Before the assignment details, a quick word about assessment. Your constant assignments right now are to: twitter 3x/week, blog on your individual blog 3x/week, and blog on your group blog 5x/week. It is very easy for me to see if you are doing this, and some of you are falling behind. This is not okay. It’s not going to work to “catch up” on a week’s worth of posts in one day, or on two weeks’ worth in one week–it’s not how real bloggers operate because readers abandon your blog without regular infusions of new content. We have have three weeks of class left (it’s true!). So make yourself a schedule. Use the weekend or the Thanksgiving break to stockpile some posts in your queue–remember you can set them to post in the future on a day when you’ll be too busy studying for an exam. I am keeping track…
On to the weekend assignment:
First, read this post by blogger Theremina, and then, read this one by blogger Rachel Mercer.
Finally, listen to this story from Marketplace, (you could just read the transcript, but it’s more fun to listen to the story, in my opinion) and read Sally’s blog post about her media diet.
These texts raises several questions I think we need to discuss. First, what do you think about Mercer’s point that “curation is actually a necessary step in the creative process”? Or do you think reblogged content is less valuable in some critical way, or that it cheapens the blog? What do you think of Theremina’s call to take a break from blogging: “Because if we all turn away from this big, hot communal hall of scrying mirrors for a bit, and focus inward instead, upon the true, white spark that sits in everyone’s belly, maybe we won’t feel so hollow and lonely and dependent on energy from outside sources.” Phew! A bit overwritten, sure, but accurate? Are you getting something from your online relationships and the creation you do digitally, or do you feel it turning you away from “real” life in a negative way?
Comments most welcome, but not required. It would be great to have some honest discussion below before we tackle these issues in class.
Here are the links I used in class about how to increase your blog traffic and build community:
Darcie Dennigan’s teaching blog
November 22, 2009 at 6:03 pm
I thought the posts from Theremina and Rachel Mercer were really interesting. I don’t feel like I’m leaning towards one point of view over the other- I more see myself in the middle. I think curating is definitely important; There’s just SO much stuff on the internet, that we need curating to get access to more things. I genuinely believe that if there wasn’t reblogging or things along that line, internet users wouldn’t be seeing or reading about half the things they do online.
However, I thought Theremina’s thoughts on “making something for the sake of the process” were really interesting. As much as I enjoy the internet and use it for EVERYTHING (obviously), sometimes I really do feel way to wrapped up in it. I don’t like feeling like I take pictures just to upload them on facebook for other people to see, but sometimes I can’t help it. I really like what she said about making something- anything- and NOT posting it on the internet!
This was also a good segway into the hiatus that SohoSally took from media. I’ve also experienced this “detox,” but unlike her, I don’t have a single regret or have trouble following through. Sometimes on Saturdays, the Jewish Sabbath, I turn off my phone. There are customs that say you aren’t allowed to use technology on Shabbat, so every once in a while, I’ll try to follow it. There is literally NOTHING like completely disconnecting yourself from the world for 24 hours by turning off your phone. It’s so enjoyable to not feel the obligation of checking your texts, bbms, or emails every three seconds, and sometimes I look forward to Saturday’s just for the reason of me being able to turn off my phone. It’s sad to think that I need an excuse to do so…
November 23, 2009 at 12:02 am
I really enjoyed reading both these articles and it allowed me to think about curating and reblogging in a new way. Whenever I’m about to reblog something or link to an article I always get nervous- am I giving the person enough credit, etc? Am I taking the easy way out? It was nice to see an article that notes that curating is just as important as creating your own material because everyone can have a new take on it, and like Anna said above me, it is important to curate so that things can be organized and categorized in a new way so that people can get access to more things than they might without it.
I, of course though also have to agree with Theremina’s article about creating things just to create them, and not necessarily so that other people will know you created them. It’s a good idea, although today it kind of seems old fashioned…which is sad. I thought that the media diet post was interesting and also really funny. I don’t know if I could go three hours without going on the internet or using my cell phone if I was at work all day. I also thought that the marketplace story we listened to was interesting, although nothing that I haven’t heard before. It just reiterates that we are too dependent on technology, although I don’t think that that’s going to change. Although being able to be connected to people 24/7 is kind of ridiculous, it’s also sort of amazing.
November 23, 2009 at 1:11 am
I am all for curation. I think its importantly that people help to filter information. I like blogs that utilize links because it helps me find the important articles on that specific topic. I don’t think that it is a step in the creative process rather something that is helpful and necessary. There is way too much information out there and someone needs to tell you what is interesting or notable to read. At the same time, I think it is important for bloggers to provide original content in addition to the stuff that they “curate” I don’t agree with Theremina’s call to take a break from blogging. It is when I read other people’s blogs or information on the internet that I start to think about certain issues or topics. I think the internet allows people to learn about so much in so many different ways. For example, if I wanted to learn how to make really good chocolate chip cookies I could listen to a podcast, watch a video on youtube or go to someone’s instructions on their blog. I think blogging and the online community enhances life, not negatively effects it. I really enjoyed the media diet article. I found it so funny and could really relate to Sally. Whenever I am on a place, for example, I freak out that my phone is off and turn it back on the second I see the runway. It is crazy how dependent we all are on technology but at this point there is no going back. We will forever be addicted.