Out into the Bloggesphere
This is the beginning.
Hello! Welcome to my journey of web 2.0 and social media exploration. Over the next six weeks (or more) this blog will be my platform for investigating social media networks, examining the way people interact, scrutinizing internet privacy, and reflecting on the digital footprint in general.
I am a noob. I haven't really maintained a traditional blog before. I kept one for about a week when I traveled a few years ago, and wrote a post or two about LASIK eye surgery in another. I'm sure that I will get better at blogging as time passes and I start to learn about all of the nifty tools Blogger offers.
Sometime in 2001 or 2002 I had a LiveJournal to communicate with my friends. I used that for probably 3-4 years, until Facebook came out for college students. I never treated LiveJournal as a true blog, and have certainly never considered Facebook as one, although I do know it has the 'notes' feature.
For me, blogging is scary. My biggest deterrent for maintaining a blog is that I don't feel like I have anything worthwhile to share. I don't think my life is that interesting, and anything that might be worth sharing has probably already been shared by someone else in a much more eloquent and entertaining manner.
This is my personal challenge for the next 6 weeks:
- Have confidence. It's okay if someone has said it before, maybe I can add a different perspective to the conversation.
- Share my learning experience. If the information is new to me, it will probably new for many people.
- Be a *little* entertaining. Blogs are supposed to be fun and conversational, right? I'm not submitting this to a peer-reviewed journal, so why should I write as if I would?
- Post more often, across all of my social media accounts. I tend to shy away from posting if I don't think people will like it, and I will keep my personal accomplishments to myself for fear that everyone will say I'm just bragging. I should be less concerned about that, and share more frequently. I found a dollar on the street two days ago. Everyone likes finding a dollar- that should have been worth a quick post!
I welcome you to my journey of social media and self exploration. Hopefully I can dust off the internet cobwebs and we can have some fun!
You share a lot of truth in your return to the blogosphere and as a fellow noob, I appreciate the candid acknowledgement of some of the apprehensions that go with this new era of self-published content. Already I am questioning my ability to produce enough material to fill six weeks, not to mention if any of it would even qualify as worthwhile. That is probably the biggest hurdle that has kept me from starting a blog before now: what do I say? The beauty of Web 2.0 and the social media tools it has spawned is that there is now an easy avenue for anyone to share their voice about anything. Most people will never see it and that’s okay because maybe it was never really meant for them to begin with. But by posting it, there is a now chance that someone will see it and the possibility exists that a connection can be made. In the end, that’s really what it’s all about isn’t it? Making connections with those around us even if they are not physically near us. Everyone has a story to tell, some are more colorful than others, but they are all important. I look forward to sharing the journey with you!
ReplyDeleteI completely understand both of your apprehensions. I felt the same way when I started blogging for this class last summer. Try not to think of what your blog will do for others. Start focusing on what it can do for you. Erick- I think you hit the nail on the head by looking at blogging as an avenue to share your voice about, well, anything. Express yourself. Frustrated with a tool? Blog about it. Find a tool you absolutely cannot live without? Blog about it. The opportunities are endless. Also, dive into classmates' blogs if you get stuck and need some inspiration. Trust me, it will get much easier from week to week.
DeleteLauren gives some good advice here. Keep in mind that you don’t have to have a huge audience. You have a temporary audience — us — for the next 6 weeks. See what happens. See how you feel about writing in this form and whether it’s worthwhile to you. I’ve had blogs that I kept just for me, with research reflections and such, just because I find the free, short format helpful.
DeleteErick, I feel the same way about producing enough content! I hope that as Lauren said, my blog can be inspiration for you to dive into various topics. I'm already surprised because I thought of something new to write about today, based on our readings! I'm hoping this keeps up so that I'm not so fixated and worried about content and making it interesting. I have a feeling that's going to be my biggest challenge!
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