Month: September 2018

My reflection on this article will be focusing on how I felt about the reading, what I learned from the reading, how I was able to relate to the reading, and what I plan to do with my own future blog posts.

I was very content with reading this article. There was always something new to learn, or an interesting concept/idea expressed in the reading. Unlike previous readings, this one was shorter, therefore making it easier and much more enjoyable to read. I was pleased that the article included a story of a homeless man to portray the power and comfort of blogging to others. The author did a very nice job of keeping me entertained throughout the whole article. This was helpful because I was able to focus and retain the information better.

There were many things that I learned from this reading. I learned about the different types of bloggers, and their posts. I learned about the concept of an imaginative community inside the minds of various bloggers. There was a lot of information on how filters have the power to draw in many audiences who share the same interests. I also learned that most of the blogs created only stay active for a short period of time. I believe this is because at first the idea of running a blog is new and exciting, but after a while the spark of excitement is gone. The most interesting piece of information that I learned was that only 2-7% of people on the internet have created a blog. I truly thought the percentage would be larger. I am glad that this article taught me a lot because now I will not think it was for nothing.

There were a couple of ways that I was able to relate to this reading. When the author mentioned that blogs were used as personal diaries, I understood. Even though my blog is not personal, my Instagram is. My Instagram is like a personal diary because I post pictures about my experiences that are intended only for my friends and family to see. My main point regarding this relation is that I too use media to share my own stories and/or adventures. I also related to the statement that blogging produces a mental sense of community for users. I experience this because my blog is open to everyone. Thanks to the author, I was able to compare some aspects of the article to my own life.

After reading this article I decided that there are a couple of key changes I can make to my future blog posts. For future posts I can try and include the audience more often, rather than just writing about my own opinions. I could also try and improve my attention getters so that other users do not find my blog posts boring. Other than those changes, I think I will keep my posts relatively the same as they have always been.

In summary, I found this article to be one of the most interesting reads so far. There was a great deal of valuable information for the audience to remember and retain. I hope future articles are as good as this one.

 

 

Summary:

• Many blogs created do not stay active for much longer than four months (“one-day-wonders”)
• Blogs are now typically being viewed as ways for people to share their personal experiences with friends and family.
• Blogs are being compared with diaries and journals.
• The blogosphere has created an online community inside the minds of the users.
• Blogs bring people who share common goals and values together.
• People argue that the blogging community is imagined, and not truly brought to existence.
• Blogging is non-profit which leads to it being considered a “gift economy”.
• Blogs give people the freedom to post whatever they feel is necessary (opinions, emotions, stories, encounters).
• Blogs are taking the form of journalism and allowing people to interact over common interests.
• The blog can also be seen as an “ecosystem”.
• Blogs can share stories with the public in a way regular media cannot.
• Blogging leads to its members to link with other posts, creating a community where people can comment on issues that have been brought up in a blog.
• Blogging is conversational for many.
• 2 parts in the blogging world: The social core, and the disengaged.
• Filtering happens after posts are published.
• Filters promote the posts users will find most interesting.
• Publishing globally does not mean there will be a global audience.
• Only 2-7% of people on the internet have created blogs.
• The internet is truly a luxury.

Key Terms/Main Idea:

The main idea of this article is to explain the blogosphere in more detail. To gain an understanding of what the blogosphere is inside others minds, and how the content of their posts forms a community between various users.

Nanoaudience: A blogger’s friends and family that can access and read their posts.

Gift Economy: A gift economy is one in which services or goods are given without an agreement to payment or trade to be made in return.

Blogdom: A singular blog, an entity comprised of distinct, short chunks of information arranged in reverse chronological order.

Intrinsic Value: The value of a company, stock, currency, or product determined by fundamental analysis without reference to its market value.

Hyperlink: A link from a hypertext file or document to another location or file, typically activated by clicking on a highlighted word or image on the screen.

Commentary:

My commentary for this post will be agreeing with many things the author stated throughout the article. Starting with the two different bloggers, I completely agree that blog is used as a personal diary, or to share ones interests with others. This concept leads me to believe in the people who are part of the social core, and those who are not. The author goes onto mention how blogging is non-profit. After reading this, I thought to myself that the material found in blogs will contain thoughts, opinions, and interests that are more real. They will be more real because there is no payment in blogging, people are just posting because they want to. My final agreement with the author is that blogging is a main source of communication for many. There is a widespread number of people who form their entire social life online by liking, commenting, or debating on other blog posts. In conclusion, I found this article very informational and interesting. I think the author did a great job explaining the blogosphere to readers.

 

 

For the most part, I did not enjoy this reading. For various reasons I thought chapter one was extremely dull, and took a long time for me to read. First, I disliked the high use of historical references. I felt as though it made the reading harder to understand. Second, the topic came across as boring to me. Even though I tried to embrace the text, I could not find it interesting. Lastly, the length. It was small print for 20 pages, with no gaps or spaces in between. The length only bothered me because I thought the reading was uninteresting. Regardless, I still finished the reading and was able to come up with many thoughts of my own.

“Seeing Ourselves Through Technology” provided me with a lot of valuable information that allowed me to create my own opinions. My key takeaway from this reading was that the social media universe is primarily used for people to globally express who they really are. People post videos, quotes, writings, etc, to describe and depict a picture of what they are like, and what their life is like. I believe this to be true, and I believe that it is a healthy form of expression, but I do not believe that it is the best form. I was hoping that the author would continue on and tell the readers that although social media is a wonderful form of communication, face to face interaction is the most important. Having good social skills is vital for future jobs, experiences, and encounters.

Another point I want to focus on is the structure and details of the text. Besides the text being long, I thought it was very unorganized. It felt as though the information given was all over the place. It was almost like there was no follow up for anything the author said. There were also a lot of stories passed to the readers that were hard to relate to the text. I would try to make connections, but I found it very difficult to do. The reading also contained a lot historical aspects. There were a lot of terms and names that I did not recognize which made the text much more complicated. Overall, I really thought that chapter one was educational, but in a very bland, and not so neat way.

In conclusion, I still learned a lot from reading this text. I learned the different forms of self representation through social media, how media plays a part in self reflection, the meaning behind the selfie, and how filter plays a key role in presentation. I was also given a new perspective and awareness of the time I will spend online, and on the things I post. Finally I discovered that when it comes to presenting myself online, I would rather be private with my personal characteristics and situations, rather than posting them for the whole world to see. My posts about myself will always be simple and positive. To wrap this blog post up, even though I did not enjoy the reading, I can still say that it benefited me.

Summary:

• 3 distinct modes of self representation in digital media: written, visual, quantitative.
• Almost everything we do today is done online.
• Technology makes us see a reflection of who we are.
• Diary writing was important for many cultures in the past (helped them understand themselves).
• Blogs can compare to diaries from the past (both personal).
• Selfies are self portraits that we share with our friends and followers online, allowing them to see a version of ourselves that we want them to see.
• Quantitative can be numbers, lists, maps, and graphs.
• There are many different ways people choose to track their habits.
• Quantitative self representation is seen everywhere in the world today (Fitbit, Apple Watch, etc).
• Present day and we can record our own reflections.
• Social media is about communication with others, and about how we see ourselves as people.
• Some social media sites make it difficult for people to “lurk”, and some do not.
• People use social media to tell their stories, and to let the world know who they are.
• Selfies are being used to let the people on the internet get to know each other.
• Selfies are also hated by many, they are thought to be used as a way to expose oneself.
• The pictures, videos, and texts that are posted online have become a form of communication for many people.

Key Terms/Main Ideas:

The main idea of this reading is to inform you on how social media is helping our generations represent ourselves to the rest of society.

Self representation: How a person wishes to present themselves to the world.

Curation: A field involved with assembling, managing, and presenting some kind of collection.

Selfie: A photograph that one has taken of oneself, taken with a smartphone or web cam, and shared to social media.

Quantitative: Relating to, measuring, or measured by the quantity of something rather than quality.

Diary: A book where someone keeps record of their daily events and experiences.

Commentary:

Throughout this reading I was able to make many connections with the author, but there were also a couple things that I disagreed with. I was completely for the variety of ways one can present themselves from the media (written, visual, quantitative). I agree that social media has become a platform for communication. I also agree that social media allows us to express who we really are in a way that cannot be done during face to face interaction. But is it the best way? While reading this chapter, I got the sense that the author believes that the idea of posting our true character online is the best option for getting to know one another. This is where I disagree. Although I still think it is great to express yourself online, I do not think it is the best way. I believe that social media has caused us to lose our skills with face to face communication. Sure, the internet allows us to post our pictures, words, and videos, only a small image from a specific moment. Compared to face to face communication where it allows us to see the facial expressions of others, hear the different tones in their voice, and read their body language. I would rather sit for hours outside on a bench talking with someone beside me, then text for hours with someone who is only 15 minuets away.

For my license, I decided to go with the simple, standard “attribution” license that can be found in Creative Commons. I chose this license because it will be very lenient with the users that follow me. I am okay with others wanting to expand on, or change my work as long as I get some kind of credit. I would like a little credit because I am still taking my own time to form the thoughts, ideas, and words that are presented here on this blog. Other than that, I personally do not mind if other bloggers want to use my posts as a way to create new ideas that stemmed from mine. In all honesty, I do the same thing when I come across a post that strikes me as a great thought.

I will start out by saying that when I first saw the length of the article, I was crushed. The first thing I thought to myself was, “how will I ever finish this?”. In the end, I did finish it. After reading the article I found myself very impressed with how well the author persuaded me to believe that blogs were really not such a bad thing after all. I was glad to have been given a variety of positive outcomes that can be formed inside the world of blogging. This is because my first reaction to creating my own blog was negative.

Aside from constructing my own personal opinions, I was also able to make connections between the article and my English class. Both were extremely clear about the set-up of  a blog, the customization options, and how a blog can become a social gateway for thousands, if not millions of people. Both resources also taught me the kind of freedom one has while blogging. There are no restrictions on length, topics, or format. I believe that this will lead students to become more successful with their writing because they will have no limitations. The article and the discussions that take place in English class have been very helpful in my understanding of the world of blogging.

Tis article also taught me a lot about the many different aspects writing can bring to the table. A key takeaway from the article is that thinking about what you are going to write about is the most difficult step, the rest is easy. After getting a good start on your writing, the words will begin to flow. Writing can also be an escape for many people, a way to pour their thoughts and feelings out into the world. It can bring people’s imaginations to life, and allow them to share those with a variety of audiences. The most passionate writers can turn their hobby into a proffestion with the right amount of work and dedication. They can go on to publish novels, newspapers, poems, etc. Even if you do not enjoy writing, it will still help you develops skills that will last you a lifetime. Finally, writing has become a primary source for expressing ideas, teaching new concepts, and entertaining society. For example, a blog allows users to read what others around them think and feel about another topic. Another example is you could go to your public library and find a biography on a person you want to learn more about. Last example, you could borrow a book such as “The Hunger Games”, and read it for only the purpose of enjoyment.

To summarize, this article was very useful to me. I learned the meaning of blogging, the positives that come with, and how it opens a door to a whole new level of writing. I know that blogging brings an experience to people that cannot be found elsewhere. I am pleased to say that I truly support the idea of blogging now, and I look forward to doing it more in the future.

Summary:

• It takes around 10,000 hours of dedication to a certain task to be considered an expert/professional at it.
• Writing provides students with skills that will help them succeed in almost any future career they find themselves in.
• A blog provides the opportunity to explore and develop your writing.
• 3 questions to ask yourself before you begin to write: 1) Who is your audience? 2) What is your purpose? 3) What genre are you writing?
• 4 elements of autonomy (task, technique, time, and team).
• Choosing a topic to write about may very well be the most difficult part of writing.
• 5 forces that inspire you to write: 1) Urgency to the topic. 2) Important purpose. 3) Feeling knowledgeable to write about a certain subject. 4) Personal interest. 5) Positive audience and feedback.
• Blogging brings a sense of independence for the writer.
• Blogs allow your work to live on forever.
• Your blog posts can be short, long, formal, informal, etc…
• If someone wanted to start a blog, most websites have simple (easy to understand) directions.
• Your blog can include pictures, videos, podcasts, almost any kind of media.
• You can customize dozens of features that your blog includes.
• You can filter out unwanted comments on your blog.
• The main point of blogging is to write/share your interests with others on the web.
• As a blogger, set goals for yourself (post once a day, comment on another blog, explore new ideas from other blogs, etc).

Key Terms/Main Ideas:

The main idea of this article is to express the benefits of blogging, and to inform people how simple and entertaining managing a blog can be.

Intrinsic Motivation: Behavior that is driven by internal rewards.

Extrinsic Motivation: Behavior that is driven by external rewards (money, praise, fame, etc).

Autonomy: Freedom from external control, and influence. Independence.

Blogosphere: Blogs existing as a community/connection.

RSS (Real Simple Syndication) Feed: A file that updates every time you post something new. Also allows others to connect with your blog.

Commentary:

When I was first introduced to the idea of a blog, I was unhappy. I have always been content and comfortable with the idea of simply writing by hand onto a piece of paper. After reading this article my perspective changed. Turns out there are many benefits to having a blog. I found myself agreeing with almost everything the author had to say about blogging. I loved the idea of independence with blogging. Your post could be the length of a book, or simply one sentence that gets straight to the point. You could blog in the morning, the afternoon, or the evening. You could write about anything that comes to mind, and share your opinion with the rest of the world. I was also very pleased with how well the author explained the blog set up, and all the different options that are available for bloggers. For someone like me, who is new to blogging, the author led me to believe that managing a blog is not as complicated as it may seem to be. This left me with a positive outlook on blogging. In conclusion, the author did a wonderful job expressing the positive experience blogging can bring to people all around the globe. Thanks to Alex Reid, (author) I can now welcome the idea of blogging in my English class.

While setting up my blog, I discovered many things that went well. The steps were very easy to follow and understand, there were a variety of choices for the blog (theme, fonts, headings), and it did not take a lot of time to do. Overall the set-up was very simple.

I only faced a couple problems while setting up the blog. First, I was a little confused  with the widgets, but after watching a video it made sense to me. Second, navigating the blog took me a while to figure out. I would say I felt more curious than frustrated with the issues I encountered. Other than that, everything went fine for me.

My thinking was more focused while setting up the blog. I made sure to pay close attention to what was expected from me during the set-up process. This was because blogs were almost like a foreign concept to me. I have never run my own blog, or thought about it. The type of thought I experienced during the blog set-up was the same kind of thought I had when I first picked up a basketball. These compare because they were both new to me at the time, and I had to learn about them. Finally, while writing these posts my thinking level was very high. I believe this is because I want my posts to be good quality for the people that read them.

My name is Victoria (Tori) Gateno. I am a junior at John Marshall High School, and a part-time PSEO student at RCTC. My extracurricular activities include basketball and being part of the National Honor Society. My hobbies outside of school are hanging out with my friends, watching movies, and going on outdoor adventures. I also love to travel, and because my family is from all around the world, I have been to many different countries. I am an only child and live with both of my parents, and my pet bunny (Eddie). After I graduate high school, I hope to study nursing. My plan is to attend college somewhere in, or near Minnesota. Finally, some simple facts about me! My favorite food is mac and cheese, and Chipotle. I love all music. I enjoy English class, but my favorite is history!