My
perception of bloggers is that they are the people who need attention the most
in the world. They want to send their thoughts and ideas out into the World
Wide Web for others to see. I am not sure when blogging started, and I am not
too sure I even care to know. But one thing I do know is the time of the blog has
yet to pass. For some reason people are attracted to blogs in the same way
everyone has to stare at a car crash on the high way … you just can’t look
away! In my mind blogs are recently taking off. Look at our class for example,
we are writing a blog instead of a typed or hand written essay to turn in. The
first blog that I had ever written was for school while I was Rome (we had to
keep blogs for a class). I found it weird and quit awkward that I was blogging
about what I had done that day, considering my above description of who bloggers
are.
But
when we look at the purpose of the blog, “the spontaneous expression of instant
thought” (Sullivan), to me, it’s obvious that the time of blog is far from
over. Everyday people blog about
nonsense, unless you follow someone specific, but the reasons for why people
blog are different, right? I am not so sure. I think that all people
essentially blog for the same purpose: to get their voice out there. Whether it’s
a good or bad voice doesn’t matter because blogging according to Sullivan is,
in many ways, writing out loud. I think that people today are so caught up with
themselves that blogging will be here for a while.
As
for me, like I said before, I do not blog unless I am getting graded on it, and
I do not plan on starting a blog in the near future. However, I do think that
our generation will encounter blogging and other types of social media within
our jobs. It is quit obvious that technology plays a huge role in the world
today and everything from museums to television shows utilize blogs, twitter,
and Facebook as a way to access a wider, and generally a younger audience. I
know that where I work, Stan Hywett Hall and Gardens use all of these social
media outlets to get information out and to emphasize special events.
Even
though I do not want to continue by blog career after this semester, I think
that I might have to in my career. I guess I can put on a good face to get the
job done, at least then I will be getting paid to blog. As for personal usage,
blogs have no meaning to me. I have no need to throw my thoughts and ideas out
there for the whole world to see, because it is usually my big mouth that gets me
into trouble most of the time.
Your opening statement about bloggers needing the most attention was interesting. I agree, they do send their thoughts and ideas into cyberspace, but isn’t that also just taking advantage of the freedom of expression? I think it ultimately depends on the content they include in their blogs; if you have a teenager crying out for help because their being bullied or a woman blogging because she lost her job, then I think your statement rings true: those are the people that deserve our attention. But a blogger who writes about birds or techy things like tamagotchi’s, my attention would be beneficial elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteHowever, your point that blogs are just now taking off and that they will catch on remains to be seen. I loved your car-wreck reference! I think once people become more familiar with blogging and its structure, they will begin to use them and read them more often.
The thinking of using blogs in your future career is interesting. I never really thought about how I might go about using blogging in the government sector, mostly because the information I will be working with will be classified and whatnot, but you make a valid point. Your example for using all forms of social media to advertise for events at Stan Hywett was probably very beneficial.
Hey Megan,
ReplyDeleteI was interested when you quoted Sullivan on the instantaneous nature of blogging. I just read Angela's similar Sullivan quote, and I commented on the immediacy that is necessary for blogging. In almost no other form of writing is this instant writing necessary. The critical essay, personal essay, creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry all seem to require careful thought and revision. But that would ruin the blog because part of its beauty is the visceral reaction of the writer to the subject. When the writer reflects too much on the subject or allows too much time to pass before posting, then something within the blog genre is lost. Nice post.
Thanks!
Maria