Within week one’s readings: N. Katherine Hayles Hyper and Deep Attention: The Generational Divide in Cognitive Modes, Miles Adrian’s Blogs in Media Eduction: A Beginning, and Cal Newport’s The Passion trap, the theme of self identity projected through one’s work, (whether be blog or job), became omnipresent, discussing it’s affects on individuals as they  pursue ultimate satisfaction and whether the ‘ultimate job’ dream is actually obtainable.

Adrian in Blogs in Media Education: A beginning, discusses that a bloggers assumption of being read allows narrative to become less formal so readers can understand the writer’s objective idea in their subjective tone and logic. The second age of modernity* (Dean, 2007, p1) has allowed such individuals to write their opinion pieces on the grandstand of internet that reaches millions in seconds, thus, the rhetoric of blogs and a blogger’s awareness of audience is a crucial thing to understand within the frames of media. Similarly, Cal Newport’s discussion of the Passion Trap derived from Richard Bolles What Colour is your Parachute focuses on the pursuit for satisfaction as individuals attempt to find their dream job wrapped in self identity, in a world were everyone’s voice now has a global platform. Newport tears down the assumption that the key to workplace happiness is to follow your passions, as he exposes what he calls the Passion Trap, an analogy for individuals who have lost meaning due the exploitation of pursuing desire, in efforts when they previously had no pre existing passions. He deplores how individuals quest focus on where they start and the attempt to monopolise an opinion on it, affirming contentment is derived from how you work.

He exemplifies such through the use Bill McKibben’s End of Nature success, stating his own law that “telling young persons to follow their passion reduces the probability they will end up passionate”. Paradoxically, we can see a philosophy in blogging that follow’s Steve Job’s quote “find what you love” , as the virtual world allows you to transcend traditional occupational boundries as it easily expands access to other learning tools and identities. By seeding the stigma of a blogger’s identity through their blog and thus practice of voice however, the consensus to “follow your passion” without systematically building up skill becomes troubled. Without the hours of traditional critique under each blogger’s experience what allows them to ‘upload’ l their lack of pre-existing talent to the millions – a number extremely traditionally prioritised for the publishing elites? Can we see similarities of an amateur blogger’s selective learning to the collective memory of Homer’s Iliad? Are bloggers of today our neo epic poets, where their amateur posts written from  their desire to be heard physicalised examples of self-worth propaganda? What allows them to claim their opinions of Protos Didaskalos, among the allegorical Roman Forum of the internet? Right to speech or desire to be heard? And when the distinction is made, would the young and not so influenced even care? Do we as readers or they as publisher take what they write seriously, or is it just another distraction result derived from our generations’ cognitive shift to hyper attention? If a blog’s narrative is constructed around the desire to have what your saying heard should we pay attention to what they are saying? Steve Job’s himself changed the tone of his ambitions when he referred to himself as a “twisted being” even though in other’s eyes “[his life], was the epitome of success”.

• Dean, M. (2007), ‘Introduction: Setting the Scene’, in Governing Societies: Political Perspectives on Domestic and International Rule, London, Open University Press, pp. 3.