Not to override your post Tom, but I will get to that shortly. I just feel compelled to share this.
I have been blogging on my personal blog on the four blogs I have been viewing for the past week or so. Only two of the four are actually able to hold my interest at any level, but beyond that, I got my first semi-offensive/serious comment from an outsider. Well I guess technically it is my second. I welcomed the first comment from an outsider (out of class) with open arms seeing as it was very nice. As you guys probably know, I don't write for comments, I write for me. Apparently with this notion, I tend to forget that anyone can see our blogs, which shouldn't change what I write anyway.
I recently made a post on a picture of a creepy doll in my opinion. You can check it out on "quotable quotes." It turns out that the person who maintains the blog where this picture was commented on my posting with some unfavorable words. What he said was completely legitimate, but point and case of why I don't love comments or blogging for that matter. Sure blogging is great for most people, but I just get too offended too easily. That is my problem and I am completely willing to admit it.
I just needed to get that off my chest.........
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
kick it into gear
Not sure how we can kick this blog into gear. Posting would help. If for no other reason than to start a dialog I'll ask; what are your plans for break? I still have to work so I don't have major plans. A week with no class or homework will be a welcome break though. Plan on putting in some marathon gaming hours.
Did everyone come up with feedback about the final paper for Dr. Sands? I am still not sure where to go with that. I did reassert my statement from class that D2L can go. Bringing that conversation here will help.
ADDED: Just came across this story on BBC. The 2007 award for journalism went to 22-year old blogger Abdel Kareem Soliman, who wrote under the name Kareem Amer. How's that for blogs making a difference and changing the world.
Did everyone come up with feedback about the final paper for Dr. Sands? I am still not sure where to go with that. I did reassert my statement from class that D2L can go. Bringing that conversation here will help.
ADDED: Just came across this story on BBC. The 2007 award for journalism went to 22-year old blogger Abdel Kareem Soliman, who wrote under the name Kareem Amer. How's that for blogs making a difference and changing the world.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Interesting Blogging Article
This is entirely off topic of what our assignment sheet is saying, but I thought this was pretty interesting and random that I came across this article.
I found a magazine on the newspaper racks in the union. The magazine is called Young Money. Inside was an article by a technology editor, Dave Matthews, called "Beginner's Guide to Blogging." It was very brief, but discussed a couple key points. First of all, Matthews says that blogs are a good idea because they may one day be able to make you money. He brought this point up a few times, but never really expanded upon it.
He is also a big hater of MySpace and Facebook. He says, "If you are one of the millions of college students graduation this spring with MySpace of Facebook accounts loaded with so-called "friends" and message board entries, it may be time for you to grow up to a real blog."
I think this comment is a bit harsh, but I see his point. He talks about being able to make blogs private or public and being able to add photos. You can do all of these things of Facebook as well. I am not personally experienced with MySpace, so I can't comment on that. One of his main defenses is that blogs are easy to access. He says "can you imagine your grandmother signing up for a MySpace page, just so she can access your photos?" I think he soon realized that was a silly point to make because he mentioned that you probably wouldn't want your grandmother to see those photos anyway.
Lastly, the author offers some blogging quick tips. Here is what he has to say.
*Post regularly or readers won't keep coming back to your blog
*Leave comments on other's blogs, to drive more traffic links
*Make sure the comments are smart and not seen as spam
*Use a photo with each entry since a picture is worth a million words!
*Link to your friends on the sidebar to gain traffic
*Sign up for Google Ad Words to make some money from your blog traffic hat your expertise area is.
I found a magazine on the newspaper racks in the union. The magazine is called Young Money. Inside was an article by a technology editor, Dave Matthews, called "Beginner's Guide to Blogging." It was very brief, but discussed a couple key points. First of all, Matthews says that blogs are a good idea because they may one day be able to make you money. He brought this point up a few times, but never really expanded upon it.
He is also a big hater of MySpace and Facebook. He says, "If you are one of the millions of college students graduation this spring with MySpace of Facebook accounts loaded with so-called "friends" and message board entries, it may be time for you to grow up to a real blog."
I think this comment is a bit harsh, but I see his point. He talks about being able to make blogs private or public and being able to add photos. You can do all of these things of Facebook as well. I am not personally experienced with MySpace, so I can't comment on that. One of his main defenses is that blogs are easy to access. He says "can you imagine your grandmother signing up for a MySpace page, just so she can access your photos?" I think he soon realized that was a silly point to make because he mentioned that you probably wouldn't want your grandmother to see those photos anyway.
Lastly, the author offers some blogging quick tips. Here is what he has to say.
*Post regularly or readers won't keep coming back to your blog
*Leave comments on other's blogs, to drive more traffic links
*Make sure the comments are smart and not seen as spam
*Use a photo with each entry since a picture is worth a million words!
*Link to your friends on the sidebar to gain traffic
*Sign up for Google Ad Words to make some money from your blog traffic hat your expertise area is.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Timely Blogs
Building upon what I have already expressed about the importance of a creative blog, I think that time is an important element to consider. Time is more important in some blogs, while not so much in others.
A blog needs to be consistent. If posts are only made once or twice a month for instance, the reader will likely loose interest. Beyond consistency, posts on blogs also need to be made timely on a smaller basis. For instance, if you are making a posting on Britney Spears shaving her head, it would need to be done close to when that story was breaking to make it worthwhile. Yes, someone could post on that story a couple months down the road, but it will take a completely different effect.
Along with the element of time, it is important to keep in mind who you are writing your blog for. Give it a personality that suits you (the writer) and the topics you’re writing on. For example, colors express different moods to some extent, so when choosing what color font to use, consider your topic. If you are writing a sad entry, black or blue may be appropriate, whereas if you’re topic is happy and joyful, yellow or orange would be appropriate.
A blog needs to be consistent. If posts are only made once or twice a month for instance, the reader will likely loose interest. Beyond consistency, posts on blogs also need to be made timely on a smaller basis. For instance, if you are making a posting on Britney Spears shaving her head, it would need to be done close to when that story was breaking to make it worthwhile. Yes, someone could post on that story a couple months down the road, but it will take a completely different effect.
Along with the element of time, it is important to keep in mind who you are writing your blog for. Give it a personality that suits you (the writer) and the topics you’re writing on. For example, colors express different moods to some extent, so when choosing what color font to use, consider your topic. If you are writing a sad entry, black or blue may be appropriate, whereas if you’re topic is happy and joyful, yellow or orange would be appropriate.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Good Blogging
Should have posted this last week. Think I am finally on track with what I am posting and where.
A Good Blog Manifesto
1. First I believe that what constitutes a good blog is highly subjective and a matter of personal taste. I don’t expect or want everyone to like or agree with all of my choices. Diversity makes life interesting and sparks new ideas and debate.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Make a Quality Blog, or I Shall Be Disappointed All Over You.
Style is good, but substance is always the most important to me.
I like short and sweet, or long, but not really long.
The Bitch PhD blog is an example of a short and sweet style. I could never do such a thing because I'm a windbag.
I like long if there's a story inovlved. I don't respond to a string of facts so much as a story with lots of details. Facts are just so... schoolish. Whereas ture stories are conversational. For an example see the reply I posted on the d2l forum for week five.
Really long, though, is just tedious. Unless I'm REALLY interested in what's going on. Like I'd stick around for a really long entry on, say, Lost, Veronica Mars, or Heroes. Or maybe a comic book critique of a series I read. But when you get down to the umpteenth article on academic blogging being dangerous to your job or professional status they just all start looking long.
So, in summation, the best way to create an effective blog is to be amazing. And if that isn't a simple task I don't know what is.
(the previous statement reminds me of the time that our Graphic Design teacher suggested that we read THE (MOTHER F**KIN') FOUNTAINHEAD over winter break.
Bitch PLEASE.
I like short and sweet, or long, but not really long.
The Bitch PhD blog is an example of a short and sweet style. I could never do such a thing because I'm a windbag.
I like long if there's a story inovlved. I don't respond to a string of facts so much as a story with lots of details. Facts are just so... schoolish. Whereas ture stories are conversational. For an example see the reply I posted on the d2l forum for week five.
Really long, though, is just tedious. Unless I'm REALLY interested in what's going on. Like I'd stick around for a really long entry on, say, Lost, Veronica Mars, or Heroes. Or maybe a comic book critique of a series I read. But when you get down to the umpteenth article on academic blogging being dangerous to your job or professional status they just all start looking long.
So, in summation, the best way to create an effective blog is to be amazing. And if that isn't a simple task I don't know what is.
(the previous statement reminds me of the time that our Graphic Design teacher suggested that we read THE (MOTHER F**KIN') FOUNTAINHEAD over winter break.
Bitch PLEASE.
what makes a good blog?
According to the 5th week assignment sheet, we are supposed to be talking about what we think makes a good blog and what makes a good blog post.
What I find most important in good blogs and good blog posts seem to coincide a bit. I think it is very important for a blog to be visually pleasing. At the same time, a blog post should be visually pleasing as well. A blog should be organized well with a layout that suits the blogger. A post should have text broken up into small chunks.
I think it is very important for a blog post to have a good title. Quite often, I judge a blog by its title. If it sounds boring in the title, there is a good change that the blog itself is going to be dry and boring to read. A good blog post should please the blogger when done. If you are not happy with what you wrote, than what was the point?
A good blog is easy to navigate. A place to post comments is readily available. A good blog is not cluttered.
Everyone learns things differently and judges things according to their own beliefs. Since I am a visually learner and a visual person, I think that the look of a blog and a blog post is what is most important. Quite frankly, if it looks interesting and visually pleasing, I will take a second look at it.
What I find most important in good blogs and good blog posts seem to coincide a bit. I think it is very important for a blog to be visually pleasing. At the same time, a blog post should be visually pleasing as well. A blog should be organized well with a layout that suits the blogger. A post should have text broken up into small chunks.
I think it is very important for a blog post to have a good title. Quite often, I judge a blog by its title. If it sounds boring in the title, there is a good change that the blog itself is going to be dry and boring to read. A good blog post should please the blogger when done. If you are not happy with what you wrote, than what was the point?
A good blog is easy to navigate. A place to post comments is readily available. A good blog is not cluttered.
Everyone learns things differently and judges things according to their own beliefs. Since I am a visually learner and a visual person, I think that the look of a blog and a blog post is what is most important. Quite frankly, if it looks interesting and visually pleasing, I will take a second look at it.
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