After reading the articles from the Lore journal, I found the two that stuck with me were, Knit Blogging: Considering an Online Community, and "I Don't Really Want to Go into Personal Things in This Blog": Risking Connection through Blogging.
The article on "Knit Blogging" was not only funny, but it touched on a part of blogging that I think often gets pushed aside. A lot of the articles were based on reasons to blog that were very black and white; they either blogged to keep up their personal life or to further academics. However, the knit blog touched on the idea of reaching out to a specific community that she did not have where she lived. I found this interesting because she really used the blog to meet a certain type of person she could not meet in her own town because there was no access to knitting stores. Of course, other bloggers such as the linguist, Billy Clark, who mentioned he is now part of an online linguist community use blogging to reach out to people with their interests, I am sure Professor Clark can speak to other linguists on his campus as well as online. In my own personal blog, I use it to post my short stories, poems, or other prose that I would like feedback on, much like Amy Earhart and her Knit blog. I have used my blog to form an entirely new community for myself that I do not necessarily have access to because of budget cuts on campus, less interaction with professors, etc.
The article by Carlton Clark discussed his initial use for a blog as a way to only talk about academics. He even mentioned that he did not want people online reading personal things about him, and that those personal stories were meant for people close to him such as his wife. I enjoyed his article because of the way he described his journey with blogging and how he basically found himself through blogging without even trying. Just by writing a few entries, he found it hard not to open up and discuss his anxieties about teaching and being in front of a class. In my opinion, this is what blogging is about. In any form of writing, it is nearly impossible to hold back which is why it was hard for Professor Clark to "not go into personal things." Blogging, just like personal diaries we hide under our beds, is a way to express your thoughts about anything and just because it is on the internet does not mean your brain will stop moving rapidly, begging you to type what you really feel and think. I especially like that he posted his students response to his entry because I think that all teachers should open up more to classes. I completely agreed with the student when they said that hearing personal stories, even if it is just about a great conversation or a good movies, really helps the students and professors both feel at ease.
2.18.2010
Attempt #1 at academic blogging
I am reporting live from English 105, in Clark Hall at SJSU. Cathy Gabor has advised us to create an "academic blog" so here goes nothin! Come back and visit.. I may have something interesting to say.
Stay tuned!
:)
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