I really enjoyed the section on blogging in the Kist reading. It addressed a lot of the stereotypes and fears I have had of blogs before. Although I am an English major, I have never enjoyed writing and I have definitely never enjoyed writing about my personal thoughts or opinions and then sharing them with others. When I think of bloggers, I always picture people who have nothing better to do than write down what they believe to be the most important things in the world. They think their words are from God and that everyone should believe in them. They write about deforestation, religion, philosophy, politics, and sex. I never wanted any part of that. But Kist says that bogs need to be "more than just a place to pontificate," which is a great word for what I thought blogging was for.
I expected to approach this blog with reluctance and extreme hand-waving. I had to keep a blog in high school too and I absolutely hated it because I knew that all of my classmates were going to read what I said. I was supposed to be saying intelligent, meaningful things, but felt like I had absolutely nothing to say. The teacher responded to every single one and was highly critical and judgemental of what we said. The blog for this class is much easier because I don't think of it as something for my classmates, but as a place to write down what I think. Also, I can write about what I want, what I found interesting, what I am passionate about. I can't say that I LOVE to blog, but it has definitely been more beneficial than I expected.
I'm glad you are having a more positive experience, Jessica. I find blogs to be very valuable, and sometimes I even feel I should "sound smarter" when I write my posts. But like you found in the reading...it's a place to "pontificate." That's what I like about them....they are all about the writer.
ReplyDeleteMy goal in having you use them is that you keep them...whether you continue to blog after class or not....and you can find information better than you can through just keeping a notebook.
I completely know how you feel. I actually said to someone that I don't have anything to say when I blog and that I don't like bloggers because I don't care about what they are thinking. Yes, you could say I was a hand-waver as well. But, this class has improved my opinion on the whole topic. I think it is nice to see other students' perspectives and the thoughts they had after reading or discussing something in class.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I too am not IN LOVE with it yet. However, my hands have stopped waving and started typing. We will see how it goes. Maybe by the end of the semester I'll have one on my own. Who knows?!