Saturday, May 3, 2008

Response part 1

Blogger Articles
Rebecca Blood’s history of weblogs is very informative. I did not know that weblogs used to be limited to people who knew how to create websites using html. In my opinion weblogs are a great way to have important discussions and issues about current topics. Honestly though my first instincts about personal weblogs was confusion. I thought that in “New Kids on the Blog” it was really strange that the woman Gomm was posting in so much detail about her life. I mean what if her son found her weblog and read all the things she published to the whole world about him. I would hate that if I were her son. Initially my only thought was that I would not want to publish my thoughts and experiences from my everyday life on a website for other people to see and judge. Yet, as I thought about it more, I came to the conclusion that Facebook is a sophisticated form of a weblog in which on can add pictures, and put one’s status announcing to other people what your thoughts and feelings from the day are. I do then participate in a weblog, and I actually really like it. Then I read the article about the EMT, blogger. I would love to read his weblog, it would be so interesting to learn about all the dangerous and challenging encounters he has during work. At this point I felt like I was getting a better understanding of why people blog. I loved the directions about how to weblog they almost seemed like life lessons, not blogging directions.
In my opinion Blood’s idea that weblogs are the only antidote to coporate media and governmental entities is very extreme. I personally discuss most current issues with my parents and peers, and I think that it is an individual choice whether one participates or becomes a member of the audience. What do you guys think?

I think I like the idea of a more personal weblog. I don’t think that most people would be interested in the daily occurrances in my life, but like Trott argued I think that my family and friends would. I think that personal password protected weblogs will catch on more quickly than more public forms. What do you guys think?

4 comments:

Rumbero said...

Awesome! Your right, what is awesome about blogging is that we have the choice to make a private or public form of representation. Even when we pick one, we could privatize or open up the blog if we want to.
Quick question: is the identity we create on facebook comparable to the one on a blog? How are they any different? Both have different mediums because we can have archives upon archives of text within our blog and we can also have tons of photos waiting within the mix. Are they two seperate identities?

Lucy said...

I would agree that facebook is like a more in depth web blog. Anyone can post pretty much anything, and as the publisher of your own profile you are able to dictate what people see when they look at your page. I think you also bring up an interesting point when you say that you don't know if you would want to publish your own though and experiences from your everyday life on the web for other people to see and judge. The more that i have been thinking about that throughout this class the more that i have wondered what this new media does for literacy, art, literature and authorship. As an english major, i spend most of my time looking at text and analyzing them. Finding my self in these new online communities i wonder if one day we will begin analyzing the text found on the world wide web, from blogs to e-mail, to self published sites. Will will analyze emoticons and abbreviated language that is so easy to use online? It does seem very weird to publish yourself for all to see, but the internet is becoming a gateway for anyone to create and possibly succeed in their own interests.

deb said...

In answer to your question rumbero, I think that facebook is a visual blog. It gives an impression of the person through visual media,. I think this leads to a much more superficial illustration of the person. A blog on the other hand illustrates the author through writing, which in my opinion can lead to a much more intimate and detailed impression of the author. What do you think?

Rumbero said...

Well, what kind of writing does it take for you to establish an initmate relationship with the author? I know photos could fulfill the same purpose. I bet I could post a bunch of photos with me and my little cousins, at family gatherings, building a house in mexico, and etc just to gain a rep as someone who could be nice. who knows maybe he might be worth hanging out with? Yet, like writing, I could also post some pictures where I am not happy. I just may not choose to do so. Why? I think it is much more difficult to post photos of your total experience than it is to write. Isn't it scarier? Rarely will you find someone willing to put themselves on the front via photo on something like facebook. Words are powerful too, but I bet the actual image is quite daunting to the average person.

I mean, what do you look for in someone's writing to create a connection?