(summary)
The title of this article is “Why Blog?” – but after reading it, it might be more aptly titled “Why NOT Blog?.” This is a really neat example of someone who really loves writing, even at an academic level, and is helping to bring that into the new era, as it were, and get today’s younger generation to keep it.. alive. Not only does the author talk about the way blogging started, he goes in depth about where blogging is today and the potential for blogging in the future. It also comes along with some fairly detailed instructions on how to set up your own blog.”
(some key terms and ideas)
- Blog – for those who don’t know, is a shortened term that comes from “web log” (you can probably make the connection)
- Autonomy – “freedom from external control or influence; independence.”
- Blogosphere – the wide, massive world of blogging and bloggers
- Freedom – blogging provides a sense of freedom… essentially it’s a world that you control.
- “Talents and passions are sometimes hidden…” – this is part of a quote from Ken Robinson. The implication being, blogging can be a good way to help FIND some things you are good at and/or passionate about
- Intrinsic Motivation – This refers to motivation that comes from within. If you were motivated intrinsically it means that whatever it is you are doing, you are doing it because it is satisfying to YOU.
- Blog aggregator – is client software, or website, that keeps blogs in one location for easy finding and viewing.
- Blogging is a good way to develop as a writer
- Anything worth doing is worth doing right, and in order to do something right it takes practice. Sometimes, a lot of practice.
(commentary)
I actually really love the pretense of this article. Writing is something that is becoming less and less important to people, younger ones, in particular. I guess if I were going to say something in response, that would be the basis of it. Blogging is a new, fun, and easy way to write, but if you aren’t familiar with it can be kind of intimidating. This article makes is significantly less so by disarming some of the popular misconceptions as to it’s inherent difficulty and complexity. To put it plainly, this article makes it sound easy. Shining a light on this new writing trend could pique an interest in writing to people where it otherwise might not ever have, and if in starting a blog someone discovers a love and passion, or even a talent for writing then I suppose it has served it’s purpose. And suggesting that we read other people’s blogs to find inspiration, subject matter, or other facts about a certain topic, is a genius way to skirt around calling that act what it actually is – research. Ha! The boring stigma attached to that word is enough to scare a lot of people away from using other information to create new information for others to one day find. The entire network involved in this sort of thing is never ending. A world, or “blogosphere” as you cleverly called it, where you can talk about whatever you can possibly dream up and then find other people who are talking about the same thing, and in turn, actually LEARN something about the stuff you’re interested in. You say “why blog?” I suppose what we should really be asking ourselves is why NOT blog?
Two sides of the fence 