When I found out we were required to maintain a blog this semester, I was initially a little apprehensive as I had tried and failed at blogging in the past. However, despite this apprehension I was actually looking forward to seeing how it would pan out as well as being pushed to write regularly.
So far this semester I have used my blog to respond to course related readings, lectures and class discussions. I decided that I wanted to use a blog layout that was simple to navigate, which I did achieved through the use of tools such as categories. For example, to find my responses to weekly readings, all you have to do is click on the ‘Reading Related’ category on the side of my blog and my reading responses will appear with clear headings ‘Reading Reaction # 1’ and so on.
What I found most effective when responding to course related information that may be dense or slightly confusing was to relate it to current media examples or ways in which they might relate to my life. An example of this is my response to week four’s symposium (which can be found under the ‘symposium related category’). Network literacy was a concept that I understood only at a basic level, so by relating network and print literacy back to experiences I have had personally, helped me develop a greater understanding of both concepts.
When I started the network media blog I decided I wanted to use it for more than just responses to course related information. I broadened this to include things such as discussions on articles that interested me online and weekly vlogs or video diaries. An example is a post I made early in the semester ‘Have You Read The Internet Today?’ which responded to an article I read online that spoke about my generation’s obsession with needing to know what is happening online at every moment of everyday (which actually now relates well to Adrian’s reading relating to Network Literacy). I think this works well because by having the freedom to write about things that interest me, I automatically feel more inclined to participate. I also started creating weekly video diaries documenting things I have done during the week. Even though the editing involved is very basic and the filming is done using my iPhone, I think that it still prompts me to practice some of the skills we learnt in ‘editing media texts’ last semester. I mentioned this in my first vlog post, but the reason I decided to use my iPhone rather than a camera was due to Adrian mentioning in our first lecture that it doesn’t matter what technology you use to film, its how you do the filming itself. However, what I have noticed is that as the weeks have gone by I have gotten slightly lazy in how I have been filming and the quality is not as great as week one, so I’m planning to fix that.
In the beginning of the semester I found myself motivated to kick-start my blog and for the first two weeks I posted nearly everyday. However as the semester has progressed and my workload for other subjects has gotten heavier, I have posted less frequently and perhaps neglected to write about things that interest me personally. This being said, I am happy with how my blog has been going so far. I think I have a good balance of course related material as well as personal posts, via the weekly vlogs etc.
On the network media blog Adrian has linked to my blog four times. Every time this happens I remember that people can actually read what I’m writing. As Landow said in his reading “[we are] writing in the presence of other texts”, meaning that it’s a reality that anyone can see what we post online and agree or disagree accordingly.
I think what has surprised me most is my continuing motivation to maintain my blog and publish posts that are worth other people reading. Having an expected number and variety of posts each week has contributed to this quite a lot. I feel as though this constant push to write regularly helps me to practice my writing skills, whereas I otherwise may have only done this when handing in an assignment. It may not be noticeable to people reading my blog but I know personally that I’m finding it easier now to post about things like readings that I don’t completely understand. Earlier on I may have written a response that made zero sense, whereas now I am more inclined to spend time relating it back to examples that I understand.
In the remaining weeks of the semester I want to start writing more regularly about things outside of the course content. I want to make time to respond and post to my blog when I read or see something online that interests me. Although I enjoy posting and don’t think of it as a chore, I want it to become more second nature to want to write about those things. Adrian mentioned this in his first lecture and readings, when saying that through practice blogging becomes almost instinctive.
So all in all although even though I am enjoying the blog aspect of this course so far and putting in a lot of effort, there are still areas I want to contribute more to and improve upon.
– Caitlin
