These past weeks where I have blogged have been rather different. I don't think I'd ever maintain a blogging site. But there's a first time for everything, right?
Actively participating in online research and blogging didn't even feel like work at all. It was totally against the grain and away from the normal ways of doing "school" that the work didn't even phase me at all. Everything was so new to me that I didn't even pay attention to how much time and effort I put into these posts.
I definitely believe that this project was worthwhile because while we learned about blogging, we actually contributed to the blogging community by keeping up with our own. So it was kind of a trick. :). It was a very good learning tool because we got to understand what blogs really were here for and instead of questioning the purpose of them, I created my own and answered my question. It was a great learning tool.
A lot of my research backed my thesis up. I've maintained the same thesis throughout and that is that blogging has significantly impacted the print journalism industry. I think that one of my posts went against my thesis so I'll rate my research as a FOUR (somewhat supports my thesis).
Monday, October 6, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Vanity and Information Blogs!
The two blogs that I research were TrojanWire and Gilbert Arenas' blog. The respective links are: http://trojanwire.com/ and http://www.nba.com/blog/gilbert_arenas.html I used Gilbert Arenas' blog in a earlier post, but it served that purpose as well as this one. The vanity blog consists of a person's opinions on life in general and all the things they need to say about everything instead of just one topic. In essence, Arenas has received so much attention from his blog, that it has become a business factor for him and more fans know him through his blog solely. The information blog is TrojanWire, which follows USC football specifically. Tough loss against Oregon State this past week though. :(
The main differences that the two blogs have are that they both don't talk about one subject only. But there are many similiarities, in the sense that real people with real thoughts post their ideas. They don't only report the facts but also their sometimes biased thoughts. They both post on a regular basis.
I think blogging supports this type of journalism as compared to print media because it brings a different aspect more than the facts into the mix. It has more of a loose feeling reading someone's thoughts; that person being someone that is not necessarily an "expert". Print media is most often times more believeable though. I think something that makes a good information blog is a great balance between the truth and the news. Something more along the lines of the true print medium. But a great vanity blog consists of completely unique ideology and ways of thinking to bring you into the author's mind.
I think this blog supports my thesis with a 5. It strongly supports my thesis because it supports my idea that Blogging has had a significant impact on media today. I do not wish to change my thesis still.
The main differences that the two blogs have are that they both don't talk about one subject only. But there are many similiarities, in the sense that real people with real thoughts post their ideas. They don't only report the facts but also their sometimes biased thoughts. They both post on a regular basis.
I think blogging supports this type of journalism as compared to print media because it brings a different aspect more than the facts into the mix. It has more of a loose feeling reading someone's thoughts; that person being someone that is not necessarily an "expert". Print media is most often times more believeable though. I think something that makes a good information blog is a great balance between the truth and the news. Something more along the lines of the true print medium. But a great vanity blog consists of completely unique ideology and ways of thinking to bring you into the author's mind.
I think this blog supports my thesis with a 5. It strongly supports my thesis because it supports my idea that Blogging has had a significant impact on media today. I do not wish to change my thesis still.
Friday, September 19, 2008
E-Zines, Blogs, B-Zines, E-Logs, Blines, E-Zogs....
For my e-zine, I went to www.TIME.com for the TIME Magazine e-zine. My news or current events oriented blog was The Chronicle of Higher Education news blog located at http://chronicle.com/news/. These two websites were very similiar in the sense that they both gave lots of information. But I think TIME Magazine has more of an opinionated feel with a more of a columnist kind of touch. I think that The Chronicle Of Higher Education news blog had more of just straight facts on it. I like TIME Magazine a lot more because it provides attitude and a rare kind of "edge".
TIME Magazine describes itself as an entertainment news, books, movie review and music review source. It has a big in-depth section about the presidential election and not just articles on statistical, certain facts. They dig deeper, more into the lives of certain people of the process and makes the reader more involved because it gets away from the feel from when you're watching a newscast on television. There are plenty of pictures, which make it look visually appealing and the way everything is placed (headlines, photos) makes it easy on the eyes which makes it easier to read. It was more effective by having the reader want to read articles on their site. TIME was easier to find on the internet, because well, it has that national publicity.
On the other hand, the Daily News Blog, The Chronicle Of Higher Education news blog, wasn't too easy on the eyes. It was not visually appealing. It didn't have compelling pictures. But it did have concrete facts and details about events and occurences that actually did happen. It may not bring the "flash" and the "cutesy" effects, but it definitely is suited more for the more mature readers who like to know the facts. I feel that the news blog was more professional. I think that this blog was more credible and trustworthy.
I think that a print source such as a newspaper or magazine is not more credible than a blog. In this case, I don't think I'd rather choose a newspaper or a magazine over the blog that I read, but in several other cases you're really not too sure about blogs. For the e-zine, I think that the print versions are just the same so I wouldn't trust it in print or online, and vice versa.
The research material I found, on a scale on a 1 to 5, was a 2 because it somewhat did not support my thesis. I do not want to change my thesis, but with this research, I think it may be scoring some points for the opposition. I still do think that Blogging has significantly impacted the print journalism industry. Although it may not be as true right now, as time progresses, I think the statement will become more and more true, so that's what I'm staying with it.
TIME Magazine describes itself as an entertainment news, books, movie review and music review source. It has a big in-depth section about the presidential election and not just articles on statistical, certain facts. They dig deeper, more into the lives of certain people of the process and makes the reader more involved because it gets away from the feel from when you're watching a newscast on television. There are plenty of pictures, which make it look visually appealing and the way everything is placed (headlines, photos) makes it easy on the eyes which makes it easier to read. It was more effective by having the reader want to read articles on their site. TIME was easier to find on the internet, because well, it has that national publicity.
On the other hand, the Daily News Blog, The Chronicle Of Higher Education news blog, wasn't too easy on the eyes. It was not visually appealing. It didn't have compelling pictures. But it did have concrete facts and details about events and occurences that actually did happen. It may not bring the "flash" and the "cutesy" effects, but it definitely is suited more for the more mature readers who like to know the facts. I feel that the news blog was more professional. I think that this blog was more credible and trustworthy.
I think that a print source such as a newspaper or magazine is not more credible than a blog. In this case, I don't think I'd rather choose a newspaper or a magazine over the blog that I read, but in several other cases you're really not too sure about blogs. For the e-zine, I think that the print versions are just the same so I wouldn't trust it in print or online, and vice versa.
The research material I found, on a scale on a 1 to 5, was a 2 because it somewhat did not support my thesis. I do not want to change my thesis, but with this research, I think it may be scoring some points for the opposition. I still do think that Blogging has significantly impacted the print journalism industry. Although it may not be as true right now, as time progresses, I think the statement will become more and more true, so that's what I'm staying with it.
Friday, September 12, 2008
The Entrepreneurial Blogosphere
Hey, how are you guys doing? I found blogs run by a few guys I look up to. Those two guys may need no introduction but I'll help them out. Ryan Sheckler is the first. He is one of the most successful athletes on the planet (at only 18 years old) and he's a self-made millionaire with his skateboarding talent. He has multiple cars, including a Range Rover and a new Mercedes. He has his own show on MTV and he has just recently been on the cover of ESPN the Magazine. On top of all of that, the newly legal Ryan Sheckler has just bought his own huge house. That's only scratching the surface on how much of an impact Sheckler has made on the entertainment industry. I looked up his blog on MTV.com, advertised on his show, Life on Ryan's website.
The URL to his blog is http://remotecontrol.mtv.com/category/shows/life-of-ryan/.
Starting out, he posted all of his own blog posts. I guess recently since he's been too busy to keep up with the site, so another person writes for him... but not in his point of view, from an outside perspective.
The second blog I looked up was of another one of my favorite athletes, Gilbert Arenas from the Washington Wizards of the NBA. He's one of my favorites because of his colorful personality but also because he defied the odds with his driven mentality and hard work. Coming out of high school and attending the University of Arizona, he was told that he would play zero minutes and he had to prove them wrong. He ended up starring for that team and when he got drafted to the NBA, the same thing happened and he had to prove them wrong again. For that, he wears number zero permanently.
The link to his blog is http://www.nba.com/blog/gilbert_arenas.html
These two examples of blogs both are used for entrepreneurial purposes for they are self-marketing and business promotion. In these times, athletes like these two are essentially businesses. They do commercials and most things in order to sell themselves.
I think blogging as a form of business promotion is very effective, as I think the technological world is becoming more advanced and adapting more to the Internet. More people look on the web for information and articles more often that any book, television set or newspaper. In an article I found it has been said that:
I also think that blogs will be successful in business promotion in the case that blogs keep it short, simple and to the point where readers don't need to read a lot in order to sift through information in order to get what they want. This article listed on this website: http://webdesign.about.com/cs/weblogs/a/aa061603a.htm, has backed those ideas up.
Other options an entrepreneur has to market themselves to the audience is having television commercials, billboards, plenty of them and famous celebrities supporting their doings. I think blogs can see the other side of a entrepreneur that isn't easily visible to the media when they're in front of cameras and it makes the reader feel as if they are closer. I think blogs are more effective than any other medium.
The research material I found is a 4 on a scale from 1-5 and it somewhat supports my thesis. I'm going to continue to back up my original thesis and say I am FOR the idea that blogging has significantly impacted the print journalism industry.
The URL to his blog is http://remotecontrol.mtv.com/category/shows/life-of-ryan/.
Starting out, he posted all of his own blog posts. I guess recently since he's been too busy to keep up with the site, so another person writes for him... but not in his point of view, from an outside perspective.
The second blog I looked up was of another one of my favorite athletes, Gilbert Arenas from the Washington Wizards of the NBA. He's one of my favorites because of his colorful personality but also because he defied the odds with his driven mentality and hard work. Coming out of high school and attending the University of Arizona, he was told that he would play zero minutes and he had to prove them wrong. He ended up starring for that team and when he got drafted to the NBA, the same thing happened and he had to prove them wrong again. For that, he wears number zero permanently.
The link to his blog is http://www.nba.com/blog/gilbert_arenas.html
These two examples of blogs both are used for entrepreneurial purposes for they are self-marketing and business promotion. In these times, athletes like these two are essentially businesses. They do commercials and most things in order to sell themselves.
I think blogging as a form of business promotion is very effective, as I think the technological world is becoming more advanced and adapting more to the Internet. More people look on the web for information and articles more often that any book, television set or newspaper. In an article I found it has been said that:
"...blogging is an extraordinary form of communication. And it is ALL about maintaining the best qualities of journalism... nothing has changed the fact that great blogs are about great journalism, which is about telling compelling stories truthfully and fairly (not impartially).This is why blogging is the most honest form of self-promotion out there bar none."The link to that website is http://www.siliconvalleywatcher.com/mt/archives/2005/01/blogging_is_the.php. I believe that if a reader would want to find the truth and the most honest form of communication and/or advertisement, blogs would be the way to go. But thinking in the ideology of business promotion, the things that sell businesses are how often you see ads, where you see ads and who supports your business.
I also think that blogs will be successful in business promotion in the case that blogs keep it short, simple and to the point where readers don't need to read a lot in order to sift through information in order to get what they want. This article listed on this website: http://webdesign.about.com/cs/weblogs/a/aa061603a.htm, has backed those ideas up.
Other options an entrepreneur has to market themselves to the audience is having television commercials, billboards, plenty of them and famous celebrities supporting their doings. I think blogs can see the other side of a entrepreneur that isn't easily visible to the media when they're in front of cameras and it makes the reader feel as if they are closer. I think blogs are more effective than any other medium.
The research material I found is a 4 on a scale from 1-5 and it somewhat supports my thesis. I'm going to continue to back up my original thesis and say I am FOR the idea that blogging has significantly impacted the print journalism industry.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Wow. Locked After My First Post For "Spamming"
My first post, which is shown below, was copied and pasted into Microsoft Word in order to see if I had any spelling or grammatical errors. Then I pasted it back onto here, and a few hours later I get an e-mail from the blogger website saying that my page has been locked for spamming reasons. LAME!
First Blog Entry Ever...
Hey you! Yes, you! I'm talking to you! Not right now, and not on live time but you are reading whatever I type. I'm actually communicating with you without me even being aware which is exciting. Well anyways, to all the people in the blogging world, my name is John. I currently attend College of the Canyons in Valencia, CA and this is my first blog ever.
Now, it's time for business. Is blogging a credible source of information? I don't think that it is a majority of the time due to the fact that anyone can blog and write whatever they please. For most topics, most bloggers aren't even credible on the subject and therefore, can't be trusted 100%. According to the United States Department of Defense website (http://www.defenselink.mil/transformation/articles/2006-06/ta062906b.html), an article posted has reported that blogs may provide credible information. A word that you should focus on in that is MAY. In the article, it is stated that a company is receiving loads of money just for the operation of a project to research blogs in order to find invaluable information to gain an advantage in the war on terrorism. They go on about how blog analysts must look for a haystack for millions of blogs. They have to find credibility in the information they find, looking for those that provide links and concrete details in their posts. I think that blogging can be a credible source, but I believe the numbers would be incredibly low for blogs that have any credible information.
Next, you ask, "How effective is blogging, i.e. are blogs effective at reaching an audience?" I don't think blogging is too effective unless the certain blog is proactive and exciting to read. According to a website on ProBloggers.com, (http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/05/24/10-habits-of-highly-effective-probloggers/) ways that successful bloggers are developed are through a number of things or "habits". I agree with the statement that, "Good bloggers don't just happen." Over time, more successful bloggers, as in those who get the most viewers/readers, realize what people like to read and they learn to draw attention from their work. An example of one of the habits highly effective bloggers have is, is that they are good communicators, and they understand how people learn, read and receive information on the Internet as well as having a "knack of putting across their message in a way that is received well." Another habit of a successful blogger is that they know what information to include because they know they're giving their readers something they need and something new and refreshing rather than old repeated ideas. Blogging, in my eyes and in retrospect, has it's very talented and effective bloggers that reach audiences but the number of refreshing blogs are scarce compared to those of recycled ideas and thoughts.
Another question that has been asked is, "How has blogging influenced journalism?" Blogging has made the Internet even more interactive. With the help of MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and various blogging websites, more and more people are connected with each other. In accordance to http://www.cyberjournalist.net/media/002337.php, Jonathan Dube, MSNBC.com managing producer and publisher of Cyberjournalist.net has been quoted saying that, "[Blogs are] journalism. Raw, unedited, but still journalism." I completely agree with that statement. For a point in the past, not too long ago, writing and reading has become obsolete with the uproar of televisions, movies, and music. But now not only people that stay connected on the World Wide Web can post pictures and videos on YouTube, but now exercise their minds by blogging on intellectual ideas. Journalism has reached another plateau, blogging takes it into a more high-tech atmosphere.
In essence, I am FOR the following statement: Blogging has significantly impacted the print journalism industry. In a world that is rapidly growing in the world of technology, newspapers are becoming more and more obsolete and not only blogs can be available for anybody to read, but also for anyone wanting to put in their two cents.. they can create and maintain a blog of their own!
Now, it's time for business. Is blogging a credible source of information? I don't think that it is a majority of the time due to the fact that anyone can blog and write whatever they please. For most topics, most bloggers aren't even credible on the subject and therefore, can't be trusted 100%. According to the United States Department of Defense website (http://www.defenselink.mil/transformation/articles/2006-06/ta062906b.html), an article posted has reported that blogs may provide credible information. A word that you should focus on in that is MAY. In the article, it is stated that a company is receiving loads of money just for the operation of a project to research blogs in order to find invaluable information to gain an advantage in the war on terrorism. They go on about how blog analysts must look for a haystack for millions of blogs. They have to find credibility in the information they find, looking for those that provide links and concrete details in their posts. I think that blogging can be a credible source, but I believe the numbers would be incredibly low for blogs that have any credible information.
Next, you ask, "How effective is blogging, i.e. are blogs effective at reaching an audience?" I don't think blogging is too effective unless the certain blog is proactive and exciting to read. According to a website on ProBloggers.com, (http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/05/24/10-habits-of-highly-effective-probloggers/) ways that successful bloggers are developed are through a number of things or "habits". I agree with the statement that, "Good bloggers don't just happen." Over time, more successful bloggers, as in those who get the most viewers/readers, realize what people like to read and they learn to draw attention from their work. An example of one of the habits highly effective bloggers have is, is that they are good communicators, and they understand how people learn, read and receive information on the Internet as well as having a "knack of putting across their message in a way that is received well." Another habit of a successful blogger is that they know what information to include because they know they're giving their readers something they need and something new and refreshing rather than old repeated ideas. Blogging, in my eyes and in retrospect, has it's very talented and effective bloggers that reach audiences but the number of refreshing blogs are scarce compared to those of recycled ideas and thoughts.
Another question that has been asked is, "How has blogging influenced journalism?" Blogging has made the Internet even more interactive. With the help of MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and various blogging websites, more and more people are connected with each other. In accordance to http://www.cyberjournalist.net/media/002337.php, Jonathan Dube, MSNBC.com managing producer and publisher of Cyberjournalist.net has been quoted saying that, "[Blogs are] journalism. Raw, unedited, but still journalism." I completely agree with that statement. For a point in the past, not too long ago, writing and reading has become obsolete with the uproar of televisions, movies, and music. But now not only people that stay connected on the World Wide Web can post pictures and videos on YouTube, but now exercise their minds by blogging on intellectual ideas. Journalism has reached another plateau, blogging takes it into a more high-tech atmosphere.
In essence, I am FOR the following statement: Blogging has significantly impacted the print journalism industry. In a world that is rapidly growing in the world of technology, newspapers are becoming more and more obsolete and not only blogs can be available for anybody to read, but also for anyone wanting to put in their two cents.. they can create and maintain a blog of their own!
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