A Novice Blogger's Thoughts...

Term Paper

2005-12-14T23:58:00.000-05:00

Web logs, better known today as blogs, are among the fastest growing communication mediums of our time. It seems as if everyone is blogging; from preteens to political organizations, to pastors, to retirees and everyone in between, there is a place in the blogisphere for you if you have the patience and the technological means to access it. Fast-paced and easily accessible, blogging has become a way for people to read, write and comment on the thoughts of others across the globe with the click of a mouse. For the first time, we have a medium of communication void of human contact that allows us to react and respond instantly.

For the last three months I have been ‘blogged on,’ but I am more than ready to ‘blog off.’ In short, I have found most bloggers have too much time on their hands. They have read and commented on more blogs by noon than the average person could in a week, and for what? The hope that their posts may lead to linking and commenting on their own blog? That their rating may increase a quarter of a fraction? I have found much of the blogisphere to be an elite community of techies trying to out link or out design the next guy. Most of the blogs I have read lack real discussion, in spite of the obscene number of comments many of them boast. Bloggers only link and read other like-minded bloggers, which too often prevents any sort of realistic two-sided dialogue. Thus, despite wishful thinking on the part of many bloggers, the blogisphere in its current condition will never, in my opinion, be able to compete with mainstream media. Its freedom prevents it from ever becoming a viable source of true information. For me it is a frustrating arena, which requires more time and energy to weed through than is worth for the lack of return I receive. That said, in the spirit of the movie High Fidelity (a film the whole class seems to agree is worth quoting), I give you the top five reasons I hate the blogisphere.

5- Anonymity.

You can be anyone or anything on the blogisphere, thus so can everyone else. There are no background checks when you create a blog, no name verification, you only need internet access. You can name you blog whatever you want, you can choose to call yourself whatever you want and you can certainly write about whatever topics you want- none of which require any truth. This concept frightens me, not for my own risk but for that of others. You see, I do not read blogs for factual news, for serious information or specific facts, mainly because how am I to know if anything I read is true or correct? Just because a blogger claims to be a medical doctor does in no way mean he actually is one. He could be fourteen-year-old kid pretending to be Doogie Howser and I would not know, but that is my own skepticism, or my own intelligence depending on how you look at it.

I read blogs for entertainment, to see what is being discussed, even to spark the flow of ideas, for these purposes the blogisphere can be invaluable. However, am I amongst the minority? Are there are people out there who look to blogs as a solid information source? There most certainly are, and those are the people I worry about in this medium. A perfect example of the danger in finding information on the blogisphere recently occurred on Wikipedia – an online community blogged encyclopedia. Incorrect and accusatory information was posted about a former friend and administration member of President John F. Kennedy. This information remained posted on Wikipedia for several months, partly because no one with the correct information looked at it, and partly because Wikipedia does not require text citing to post. Like many others, I ‘wiki’ someone or something on occasion to clarify who or what about a specific person or thing, but I am fully aware Wikipedia is anything but the encyclopedia Britannica. There are plenty of blogs out there that look and claim to be legitimate news sources, when in reality what they are ‘reporting’ and commenting on is completely false, fabricated and/or biased. Worst of all, there is no real accountability in this medium, as few readers ever actually meet the bloggers behind their favorite blogs. The blogisphere, veiled in anonymity, allows people to say things they may never say otherwise, including all things false, hurtful and inappropriate, but then again- no one is forcing you to read it.

4- Language and terminology.

The Blogisphere has a language all its own. Words like blog and blogisphere don’t appear in spell check, while linking and commenting take on entirely new meanings in this realm. The vocabulary alone could take weeks to learn on your own, as there is no such thing as a blogging dictionary.

Let’s begin with ‘blog,’ which is the abbreviated form of the words ‘web’ and ‘log.’ “Blogisphere’ is the term commonly used to describe the medium of blogs as a whole, while establishing it as a separate entity from the rest of the internet. ‘Bloggers’ are people who read, write and comment on blogs. ‘Proto bloggers,’ the first real group of people to explore this medium, create and maintain blogs that resembled online, public journals - www.livejournal.com and www.myspace.com are excellent examples of proto blogging sites. ‘Megablogs,’ such as www.slashdot.com and www.dailykos.com , are large multi-user blogs that resemble communities. Most megablogs have set of rules or guidelines specific to their blog, with a fairly regular group of bloggers who post frequently about their common subject.

Beyond the technical terms used to describe this new medium, the blogisphere has birthed a number other words. To be ‘dooced’ it to be fired from one’s job because of one’s job, coined by proto blogger Heather Armstrong. A ‘wiki’ is a type of megablog where a community of people is working together toward a common goal or task. The most successful example of this to date is the Wikipedia, a site attempting to write an online encyclopedia from the information bloggers post on it. ‘Blogonomics’ is the art of making money on the blogisphere.

Yet confusion in the blogisphere occurs when common words take on new meanings. For example, linking to and commenting on blogs are more than what their definitions mean. Sure, linking one blog to another does join the two, and commenting on a blog is posting your own thoughts about a subject, however there is another way to define these terms. In the blogisphere, linking and commenting can increase your blogs rating or score. They become a means to determine how successful your blog is. Links lead to hits, hits often lead to comments and both lead to a better blog rating- the ultimate goal for any serious blogger.

3- Speed.

One of the greatest appeals of the blogisphere is its speed. For the first time, we are dealing with a medium that allows nearly instantaneous information sharing. You have a thought or an opinion and the amount of time it takes you to put your ideas on your blog for the world to read is only the amount of time it takes you to write it and click ‘post.’ You as the blogger are in the driver’s seat, there are no editors, proof readers or panels to grant you their seal of approval. With literally one click of the mouse your work is available to be read by any and all interested. There is no arguing the speed of the blogisphere is hugely appealing, but on the flip side, this asset can also be extremely dangerous, and rather obnoxious.

In The Fat Woman’s Joke, British novelist Fay Weldon wrote, “One has to be careful with words. Words turn probabilities into facts, and by sheer force of definition translate tendencies into habits.” To me, this should be the surgeon’s general warning to bloggers and blog-readers alike. Between the mere structure of this medium and the speed in which it changes, words can quickly become weapons of mass destruction and /or a powerful advantage. There are no official fact-checkers on the internet, thus you can write whatever you want how ever you choose to, which can be a fabulous way to blow the whistle on story being ignored by the mainstream media, or a quick fix to a sticky situation. However, it seems too often on blogs that people react instantly to posts they read, and often this instant commentary is more heated name calling than intelligent disagreement. And with a total lack human contact, it is far more likely for a reader to misunderstand a post, taking it completely out of context or missing the sarcastic undertone. All the while, the speed of the blogisphere lends itself to posting and reposting, comment after comment after comment appears, and in a blink of an eye a vicious verbal war can erupt on a blog. It is the speed of this medium that allows both blogger and reader/commenter instant gratification, thus often turning normal individuals into blogging fanatics.

2- The Minions.

Blogging minions may be a creation of those of us taking the ‘Blogging On’ course at Trinity College, however, it is quite clear to me that they are a huge annoyance on the blogisphere. I liken the minions of a blog to mob or gang thugs. If you mess with their leader, and by mess I clearly mean post a comment they deem disrespectful, the blog thugs will rough you up, by which I mean post nasty, disrespectful comments on your blog. The bloggers who have extra time on their hands tend to fall into the minion role, as their constant reading, posting and commenting has increased to a fanatic level. They read and comment on the same blogs each and every day, sometimes multiple times in a day, so they become familiar not only with the blogger, but the other fanatics of the blog.

Most blogs have a small or sometimes large community of readers faithful to the site, who usually agree with the point of view of the blogger. It is this tight knit virtual community of strangers that can and will become extremely hostile very quickly. Because they are so familiar with their blog or blogs of choice, their intense monitoring makes it easy for them to notice new visitors to the blog. It is important to keep in mind that true minions are fanatical about their favorite blogs, so there is a sort of emotional attachment to them. This is probably why when they feel the blog has been verbally threatened or undermined, they must defend it. In my experience, and the experiences of some in our class, the blog minions don’t waste a moment’s time before they strike back. The speed of the blogisphere allows them to respond as quickly as they want, which often leads to very heated comments as there is no cooling off period.

Whatever you want to call them, minions, fanatics, crazy people, the out come is the same: the squashing of any real discussion and debate. This to me is incredibly obnoxious and it makes me hesitate to post a comment on a blog that may not be in complete agreement with the blogger, which totally defeats the purpose of the blogisphere for me. If this cannot be a place of free discussion, the birth of new ides and challenging dialogue, then for me it becomes a place where I can find a good laugh, which is all well and good, but disappointing nonetheless. Considering all the blogisphere could be, it is too bad it has settled to be what it is: a place for like-minded people to virtually pat one another on the back for their like minded ideas.

1- The Frontier (or lack there of).

Unfortunately, as has been the case many times before, when you have a medium with no regulations like the blogisphere, people who participate in it begin to self-regulate. In many areas of the blogisphere, this self regulation has become a web of differing complex rating systems, point scales, and elitist restrictions, thus losing much of the freedom. On some blogs it takes longer to figure out the rules of the site, than it does to read the blog itself. How is this accomplishing anything but more confusion?

Take www.dailykos.com for example. This blog truly angers me. In the frequently asked questions section of this blog, there are 14.6 chapters – each one explaining how to function on the site, which includes everything from how to post a comment to how comments are rated and everything else imaginable. As a blog reader, I want to be able to log online, go to the blogs I am interested in reading and if and when I feel so moved, I want to post a comment. This is not possible on Daily Kos, even after I have read the directions; a blogger must earn the right to comment, earn the right to post something on the blog. Now, Daily Kos is by far the extreme, but it is out there, with all 14.6 chapters of instruction/regulation amongst the most popular political blogs.

Blogs are such a fast paced, cutting edge medium, that they truly are on the frontier of the internet. And this does have some appeal, I don’t want big brother regulating what I can and cannot read, say, or think, but along those same lines, I don’t want Markos Moulitsas Zúniga from Daily Kos regulating me either. I understand a blogger makes the blog, thus he or she makes the rules, but I cannot support a tyrannically constricting blog, such as Daily Kos. Now Heather Armstrong definitely regulates her blog, Dooce, but she does it in what I consider an inoffensive way. Armstrong does not allow comments on her blog, however, you can e-mail her directly with whatever you like. This is definitely a personal choice of hers and a way of regulating both her readers and her blog. And yet I am not offended by it at all, in fact, I love Dooce and I read it nearly daily.

At the end of the day, it is not the regulating of the blogisphere frontier which bothers me, it is the hyper-serious, over-thought, regulation that really pisses me off. It takes all types of people to make a community of any sort, that I understand, but these are blogs, not NASA.

Some Closing Thoughts:

Blogs are among the fastest growing communication mediums of our time. It seems as if everyone is blogging; from preteens to political organizations, to pastors, to retirees and everyone in between, there is a place in the blogisphere for you if you have the patience and the technological means to access it. Only by blogging on myself and experimenting in the blogisphere as both a reader and a blogger, was I able to discover it is not the place for me. I am sure I will continue to dabble on blogs here and there, but not on my own blog and not with any sort of consistency. I have found an appreciation for those people who have found their inner blogger, but as for me, I am ready to blog-off.

Bullied into Blogging

2005-12-14T23:49:00.000-05:00

How can I say no to Bill and Patti??

I will at least give blogging some more thought- that's not a no, it's a maybe. But I know I won't have time to even consider blogging until after our move this weekend. I'll give it a new shot then. :)

Bitter Sweet Goodbye

2005-12-07T23:27:00.000-05:00

I came to this class in my first semester as a graduate student with certain expectations - this class met none of them, and yet exceeded even my wildest imaginations. Never have I experienced a class truly become a small community of its own like our class did. And though I have been rather vocal both on my blog and in class about the fact that I am uncomfortable and frustrated with the blogisphere, I also realize that it is because of the blogisphere that we all got to know each other better and the class dynamic became what it is. Every week I read about your lives, I can listen to Jeff's music and hear Eric speaking. And so even if I never blog again, which I think is a distinct possibility, I know and better understand why other people decide to log on and blog about whatever they have on their mind at that particular moment. I can see now how blogging can be a cathartic experience, a release of some sort, even if it is anything but for me. And I know that I will continue to read the updated blogs of those of you who choose to continue on your blogging path, long after I am required to do so for this class (but maybe not as often, because I have to read Dooce, which I am not so secretly addicted to).

I know I have learned more from listening and reading all of you than I possibly could have from any text book or outside blog. You have each made me think about things in different ways, or from new angles. For that I thank you. I hope that my path at Trinity crosses all of yours at one point or another, but for those it doesn't I wish you the best of luck. I've enjoyed peaking into your thoughts these last few months.

New Beginnings...

2005-12-07T21:29:00.000-05:00

I definitely had a good laugh when I read Colin's new names for our blogs. Not sure how he figured out I have aspirations of writing novels, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility of borrowing personality traits for some future character. A wise professor once told me that good writing and great dialogue is a direct results of life experiences - so who knows...

In the spirit of our last class, I thought I would attempt blogging in an entirely new way for me, although I am skeptical about how successful it will be.

Today,my boyfriend, Christian, and I closed on our first home! (Who knows if this picture thing will even show up, but I figured there was no harm in trying.) It looks like we will be in, but far from settled by the weekend of Dec. 18th, and construction of our new bathroom will begin sometime this week. The house is older, built in 1872, she has great bones but needs some TLC. With large windows, tall ceilings and beautiful wall to wall wood floors, we are excited about making this little house ours. I have absolutely no idea how we are going to manage packing the rest of our apartment, full time jobs, and my two term papers in the next nine days, but I am not dwelling on the logistics of those things. Besides, as I have learned many times before, sleep can be highly over rated. In the end, how we manage to accomplish the task at hand doesn't really matter as long as it gets done. I am a true Machiavellian at heart in that respect. And I am slightly obsessive compulsive and I can only handle things in the limbo of inbetween for so long, so I would rather be all packed in our new house, than starring at half packed boxes and mostly emptied walls. But the physical move is going to be a breeze in comparison to the emotional move my family has made to survive this process!

You'll notice that I said boyfriend and NOT fiance' Bill, as we are not yet engaged. A topic of much concern and conversation amongst my extremely conservative, Catholic family.
They love Christian and are more than ready to make him a part of our family- but they don't quite know what to with him without the whole marriage certificate thing. To me this is completely ridiculous, and so I continue to give my parents grey hairs by living in sin out of wedlock with my Protestant boyfriend. So you can imagine their displeasure when we told them we were buying a house, and pushing back the engagement another year. That said, they are beginning to come around nicely. My grandmother gave us her verbal blessing last week when she said it was ok by her if we did things 'lopsided.' That in and of itself was a small miracle from the heavens, so maybe there is a god of some sort! My parents are still grappling with the whole concept, but rumor has it they bought us a house warming present so that has to be a good sign!
But in the end, Christian and I are so excited and happy about our new home and that is what really matters. And sometime this week we are planning on buying our Christmas tree and somehow that feels like the finishing touch to a wonderful new chapter in our lives!

(On a side note: While I am glad I tried it, I am sure now that blogging is not for me. Sharing all of this about my life did not make me feel anything but uneasy and strange. I know that I could not write about the intimate details of my life for the world to read, especially not daily.)

Some thoughts...

2005-11-30T22:42:00.000-05:00

I have been reading the classes blogs for the past few days and mulling over some of the topics being discussed. It has been a few months now that I have been blogging and I still can't get to that comfortable place so many others have where I can just log on, read and post. I still have to take time to process all the information and ideas that I am reading, which I am pretty sure means I am a bad blogger!

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about something Patti said on her blog (that she updates MUCH more frequently than I do, which means she is definitely a better blogger than i am! :):
"Has this theory come true through "Blogging On"? Have 15 or so naive students become more tuned in to the blogisphere through our interaction within it rather than through watching it from afar? Some have willingly become a part of this ant hill, some of us have moved forward to our own ant hill while yet others have settled comfortably within a predisposed "frontier" place. I am still uncertain of where my particular place is--but I know one thing for certain--I will never be alone there--and neither will you!"
She is talking about something I never really took to heart, before I read her blog that is. In a very unique way, we have all impacted the very medium we are trying to understand and that is a pretty cool concept, for lack of better words. And even though I am a self-proclaimed bad blogger, who won't continue my blog beyond this class, I'm glad I was a part of this class, that I had this experience. That said...

I completely agree with Marc- the blogisphere for many is about attention and being louder than the next person. This is painfully obvious on many of the blogs we have read- from Daily Kos, to Sarah, even to dare I say it, Aldon. Now everyone blogs about different things and different opinions, but I am arguing bloggers blog for the same basic reason- they want to be read, they want to be heard. And those things are exactly why the blogisphere is an amazing space. It gives people who may not have a powerful voice, a chance to impact they way someone else, a complete stranger, and the way they think. I, personally, become overwhelmed and often frustrated by all of the information thrown at me on blogs, and I have no desire to impact people I have never, and will never meet. Thus, blogging just isn't for me, but I can completely understand why others flourish on the blogisphere.

Vlogs...

2005-11-17T15:18:00.000-05:00

This is the THIRD time I have tried to blog about vlogs, but each time I decide I need to watch rocket boom one more time to comment on it and it shuts down my whole browser, and I lose my in-process blog! So I am done with rocket boom- Mercedes of vlogs or not.

I have mixed feelings about vlogs. One the one hand, I think they are an even bigger time suck than the blogs on the blogisphere, but on the other they can be extremely entertaining. Thus I am torn. I hated Human dignity, sock puppets talking about and having sex disturb me quite frankly. But my boyfriend and our roommate thought it was hilarious, so maybe I am just not the target audience. I did, however, get a good laugh out of bath tub yoga. I think it is pretty stupid, but somehow very funny.

The site I really loved this week I happened to stumble upon, and I am not even sure if it is a vlog or not but it is so funny that I don't care. Foamy, the extremely pissed of squirrel, was successful is whittling away almost two hours of my time. His rants are beyond funny and say all the things we sometimes wish to say- everything from the sleazy guy at the bar to the ridiculous sizes of starbuck's coffee, this squirrel is mad and speaking out about all of it. I think this might be vlog because clearly the cartoonist is voicing his/her opinions and concerns through Foamy, and a new cartoon comes out almost bimonthly. So I don't see why it couldn't be classified as a vlog of sorts- it definitely has vlog-like tendencies.

Overall, I am more uncomfortable in the vlogisphere than I am in the blogisphere. Somehow there is a voyeur-like capacity that I just don't love. Vlogs are definitely entertaining though, so I may have to force myself to become more comfortable with them after all.

Surprisingly Charming...

2005-11-09T22:48:00.000-05:00

Although I do not understand much of the Jewish termonology she uses, I find her blog surprisingly charming. Reading her posts I get a sense of who she is and what she believes in, and that extends to more than just her faith. Her blog is clearly a reflection of her and what is going on in her life that day. She is not as funny, or any where near as entertaining as Heather Armstrong is on Dooce, but there is definately a realness to this blog that I like. I highly doubt I will ever read her sight regularly like I do Dooce, but I don't think I really fit her target audience and that's ok.

Specialty Blogs of Sorts...

2005-11-08T23:22:00.000-05:00

I completely disagree with anyone who claims, "Religion does not belong on the Blogisphere." To me it couldn't be more far off. This semester in many of our discussions we have all spoken about how the blogishpere was and should continue to be an avenue for free speech without limitations. One of the things I truly despise about Daily Kos are the tight restrictions and limitations on what can and cannot me said. I find no personal use in religious blogs, but I also find little use in most of the political blogs we read too. I read blogs (outside of this class) for entertainment, which is why I continue to faithfully read Dooce. But there are plenty of people on the blogisphere looking for specific topics and ideas to be put forth, and sites like Anvil and Fire, are just what some readers are looking for. And all things considered John Rush seems to write a fairly unexciting, inoffensive Christian blog. His posts are pretty mellow, and read similarly to a sermon, but they do not damn non-Christians. I don't happen to agree with all of Rush's interpretations of Buddhism, but they don't offend me and everyone has a right to their own opinions and a place to voice them. It is also clear by the comments on the blog that Rush has a pretty loyal following of readers who look to him for some sort of spiritual guidance, many ready to cyber-fight about John's criticism of Rush's blog. But as Brett posted, Rush approached that criticism with an open mind and positive attitude. This may not have been the case on other blogs, say Daily Kos for example.

You know, I would have never thought I would be sitting here blogging in defense of even a fraction of the Christian Right- but here I am doing just that. Not because I necessarily want to read these religious sights, but because some one else might. If the blogisphere is truly to remain free of restrictions, it must be that way for all view points. Including all types of rhetoric, political and religious especially.

Coffee Rhetoric

2005-11-02T22:34:00.000-05:00

Did everyone see the post about her trip to our class?! Check it out...

I felt like I knew about the kind of person she is before she came to class simply in my reading of her blog, but now that I have met her and we had a chance to ask her questions, I feel like I sort of know her- it makes reading her blog really fun experience.

A Few Good Laughs

2005-11-02T22:04:00.000-05:00

I laughed out loud and breathed a sigh of relief when I read Colin's post today. I was beginning to wonder if I was missing the point with the reading this week. I read FluWiki first, and that was interesting, mostly in theory of practice. But as I continued to search for public debate/forum blogs I have grown increasingly bored with each passing site. While there are 'debate' blogs about nearly everything from music to politics to the flu, I hardly see much debate going on. Some sights, like FluWiki, are actively seeking a solution to some larger problem, but many others seem to be based around like-minded people discussing like-minded topics.

And really waht is this? I recognize that blogs are changing the way information is shared is a HUGE way, and that their impact on the news media is unquestionable. However, I just am not yet willing to take them as seriously as this guy is. Maybe someday someone will be able to truly harness the awesome POTENTIAL power that is the blogishpere, but at this point I just haven't found or read anything to lead me to believe anyone has. So this post made me laugh as well. He makes good points at time, and his rational behind the way bloggers rise to 'power' or fame makes a lot of sense, but for me he is taking things too far. I think I will stick with Dooce - a blog I read because she is a great writer, talking about real life issues, who lets me laugh with her daily. Now that is my kind of blog.

FluWiki

2005-11-01T00:36:00.000-05:00

In theory, I think this is an amazing site. I love the idea of a community of thinkers all working together, challenging one another, working towards a common goal. The site and process of Wikis are built upon the idea that two heads are better than one, and so on, which often proves to be highly effective. I am curious and intrigued to see how this concept plays out when attempting to proactively solve the problem of a wide spread public health epidemic. On one hand, this may be the most efficient way to work out a very sensitive and difficult problem, on the other, when do too many cooks spoil the broth? This concept of community has definitely been successful in other areas, such as the Wikipedia, which has resulted in an extremely interesting and well rounded resource. FluWiki has definitely been successful in the information gathering and sharing portion of their goal. I learned more about influenza in the twenty or so minutes I spent reading their site than I have in 23 years of getting the flu. The site is definitely easy to navigate as well, which is a huge plus for some one like myself who comes to the table with virtually no information. What remains to be seen is how successful they will be at developing a potentially successful strategy to 1) prevent and 2) handle a nation health epidemic, and unfortunately we have no way of knowing that at this point. That said, their intentions certainly are noble and for everyone's sake, it would be pretty amazing if a community of strangers was/is able to come together to share information, ideas and strategies and solve a major issue of our times. If they could be successful with on FluWiki, what else could they solve? It is a pretty exciting possibility.

Crap disguised as Truth

2005-11-01T00:20:00.000-05:00

Tonight, while researching a paper for another class I am taking, I found myself in that awful place no one ever wants to be but everyone is afraid of falling into - conflicting sources on the internet! I am researching the Victorian sensational novelist, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, and after spending a great deal of time in the online resources offered through Trinity, I decided to broaden my horizon and scope out the wilderness that is the internet. I was even brave enough to search some literary blogs (who knew there was such a thing!) ... Why I thought this was a wise idea I will never know because I it accomplished was frustrating. In several of our class discussions we have all laughed and joked about some of the crap we have found while blogging around, but tonight that crap seemed to be everywhere. I found myself searching for web site credentials on even what would appear to be the most reputable sites. The problem seems to be a lack of indisputable facts, so from I can tell, when people don't know the whole story, on the internet the fudge the details. On some sites, they just plain reinvented the dates of publication and information. It just goes to show, USE THE LIBRARY. When you need to be sure about the information you are using, nothing compares to a book.

Hmmm...

2005-10-20T21:34:00.000-04:00

Tonight's discussion about our blogs as living and changing beings really got me thinking- so much so that I literally drove straight home and logged on to my own blog. Over the last six or so weeks I have kept a blog for this graduate class, on which I comment about my experiences reading the site Colin assigns. To be blunt, I have hated every minute of the actually blogging portion of the class, despite my enjoyment of reading the materials and class discussion. Tonight's class made me ask the question why, and my commute home acted as a chance for me to hypothesize. I have come to the conclusion that I am just plain afraid of putting myself out there- for the whole world to read. I think this is a lame excuse even for myself and so I am going to set out from this point forward to change things. I don't think I will ever find myself posting several times a day like some of the people in our class, or even with the same personal insight someone like Tiffany posts with, however I need to truly give blogging a chance. It was obvious tonight that I am missing out on what could be a fun and rewarding experience if I don't. So stay tuned...

Writers Who Blog & Bloggers WHo Write

2005-10-19T23:05:00.000-04:00

When I began this blogging adventure, I did not believe that I would find bloggers that would truly entertain me. To some extent I was right. We have looked and read a great many blogs this semester that fail to hold my attention even while I am reading them. Sites like Daily Kos, Boing!Boing! and Technorati are beyond boring to me. I find the political banter of many of the sites depressing and ridiculous, thus I have often longed to spend my blogging time curled up with the newest Fay Weldon novel. But that will have to wait.

I have not been without any entertainment in the blogisphere however, and when Colin assigned reading blogs that we enjoy this week I was excited- for I have become addicted to Dooce. We discussed this site by Heather Armstrong in one of our first classes and I am hooked on it. Armstrong is witty, authentic and well-written. Her stories of the things she faces and lives each day are written with a warmth and reality I have found in few other blogs. Something about her and her blog makes me feel like I know her, and her husband John and daughter Leta feel like characters in my own life. Maybe that's because Armstrong says what she wants, how she wants to and makes no apologies about it, so instead of feeling like I am intruding on some private online party, I feel as if I am reading an e-mail from a close friend. I am anxiously awaiting her book and I am quite sure I will continue to read Dooce long after this class is finished.

As Colin suggested, I read Lance Mannion's blog this week- I am enjoying his blog as well. He is clearly a strong writer, with interesting opinions. In reading quite a bit of his blog, I do not always agree with his points, but I am drawn into his posts because of how he writes. Like Armstrong, Mannion has a very real, down to earth approach in his writing style. He obviously writes about what he cares about and about things happening to him or around him. In writing about what he knows, in a strong voice, he comes off very casual and collected- I find him somewhat charming in his wit. I wish I had known about him sooner.

I tried realy hard to find a redeaming value in Sadly, No! but I came up empty. In short, this blog is too busy and too strange for me to want to read it. It's sarcastic humor, if you can even call it that, is just not funny. It's writing style is clearly casual and an attempt at humor, but I just didn't like it at all. I felt like it was trying too hard to get a laugh or earn some type of shock value- I will definately pass on this site. I also checked out this weird blog... frankly it scared me.

Bloggers Blogging in CT...

2005-10-12T22:12:00.000-04:00

Of the CT centered blogs I looked at this past week, one of the strangest and yet most amusing was In Southington. This blog truly is small town politics and bickering come in a whole new venue - the internet. All the topics posted about deal with specific issues taking place in the town of Southington. Thus, unless you are a resident of the town (or a student in Colin's blogging class) there would be no value in reading this site- which seems to be the authors' goal. The people, places and polls posted here have no real meaning to me, as I have no idea who or what is involved. And yet, I read quite a bit of this site. Something about it just sucked me right in. I found myself clicking on the links to the town print media sites and reading the articles these people were blogging in response to. I was laughing at the polls being taken, and the responses being given. Some how, this blog about average, everyday small town politics taking place in a town I do not even live in, became entertaining- especially their ridiculously long goodbye. As I was reading it, I kept waiting for the cheesy tag line like "Wear sun screen." Surprisingly, that was the only piece of advice these CT bloggers left out of their farewell.

I found the layout of CT Conservative refreshing. Sometimes I am so distracted by the moving ads, bright colored links and infinite options of posting options to even know where to begin. This blog is very simply laid out, with mellow colors and zero advertisements. I found it refreshing, even if the blog itself was a little dry in writing style. I like that this site deals with political issues that effect Connecticut- internal and external issues. I think that because of this fact, this particular blog would appeal to a larger audience than one like In Southington would. I also really liked the provided links for many major and minor CT newspapers- it was very convenient.

Pros turned Bloggers...

2005-10-05T23:33:00.000-04:00

First of all, beginning this assignment of researching 'pros' who now blog, I believed I would enjoy these 'professional blogs' more so than the others we have been looking at. As it turns out- I could not have been more wrong. I began with Wolcott as Colin suggested. He is definitely a talented writer with strong opinions- but I don't feel like I am reading a blog on his site, I feel like I am reading some form of main stream, print media. And if that is what I am looking for, why am I searching the blogisphere? Honestly, I became extremely bored with Wolcott's blog, if you can even call it that, because instead of using it as an opportunity to branch out and speak out without the constraints a publication places on you, he is using it as endless column space. His blog seems to me to be an extension of his columns- extremely well written, informative and thought provoking- but completely wrapped up in the structure and commercialism of main stream media.

Moving on I looked at Andrew Sullivan's blog. What I found interesting about his site is that structurally, it is set up as a sort of diary. There are multiple entries a day, sometimes only one line, sometimes quite a few more. However, the content is primarily political, with little mention of his personal life beyond the opinion surrounding the political issue at hand. After reading some of Sullivan's blog, I have this picture of a man sitting at his computer surfing the web for the latest breaking news story and those that interest him he posts on his blog. Some stories are mentioned literally in passing. "10/05/05 12:38 pm 'Conservatives and Miers: New polling confirms the disappointment.'" This one line blurb includes a link to the article which speaks to the results of the first Gallup poll dealing with conservatives and Miers. Sullivan doesn't go into any detail about his opinion or the nitty gritty facts, but he does bring the story to our attention. Other political issues, presumably those which Sullivan is more passionate about receive more attention and thus more words. It is an interesting way to set up a blog. It is almost like a log of all the important new stories of the day according to Andrew Sullivan. Somehow this professional has made his blog seem less like his column, or even his job, and more like a part of who he is, as it seems to let us into what is important to him, at least where news and politics are concerned.

Part of me really enjoyed the quality of writing in all of the 'pro blogs' I read. Some of the megablogs and even a few of the protobloggers we looked at were painful to read grammatically speaking. And yet somehow, as a genre of blogging, I must admit I prefer the protobloggers, and even some of the megablogs. They seem more real, and somehow less staged than these pro blogs. Probably because these nameless, faceless bloggers have nothing to lose and everything to gain, while well-known columnists have reputations to uphold and standards to maintain, thus they can't truly let their hair down and blurt- too many people would take notice.

'Watch Me Change'

2005-09-28T22:33:00.000-04:00

I work for the Gap and my District Manager mentioned to me in passing the other day that the company released this really hilarious website, but you can't get to it from any known Gap site. She didn't know the web address, but promised to send it to me. She forgot and my curiosity got the better of me so I went searching and decided to use the new Google Blog Search. It turns out, number of bloggers have found and are talking about this Gap site. My Google Blog Search turned up well over a hundred hits. All of the ones I looked at included the web address of the site and what a comment on what a unique marketing strategy it is. Seeing as we are discussing memes, I thought it was really ironic that my own company was and is using that same idea to get their message out. And the blogisphere has, at least in a some aspect, given it a platform to grow. The site is pretty fickle at first, but if you want a good laugh be patient, it is definitely worth while.

Megablogs...

2005-09-28T21:58:00.000-04:00

In looking at a number of megablogs this week, one of the ones I found the most interesting/odd was Slashdot: News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters. I find the basic structure of this blog reminds me of a combination of an internet chatroom and an instant message conversation, which is an odd combination in and of itself. Catchy headlines, most often in the science and technology arena, seduce you to read snippets of a person's post on the subject. If you choose to click on the 'read more' button, you are taken to a new window with sometimes hundreds of back and forth comments. Slashdot reads as if you are reading a private conversation between people. Like daily Kos and some of the other megablogs we have looked at, you can become a member of the site and thus gain the ability to post under an alias so to speak. It it obvious that members have come to know each other and where they stand on issues, as there is a comfortable familiarity they speak to one another with. And while I do not always find the 'techie' blogs interesting, Slashdot does a great job at broadening its scope when its members see fit. But the best part of Slashdot for me is the lack of regulation and instruction. There is obviously a structure and format roughly followed by all members, but not rigidly guarded like those at Daily Kos.

I am intrigued by the people who participate in megablogs, and their motives for doing so. If protobloggers blog for themselves and sometimes in the hope of a few select people reading their thoughts, megabloggers are creatures of a totally different make and mold. On all of the megablogs I read, there is some sort of arena for interactive commenting. Some megablogs are set up as exclusive clubs were only certain types of bloggers with certain types of thoughts are able to have there opinions posted and read - Daily Kos is a great example of this. Other megablogs seem to be more open to hearing the ideas of those who fall outside of its members - like Slashdot. I think that megabloggers are more likely to be blogging in the hopes of reaching a mass audience, they are also more likely to have aspirations of blogging leading to something bigger and better. Unlike our friend Sally, who likely blogs to keep up with technology or Sarah who blogs to be dramatic. Some how our protobloggers seem more sincere to me, as there is little they hope to gain from blogging. Megablogs seem to create blogging egos, much like that of a young newspaper columnist, only who has deemed a megablogger qualified to comment?

The Meme Hunter

2005-09-22T00:03:00.000-04:00

I have just taken a look at the slightly pissed off older woman Colin suggested we read. We have been discussing the idea of tracking meme - well Sally has truly out done herself in that aspect. She begins with hurricane Katrina and the aftermath, including links to everything from Brown's resume, to Bush's 'school days,' to CNN. I believe her coverage of Katrina is more thorough than most major networks and print publications. She followed very closely the meme that Brown was totally unqualified to head FEMA. Sally's documentation is surprisingly diverse, and convincing. Lately, she has strayed from Katrina coverage, and taken up hurricane Rita watch, which includes colorful weather maps as to where the storm is moving. I don't know if I should laugh or just sit in awe of Sally, as her blog is one of the most focused, thorough blog I have read thus far.

Blogging Around...

2005-09-21T23:27:00.000-04:00

In an attempt to further discover some of the things out there in bloggerspace, I have been playing with google's new blog search engine. The first search I ran was for "Conservative blogs." Up to this point all of the blogs I have read are from a liberal bias. Thus I posed the question- "Do everyday conservative bloggers exist?" If my search results are to determine the answer, then I would have to say conservative bloggers are but mere myths. The first blog the search kicks back is called Daily Dish, and while this blog definitely comments about conservative blogs, its main focus it to criticize them. Daily Dish is defiantly witty and entertaining, but also liberal. Interestingly enough, the next eight search results are for a sight called UNPartisan. This site has an interesting setup because the "unbiased" news story runs down the center, while the left blogs are down the left side and vice versa. Of the eight UNPartisan hits my search pulled up - only one had any bloggers from the right with posted comments. I must also note, that those conservative commentators were not at the same level the liberal bloggers were. Finally, the last search result, Iowavoice, was boasting the news that conservative bloggers far out number liberal bloggers. This blog actually appears to be written by an actual conservative blogger. From this site I was able to link to other conservative bloggers, thus proving their existence.

I feel it is necessary that I point out, I consider myself a conservative, and yet I found little value in the readings I did on the conservative blogs. I found the blogs dry, humorless, and negative. At least the liberal blogs I have been reading have personality, even if they do not speak of my political ideals. Overall, I am disappointed to find that in my opinion, the left has a better grasp of how to make the blogisphere interesting, while still having it work to their advantage.

The Intrigue of 'Post Secret'

2005-09-19T23:42:00.000-04:00

I sat down at my computer tonight with the intention of exploring some more of the ever evasive blogisphere when I suddenly realized 'Post Secret' had been updated. I have been blogging around for just over a week and already I am addicted to a site, and one I hardly classify as a blog at that. Some of the postcards make me laugh, some disturb me, and others make my heart ache, and yet it is this very combination that seems to keep me coming back for more. Much like the pull of sleazy reality TV shows, there is something alluring about 'Post Secret,' something I can't quite put a label on, but still compelling me to check out the new post cards nonetheless. I cannot imagine taking the time to create these small pieces of art, let alone the writing of the short, to the point messages that expose the secret. And still, is 'Post Secret' a blog?

We discussed this very topic in class last Thursday and I have yet to come up with a real answer. My gut tells me know, however, who am I to deny a hugely popular sight the title of blog? What do I know? Though it is informally written personal opinions that are accessible to all, 'Post Secret' lacks the spontaneity and interaction the majority of other blogs possess.

2005-09-18T22:11:00.000-04:00

When I was younger, I despised journaling and failed miserably at every attempt to keep a diary. That is probably why I am apprehensive about blogging in general, and terrified at the idea of blogging for a class. However, in the name of adventure (and the course requirements for a graduate class at Trinity College) I am jumping into the blogisphere! Wish me luck...