Blogging

Unlike other people in our New Media class, I have had a bit of experience blogging before this course. I’m not going to say that I was a master blogger or that I had more experience than Perez Hilton, but my extracurricular activities throughout my four years of college eventually led to blogging. So, when I found out that we were going to be blogging in this class, I was excited! I thought that it would be sort of like second-nature to me. Although I knew a little bit about the techniques of blogging and how to insert images and other visuals, I never took part in an academic blog. I blogged about fashion and art and different cultural things that I had an extreme interest in. This type of blogging was about to be different.

How have your perceptions of blogging changed since the semester’s beginning?

Since the beginning of the semester, my perceptions of blogging have changed drastically. In addition to being more aware of different blogs across the globe because we were assigned to look at them, I think that I’m more aware of the impact that blogging can have in the classroom. I always thought of blogging as an online form of print journalism. Over the semester, however, I realized that blogging could be used in an academic setting. After we had gotten into our blogging groups, we came up with a  tagline that represented what we wanted to blog about. Every week, we were required to write a post that had to do with our chosen topic. Required. That’s not a word that I would have directly related to blogging. I used to think that blogging was optional, something that should be done on your own time. But, of course, when a class requires you to blog, you’ll do whatever you have to do to succeed in the class. In summary, I’ve learned that academic blogging and blogging for a class can be incredibly beneficial. 

In my other courses this semester, I was handing in written assignments on a weekly basis, which really bored me to tears. It came to a point where I actually looked forward to my blog posts because it allowed me to do something different. Additionally, I find it beneficial for students our age to know how to blog and use new media. We’re well-rounded when it comes to Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites, but I don’t think that a lot of courses teach us about blogging. I think that knowing how to blog could be important in a work setting. I’ve realized that blogging doesn’t just have to be something you do on your own, it can also be something that a class really implements into its syllabus. I would recommend the use of blogs in any classroom that focuses on writing.

How do you find the process of composing a blog post different from traditional writing. How has blogging changed your notion of writing?

I think that composing a blog post is really different from traditional writing for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, it really allows a writer to develop a tone that they can fully develop as they continue to blog. I think that developing a blog tone is important because it gives you an identity that can be recognized. The problem with blogging and computer mediated communication is that we can't necessarily visually see someone, so a tone helps develop someone's identity.

Performancing.com has a really good post that they published a couple years ago that discusses the differences between writing and blogging. I think that one of the paragraphs stands out more than others and it does a good job highlighting what I think is the main difference between blogging and traditional writing:

Blogging involves more than writing. Blogging involves interaction, being part of the community, and having your blog serve as your online identity and persona. When you blog, you don’t just write a 500-word essay and publish it on a static page. You open up that essay to the world for critique right there and then. You let people talk back to you on your comment threads and on other blogs. You respond, and you talk back.

When I think of the main differences between blogging and traditional writing, I immediately think of one word: interactivity. Traditional writing does allow for interactivity in a way. Thinking back to the traditional papers I’ve written, my teachers can “interact” with me by writing on the paper and verbally expressing their opinions to me. But, the interactions are much different than what blogging allows. Blogging allows for interactivity within a community and through comments. I feel that the interactions I’ve had with my peers through Media Jamss have helped me define what blogging really means.

In addition, blogging allows for visuals like videos and images within the actual writing. I can’t remember the last time I’ve included graphic images in an academic paper. Blog posts are typically strengthened when images and hyperlinks are used. That’s part of the interactivity—linking other sites and providing images that make the post more visually stimulating. Some of my favorite posts on Media Jamss have been the ones where visual composition has been present.

How do you perceive yourself as a blogger?

At this point, I consider myself a blogger who can definitely improve and learn more about the blogging world. I feel that I understand the basics of blogging pretty well: how to insert media, how to develop a tone of voice, how to interact with others within the same community. But, at the same time, I feel that I’ve worked closely with the “easy” blog websites. There are more difficult and challenging blogging platforms that may be worth checking out.  I think that there’s a lot more to learn and to know about blogging. In addition, one thing that I have realized is how many blogs there are out there. I think that I could familiarize myself with more of them to improve my own blogging skills!

What other blogging adventures would you like to have in the future?

If I weren’t a graduating senior (ugh), I would say that I’d like my classes in the future to use blogging. But, because I am, I hope to use blogging and things that I’ve learned about blogging in a workplace. Because I’m interested in media, it’s likely that I will use blogging in my day-to-day work life. In addition to my professional life, I hope to use blogging in my personal life. I’ve blogged for websites, but I’ve never had my own blog and I hope to have one in the near future. It’s only natural to have thoughts throughout the day and what better place to express them than in a blog.

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