Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Course Blog Assignment #2
Review three of your classmates’ blogs (accessible via the "English 301 Student Blogs" column on the right-hand side of this page). What have you learned from your peers’ work about strategies for blogging and/or strategies for writing about a public issue? Post your 200-word response using the "Comment" function below.
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I noticed in the “Population Crisis” blog that the writer uses quotes and defines terms for the readers. I haven’t thought to define any terms in my own blog. I realize now that there are a few terms within my own writing blog that some readers perhaps might not know. The effect that I got from reading the definitions and quotes within the text is that the writer became even more influential in that they gained more creditability. Having more creditability is never a bad thing. Another factor in establishing creditability seen in the blog “Term Limits In Congress” is knowing the history of the issue and pulling up events or situations to support the issue. Being familiar with the argument that has developed over time does more than establish creditability though; it also helps the writer understand where the argument began and how it got to where it stands today. This affects how the writer and the audience view the other side of the argument, because they know how each side of the debate has formulated their argument as well as the roots of that argument. Knowing history and definitions are both important when presenting an argument, without them creditability would suffer. If I imagine those blogs without those two types of information, the creditability suffers thus the argument drastically weakens.
ReplyDeleteI think the biggest issue that I’ve picked up from my classmates’ blogs is the strong sense of passion they hold for their topics. Erin Fitzwilliams is completely dedicated to helping save stray cats, while Mackenzie Mays is busy fighting for the rights of homeless, and Allison George really cares about the effects that overpopulation has on the environment. The use of passion and emotion can really help strike a chord with your audience, especially with Erin's topic, most people would get emotional at the idea of kittens fending for themselves in the winter. Its heartbreaking, the emotion will more than likely inspire people to do something to help stop the stray cat epidemic.
ReplyDeleteIn all three blogs the students use either personal experience or statistics to really get their point across, something that I’ve utilized in my blog as well. I think the most interesting was Mackenzie’s blog. She recently broke down exactly who/why people are homeless while mentioning how bad it makes her feel to see homeless people on the streets of Morgantown. Her blog lists several reasons, never stating the easy approach, “they’re lazy” she recognizes what many don’t see, that many homeless teenagers are rejected homosexual youth run that have run away from home or are adults that were really affected by the economic downturn.
Allison also does a great job of listing the reasons that “wetlands” are disappearing around the world because of overpopulation. However she first explains exactly what a wetland is, making sure that her audience really understands what she is talking about. This is a really important strategy in making sure that your readers continue to follow your blog, you must make sure that things are explained to them relatively well so that they get the most out of their reading.
I looked at Andrew Holbrook, Jared Lathrop, and Bridget Feeny's blogs for this assignment. Of the blogs that I looked at so far, everyone seems to be doing a great job with showing knowledge and enthusiasm about their topic. Their seems to be a lot of good things going on with their blogs. Links, videos, quotes, etc. are all being incorporated into them to help their credibility and these things help present their issue through various forms of media.
ReplyDeleteAndrew's blog talks about term limits in the United States. What I like most about his blog is how he defines the issue and uses quotes from the Declaration of Independence to help drive his argument further. He's doing a lot of great things here that I feel could help my blog out. I definitely think I could incorporate definitions into my blog so that people that read it and don't understand some of the terms I use will be able to understand them.
Bridget's blog talks about the obesity problem in American society. Her use of quotes and links to other websites that talk about her issue are a great strength that adds to the integrity of her blog. I especially liked the link that linked readers to an article that lead them to an article that laid out an easy work out plan that people could use to shed a few pounds.
Jared's blog focuses on harassment, essentially of any kind. Jared uses links, pics, and videos to represent his topic. What I find most appealing about his blog is his voice. I can clearly hear his voice and passion in his topic as I read over his blog. I can feel the emotion he has invested in his issue.
By viewing my classmates' blogs, I learned something very important about blogging in general: there's no one particular technique when it comes to blogging, and although each blog voice is unique to it's author, all can be equally effective.
ReplyDeleteIn Jared Lathrop's blog, he fights to stop harrassment against members of the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender community. I enjoy reading his blog because I feel it is the perfect balance between fact and opinion. He blogs his own passionate thoughts and personal experiences, but provides facts and instances of others who have been effected. He also does a great job of localizing a country-wide issue.
In Bridget Feeney's blog, she fights to end obesity in America, but does so in a way that is light-hearted, yet effective. I like that her blog can address how serious the issue is, but can also incorporate sarcasm throughout the blog to keep that attitude positive when fighting for prevention. She recently posted advice on how to party with healthy foods, like for instance during the Super Bowl. I think this particular technique draws readers in by not being too serious.
I also enjoy Melissa Rhode's blog against book banning. She succeeds at having an organized and thematic blog and made me realize the importance of having a blog that is visually appealing. The better the blog looks, the more your audience will want to read it. I like how she begins each post with a famous quote that pertains to the subject and coordinates the text by different typefaces, which provides easy readibility for her audience.
The three student blogs I reviewed were Jared Lathrop’s, Will Foreman’s, and Bridget Feeney’s.
ReplyDeleteJared’s blog features a lot of personal experience. His words were passionate in what he believed and he used stories people could relate to. He included videos and pictures to enhance the experience. In one entry, he posts the text of a letter he wrote to a well-known writer/ activist against harassment of homosexuals. This entry expresses Jared’s dedication with the subject. His most recent comment uses an article in WVU’s student newspaper related to the subject. This article provides the audience with a sense of urgency and lets them know that the issue is happening locally.
Will’s blog topic is one that I have never heard of. His first two comments have a one-on-one tone. He uses “you” throughout his entries to help readers become aware that this issue is something that everyone should know about. A unique feature that I found on this blog was the links to sources. This was helpful when I questioned credibility or when I was confused on a term. Also, I think having a few bold texts makes readers want to find out what the content has to say.
Bridget’s blog analyzes our country’s society with direct examples from news articles and advertisements. She defines terms that audiences may not completely understand (obese). She uses the Superbowl as a great way to reach out to a large audience. A useful aspect of her blog is the food tips and workout plan links. This provides readers with a chance to take action immediately with the issue.
I believe all the bloggers I reviewed were successful in delivering their message with different tactics.
After reading a few of my classmate’s blogs, I realized that they are all passionate about what they are writing about. Andrew Strittmater, Mackenzie Mays, and Andrew Holbrook’s blogs are extremely informative, which makes me conclude that they have done extensive research and are really trying to enlighten their audience about their topics. They have all included credible resources such as statistics, links, and videos to stress the importance of their issue.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Strittmater’s blog is about how concussions have been affecting the lives and careers of NFL players for years. I like how he uses the video bar by youtube.com on the left hand side of his blog as examples. Even though most people know the concept of a concussion, the videos are a good addition to see how hard of a hit the players do every play, for those who don’t know much about football. I like this idea because I think my readers can benefit from videos on my blog.
Mackenzie’s blog is about how to help the homeless community in Morgantown and is very well constructed. I personally like how she writes her blogs because they are informational with credible statistics but it’s also a contact site for people to use if they want to volunteer. Although the ultimate goal of her blog is for people to volunteer, I like how she pushes her reader to think that there’s really no excuse for not helping out. It reminds her audience to think about the what if?...what if that were you?
Andrew Holbrook’s blog is about the term limits in government in the United States. His blog is very informative with statistics and definitions, which is extremely helpful to his audience because this topic can get confusing within various states. The historical background throughout his blog is also a nice touch because it allows the reader to see why these terms have limitations in the first place and who institutionalized them.
I’ve learned various techniques from viewing my classmate’s blogs. For starters, every blog that I viewed contained a topic that can be relatable to different publics, which is an important aspect of this class. Also, I was impressed with the amount of concern, passion, and personal commitment that each author put forth in his/her blog.
ReplyDeleteRachel Mort’s Pancreatic Cancer blog looks very professional and I like how she includes a youtube.com video to help build her credibility. She includes different colored bullets within her first blog post in order to draw in her audience quickly. I appreciate that she listed some unknown facts and statistics about pancreatic cancer in order to get the audience immediately informed. It was brave and honest of her to include that she has a lot to still learn about pancreatic cancer so that her audience knows that she will slowly be building her credibility throughout the semester.
Rachel Tibb’s Childhood Obesity blog includes a youtube.com video of WVU students at a Zumba fitness class. I like how she uses more than just the written portion of her blog to persuade her audience. I never thought of how I could use other forms of media to help to convey my message to my audience, so Rachel thanks for inspiring me to do the same on my blog. She includes many links within her texts so that her audience can immediately be connected with more information. I appreciate how she reflects on her own memories to help build her credibility and prove that she had a firsthand experience with eating school lunches.
Andrew Strittmater’s NFL hard hits blog contains a very impressive video bar on the left side of his blog. This is an easy way for him to include multiple videos without taking up space within the blog itself. Very smart, Andrew. I commend you on your creativeness. I appreciate that he included the regulations that the NFL has included in order to better protect the players such as penalties and fines for harsher actions that result in injuries. It is obvious that player safety is close to Andrew’s heart and I look forward to learning more throughout the semester.
The three blogs which I chose to look at were Allison’s blog on overpopulation, Andrew Holbrook’s blog on Term Limits and Andrew Strittmater’s blog on Concussions.
ReplyDeleteStarting with Allison’s blog, I like how she formatted everything and her use of the pages tool to organize everything. Although she is just beginning her project, the information she has posted is easy to find, and the purpose of her blog is clear.
From a design stand-point, I think a better background/color scheme would benefit the blog, as the current design doesn’t really have a lot to do with overpopulation (although it does still look nice, as is.)
Like Allison, Andrew H. used the pages tool, and it has the same effect. He also does a good job identifying the purpose of the blog. My only recommendation here would be that he separate his blog posts into smaller paragraphs with spaces between them, since this would help make his blog easier to read since there wouldn’t be the block of text effect which the blog suffers from right now.
As far as the information which is presented in the blog, there is a lot of good info but I’m not sure how accessible it is. For example, someone who is not familiar with US history or politics would probably not know what the Articles of Confederation is. Providing definitions for any terms which would not be accessible to a Lay-audience would help make the blog more accessible to readers not already interested in the topic.
Unlike the previous two blogs, Andrew S. does not use the pages tool to organize his blog, though I’m not sure this is necessary at the moment. The purpose is clearly stated at the top, and I liked the different organization in terms of where everything is on the page. The video bar is nice as well, since it provides clear links to outside sources which are relevant to the topic, and Andrew does a good job showing us what a “Hard Hit” is.
One thing which I would recommend he work on, as with Andrew H’s, is breaking up text into smaller, more manageable paragraphs. There is also quite a bit of open space between the Blog post section and the video bar, and I think the blog would be benefitted if something else were put here to close up the space.
Overall I was mostly impressed by the different lay-outs of the blogs, and I am going to use what I saw to re-design my own blog to increase its effectiveness.
For this assignment, I read Steven Parker's blog on Communism and Capitalism, Danny Kelleher's blog on medical marijuana, and Chris Kees blog about Wal-Mart.
ReplyDeleteI like Steven's "About the Blog" page. It clearly outlines for the reader what they will be able to get out of reading his blog. His posts themselves work similarly. Each week he covers a facet of his issue very concisely. His required reading list could use a little more variation, and annotations to give the reader a better idea of the content to be found in each article.
Danny has proved he has done his research in his blog on medicinal marijuana, but more importantly the way he presents information is attention grabbing, and it holds the readers interest. He has clearly thought about kairos while writing his blog, since medical marijuana is such a hot topic right now, and his history of the issue gives the reader an idea of the pressures that have led to this issue's relevance in America today. Also, his blog is the only one I read that is designed based on his issue, which I liked.
Chris's blog about Wal-mart has an interesting premise, since big Corporations have such a presence in American culture. The blog could use a little help in the way of arrangement though I think. For example, the first blog post first talks about big box stores, then defines them later. Also, the subsequent blog posts show us more of his writing process than they do expand the issue for the reader.
Looking at the blogs of other students has helped me to learn several things about blogging. First, I learned that a complex template and color choices that are difficult to see can detract from the effectiveness of the blog. I also learned that embedded videos are far easier to use, better-looking, and more effective than hyperlinks in the post. Finally, I learned that objectivity is not of primary importance in blogging, and in fact that a clearly subjective stance is desirable. Many of my fellow classmates are subjective in their blogs, and often tie emotion into the issue. I think this is effective in reaching their audience as well as connecting to other people who feel very strongly about the issues. For the most part, I believe my classmates’ blogs are very well-written and designed, and I’ll be looking at them throughout the semester for more ideas on what, and what not, to do in my own.
ReplyDeleteThe mixtures of facts, multimedia usage and opinion blend well to create blogs and I feel a few of my classmates have embraced the new era of blogs.
ReplyDeleteJared Lathrop's cause to fight harassment of gays, lesbians, bisexual, transgendered teens is something that has been recently talked about in the media and perhaps offers immediate information about it. Personally, I only know what I've heard on CNN or in news stories, and of course how it effects the gay community, growing up with several gay friends. It's really unfortunate people are harassed for who they are, and Jared offers so many facts and stats about who is troubled out there and maybe why they are. Jared quoted my recent articles in the DA about the Chick-fil-A signs, which show someone in Morgantown is trying to change things. I had to write the article without my opinion, leaving it open to either side, but I do believe the signs were anti-Chick-fil-A. It's good Jared is bringing the issue a little more localized with talking about the article.
Mackenzie Mays taking a swing at homelessness in Morgantown shows a great idea about something that we all have seen going to class or just driving around town. We see the same people and in her blog, she provides more facts about why people are loosing their homes. With her blog she urges those more fortunate to volunteer and help these individuals.
Bridget Feeney's blog about changing the obesity in America is really eye-opening. I too ate my way through a great Superbowl and her most recent blog post about it is really great, with offering healthy options to eat at parties and in public in general.
These blogs made me realize I need to step it up and include more straight up information in my blog, instead of my personal experiences with strays around Morgantown.
While reading over my classmates blogs, not only did I learn some new things about their topics but I was also reminded of some design elements I hadn’t considered in my own blog. “The Real Costs of Walmart” by Chris Kees brings up an interesting argument about how large stores can cause a lot of harm. The inclusion of a survey that is relevant as well as quick and easy was especially effective, as a short survey would encourage more participation since it wouldn’t take long to do.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Holbrooks’ “Term Limits In Congress” blog focused on why congressional term limits are in place and how useful they are. The combination of a simple design with a few customized elements helped keep it set apart from generic blogs without distracting away from the information. Allison Wrights’ blog about overpopulation reminded me about the need to set up each post as its own concise section.
Careful selection and arrangement of the subtopics within a blog can really help the reader understand what is going on, especially if the reader just ‘hoped in’ to your most recent post without reading what came before it. While reviewing my classmate’s blogs I also remembered the importance of readability and consistency. Both are necessary to maximize reader’s comprehension and need to be taken into account for any writing, but especially web writing.
One of the blogs that I read was Andrew Strittmater’s blog about NFL hard hits. I learned a lot about the players whose careers ended over concussions received during the game. He talked a lot about how players sometimes receive unfair treatment and are sometimes expected to return to the game, even though they are suffering from concussion-like symptoms. I think this is a really good topic to research because it is something of significant importance. I like the way he discusses the research being done by Dr. Omalu about post-concussion syndrome and the way it affects retired football players.
ReplyDeleteKate Everly’s blog about social media in public relations is another blog I read. This blog caught my interest because I am also a public relations major. The post about the way KFC used the Apprentice is very interesting. KFC was incredibly smart to use the Apprentice in order to raise awareness about their oven roasted chicken. I like how she also talks about the way social media is continuing to expand and how the majority of people spend their time using some form of it.
In Melissa Rhodes’ blog about book banning, my favorite thing is the quote by Oscar Wilde in her first post. It says “The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.” This is a great way to start a post. This quote really sums up what she is talking about and why she thinks that books are banned. Not allowing students to read books for whatever reason really doesn’t help to prepare students for the outside world. I love how she related her own personal story with her school teacher to the subject at hand.
The three blogs that I viewed to better myself about blogging were Andrew Strittmater’s, Melissa Rhode’s, and Bridget Feeney’s because these topics relate in one way or another to a passion of mine and they have authored these blogs extremely well.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Strittmater’s blog on “NFL Hard Hits” has a great display for the topic in question. He was put in multiple videos to show what exactly is being defined as a hard hit. Another thing I like about the blog is that it gets the reader to side with the author, and in that sense the players, by not just talking about the initial effects of these hard hits on players. He tells about what happens to these players after they retire and how years of brain trauma effects their lives and in some cases gives the imagine of a punch drunk boxer. He is hitting the “why” is this important aspect at every angle.
Melissa Rhodes, firstly, has chosen an extremely interesting and relevant topic. She notes the current controversy of editing an American classic of Mark Twain’s. Through the post she has argued that censorship should be done lightly, stressing that all writings need to be read because, even in vulgar satire such as Twain’s, the words and message can shine light on a new way of thinking about a topic or in some cases remind us of our shame. Continuing in the example of Mark Twain, editing offensive language in a book written over 100 years ago does not change the fact that people used the word back then. Her blog has done a great job hitting a cord with the readers’ own morals.
Bridget Freeney’s blog has done a great job with compiling actual data and numbers and websites to help readers if they feel they fall into the category of obese. This blog can be interesting and useful to people who are overweight and people just curious in the topic. She also gives examples of herself in her blog (ex: the Super Bowl and what she chose to eat during that event). She makes the reader feel comfortable because they feel like someone is talking to them and not down at them.
For my blog, I need to find more numerical data and bring myself down into my post. I should put a little bit more of my voice in the post instead of standing high up somewhere sputtering out moments in history and definitions.
I think the main thing that I’m learning through my classmates’ blogs is they are completely dedicated and passionate about what they are writing about. I think that Jared’s is the one that I’m really focusing on with this. You can just tell by his writing that he is extremely passionate and determined to stop harassment of any kind to every person in the world. I’m also passionate about stopping harassment, so I’m following Jared’s blog closely because I agree with his point of view on the matter. Rachel Mort is also extremely passionate about her topic because, as I learned on Tuesday, her mother passed away from pancreatic cancer and that, to me, says she is determined to get the word out about this cancer because it is known as the silent killer. Most people don’t even know they have it until it’s too late, and she’s trying to get people to be more knowledgeable about the topic and to be aware of the symptoms and to get checked. Kate Everly’s blog is an interesting one as well because she’s focusing on the social media, which is something that I use daily like facebook and twitter and now, blogger. She’s basically saying that people are becoming very dependent on these forms of media and the people in public relations need to be on the up and up about these new forms of media if they’re going to succeed doing their job. I admire all of my classmates because they are so very passionate about their topics.
ReplyDeleteThe main thing that I learned from reviewing many of my classmate’s blogs is that blogging doesn’t have to be this deadly serious thing. Even if the issue that you’re writing your blog on isn’t exactly an uplifting topic, you can still write your blog in a casual way that makes reading it more comfortable.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that anyone who lingers around the internet searching for blogs that pertain to their interests, really want to sit down and read something that feels stodgy or pretentious. I think that people have come to expect that bloggers can present a topic that might not be the easiest to digest, in a way that is approachable and more enjoyable to take in.
I also learned from my classmates that it’s okay to give more detail about your own thoughts on each issue that you chose for your weekly post. Jared does this very well in his blog about harassment. Even though I’m aware that this is my blog and I should be allowed to phrase things how I feel they should be phrased, I was kind of stuck in the mindset that it should be written in a way that you would write a research paper for a class. After reading some of my classmate’s blogs, I feel more comfortable writing in a more casual way and giving a bit more of my opinion in each post.
I looked at Francesca Gaglianello's, Melissa Rhodes' and Mackenzie Mays' blogs. Each author used their own unique and thoughtful technique to present their information.
ReplyDeleteFrancesca uses a visual element (picture and video) to bring color and diverse forms of information to the blog. They help to break up the uniform text. She also provides a summary of her topic's historical background, which provides context for the subject.
Melissa's blog contains specific and popular examples of TV shows, books, and movies. Including easily recognizable references allows readers to identify with the content. The use of quotes at the beginning of each entry is attention-grabbing and makes the blog more consistent.
Mackenzie provides relevant statistics, organizing them in clear bullet points with strategic bolding to make the list easy to read. She also keeps the blog specific to Morgantown while still reminding readers of the big picture, as well as providing ways to volunteer.
Studying these blogs gave me some ideas about how to personalize my own, as well as new ways to present my information. I may actually go back and edit previous entries to include some of these ideas, and I'll definitely keep them in mind when creating future posts.