Everybody get ready. Marchstache Madness will be on us sooner than we think. I spent the past month training my stache. Its gonna be a tough season, but I WILL be ready. I want you participants to log your training, and subsequent progress during stache season.
And a little motivation to keep the morale high...
I feel that going into this project I already had a great deal of experience with blogging, but this assignment forced me to notice the differences between the varying kinds, as well as how they are used by the public. I do feel this was a worthwhile assignment because it shed new light on the blogging world. Prior to this project my overall view on the blogoshpere was that the vast majority of it was mucked up by personal livejournal pages and the like. I knew there were a number of worthwhile blogs out there, but I had no idea how many there actually were. Setting up my own blog in order to research blogs seemed a little strange at first, but it did provide me with hands on experience on the matter. After the assignment I have seen that my thesis did not change one bit. If anything it was reaffirmed and strengthened as well.
For this portion of the project I searched for a vanity blog and came up with http://dewline.livejournal.com/ which is set up the same as any other blog, but relates strictly to the creator. Every post has a very direct and personal relationship to the individual poster, and gets responses primarily from their own friends.
I found a uk news blog at the url http://boingboing.net which, as seen in previous modules, pertains to the specific news. This blog does not adress news in terms of locality oer say, but rather of interest. It informs the audience on news in the weird science realm, news which is certainly not covered by most mainstream media.
Blogging lends itself quite well to both of these forms of informative writing. It would be nearly impossible to fund the production of this for of news otherwise. This way there is an audience of millions if not billions of internet users who can pick and chose the news they find pertinent or entertaining.
I feel this strongly supports my initial notions on blogging.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
For this segment of the assignment I chose to focus on the e-zine American Journal and the blog news site Times Online. Each of these sites focus on the aspects of our society which may not necessarily appear in your typical newspaper.
I found that the American Journal was a much more professional site in terms of layout as well as having a more clearly defined goal in terms of what they wanted to cover. American Journal utilizes the American public as it source of editorials as outlined on their site; "American Journal examines the diversity of the United States, offering true stories about the events and icons that form its identity.Our mission is to provide glimpses into the American culture, giving a better understanding of the country and its people." This was a easily read and understood site with well laid out and well researched articles.
Times online on the other hand, looks like a typical blog layout with very few frills or design contributed. I did feel though that this site was a bit more applicable in terms of news as it pertains to current events. Up to date news is provided, and discussion is spurred.
After looking at these sites I feel I would rather go to a More standard news source than a blog if it was for anything other than personal use, as blogs don't make the best references in papers and the like. I have no issue reading them for my own use though as they often provide links to the more credible sources, as well as insight on the issue. The e-zine would be ideal for less time sensitive news, and I could see myself reading each new issue just as I would Time Magazine.
I feel this research strongly supports my initial stance. News can come in many forms, and these are just as important as the more time-proven sources.
I found two sources regarding the use of blogging for commercial purposes:
A Business Week article and an article from inc.com, as well as my own example of an entrepreneurial blog.
Both articles I found introduced the idea of "b-blogs" or, business blogs. They noted the rapid growth of these tools and the power they can have. The inc.com article brought up the interesting point that blogs can just as easily hurt a business by boring or alienating the audience, embarrassing the company or even sparking lawsuits in response. The Business Week article goes more into the statistics behind blogs such as the relatively small audience compared to the 9 million plus blogs out there right now. Both sites do emphasize the power this new networking tool has and encourage everyone to visit them and even make your own.
The Saosin website I put up is an interesting form of the b-blog. I has writings from the band, with plenty of discussion boards, as well as links to completely unrelated topics. It gives the viewer more access to daily news, opinions and ideas.
Business owners today have endless possibilities as far as getting the word out on their product. Theres the television, newspapers, radio, or even park benches are available to slap your mug on next to a phone number for the daily commuters to gawk at. Blogs go a step beyond these forms of advertisement, they allow for up to date information on the business, and interaction with the public. I know many of us yell at those Head-on commercial everytime they are aired, but that doesnt mean anyone is listening.
Blogs are an important factor in our modern society, they are used by businesses, presidential candidates, and schoolchildren alike. It is one of the easiest and cheapes ways to get your voice heard. The blogospere is a unique way to bring all of the worlds ideas, products and opinions right into your home office. For this reason I am sticking by to my previous statement that blogging HAS impacted the print journal industry, and I will rate this a 5.
My name is Alex Porlier, I am a Civil Engineering student from the University of Arizona and recently moved out here for a job opportunity and to continue my studies. I am an avid user of the Internet, mostly for current news that wont show up in your average newspapers. In my initial search online regarding the impact blogging has on the journalism industry I was bombarded with interesting articles about the subject. I already had my own opinion formulated on the subject, so I must say I was merely looking for something to validate my perspective on the drastic changes the journalism realm has undergone. I found THIS ARTICLE interesting simply because it outlines YAHOO!'s shift a few years ago to include blogs in search results. This is a simple way for the average reader to compare mainstream news, to what the general public is thinking. These blogs eliminate the medias biases and allows for a more candid discussion of a topic. I also found a lawyer friend who recently prepared a debate on the credibility of blogs, whom I am hoping to get some information from.
