I apologise in advance for the amount of times the word ‘blog’ and all its derivatives will be used in this post, but unfortunately it is somewhat inevitable when blogging about blogging! This week’s reading by RMIT’s own Adrian Miles, ‘Blogs in Media Education,’ definitely made me analyse the use of blogs from a new and enlightened perspective. Ironically appropriate to the subject ahead of us, Adrian outlines all the good that can come of actively upkeeping our own professional-style blogs. As media students, it is imperative that we are up-to-date with ALL elements of the media scene to prepare us for the constantly changing and evolving industry that we are throwing ourselves into. Thus, creating an online presence through blogging seems the obvious first step to this involvement.

Some of the ideas raised in this excerpt had never occurred to me before, but certainly made a lot of sense. Blogging, unlike keeping a private journal, is a essentially a form of publishing. In writing a blog, we post reflections with the assumption (and hope) that they will in fact be read by the public. This interactive nature of blogging has the power to create blogger-reader relationships and to secure a position for bloggers in the reputable online community. This can prove beneficial as valuable contacts can be made and potentially raises the possibility of career opportunities.

Bloggers not only write to reflect for themselves, but also to inform readers of the broader context of their thoughts and ideas. Entries must be clear and succinct, whilst still having that balance of personality and proffesionalism. Due to this new and somewhat foreign style of writing, successful blogging, like any other form of literature, can only be achieved with practice. I feel as though great blogging, similar to many other life skills, very much depends on the time and effort you put into it.