge for my blog will be finding a focus topic for it. I've always thought its best to write what you know, and what else do I know better besides my own life? I realize that question completely contradicts what I said above, but I'm not sure I know enough about anything else substantial to write a meaningful commentary. Hopefully reading more blogs regularly will give me some ideas.

my thoughts on blogging

2006-01-26T14:37:00.000-06:00

week 2;1(2)

1. What I found interesting in the first reading, "Blogging 101" is the idea of the "watchblog." I never would have thought of blogging as a way to "keep the media honest." According to this principle, the blog serves as a form of checks and balances for today's media.
2.In the second article, "There is a Blog in Your Future," I liked the idea of the author considering the blog as a hobby or interest. Twenty years ago who would've thought that maintaining a webpage is as much a hobby as playing a sport? However, the way the author poses her argument opens up a new argument of persuasion for me; Can the blog be considered a concrete form of literature?
3. What I like best in the last assigned article, "The Art of Blogging," are the definitions and "truths about blogging" outlined. The author begins by stating the defintion of blogging as hard to define because it is so new. Much like the internet when it first came about, blogging is just in its beginning stages and eventually will reach into a whole new realm of development and use.

crossposted on prospectivity.blogspot.com
posted by discovery @ 12:44 PM 0 comments