First of all, let me just say that I had no idea that the blogging community was so enormous! This is all very new to me. These readings really clarified a lot for me in understanding what blogs are, how they work, and what they are for.
As with any discourse community, it is important for participants to learn the accepted language and methods that are practiced. The rhetorical conventions of writing play a huge role in the blogging discourse community. The rhetorical conventions in blogging require us to make good choices concerning ethics, such as honesty and truthfulness, while also expecting us to consider our purpose and intended audience.
After comparing the reading selections, it is clear that the blogging community expects the rules to be willingly followed by all participants. Grammar, spelling, and punctuation are each as important as honesty, truth, and giving credit to sources in blogging. There are many different types of blogs, and many different reasons/uses for blogs and it is up to the individual to be a responsible blogger.
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5 comments:
I think that you say it perfectly when you say, "it is important for participants to learn the accepted language and methods that are practiced." That is very true. This is a different type of discourse than print, and it is going to have different conventions. You make some great points in your comments and I agree with all of them. Those are all very important things to people and I think that it is commendable that the (serious)blogging community as a whole feels this way. It makes blogging seem less creepy to me. I was really creeped with it at first.
Juls,
That's exactly how I felt! I equated blogging with chatting, which I have always found disturbing. Also, I am an extrememly private person, and as silly as it sounds, I just didn't like the idea of talking to strangers. The reading made it clear to me that blogging is not at all like the chatting I've seen my freinds do. It is nice to know that I was wrong in my assumptions.
Robin-
I am so glad the readings were helpful. I think they do a lot to dispel the notion that blogging is navel-gazing and useless. It seems to cut down on the "creepy" factor Julie mentioned.
I think I am always surprised by the focus on grammatical correctness that is expected on blogs. Seems to be in direct opposition to other forms of new media (IMing, Text messages, etc).
Do you think you would ever do personal blogging?
I think it's a whole new aspect of comunication in the 21st century that Jen mentions when she says: "...grammatical correctness that is expected on blogs. Seems to be in direct opposition to other forms of new media (IMing, Text messages, etc)." It is so interesting that every form of communication develops its own modes, depending on so many factors. Text messages need to be short, crisp and abbreviated for practical, technical reasons, while blogs are just the Internet version of writing letters or notes or memoirs where you have the space and scope to express yourself fully while adhering to the rules of grammar and syntax. There is also the aspect of ethics when reaching out to an unknown audience in unknown parts of the globe.
I'm glad that the readings and discussion made blogging seem less creepy. I wasn't interested in it very much either when I just identified it with personal journaling (who wants to read all that). However, as you point out, the size of the community and diversity of uses to which it is put makes it much more appealing. Although I think they are still somewhat in flux as the genre(s) of blogging continue to evolve, it is pretty fascinating how closely many bloggers follow these conventions.
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