final thoughts on blogging

soooo, it looks like the blogging adventure of ms 190 is winding down. i have really enjoyed this. i was in the ms149 theory class last fall and did this there too, but it really frustrated me for a while. i did not understand if it was formal or not, how serious we were supposed to be and such. i approached it like i approached the written reading responses we had to do in intro media studies (also with prof. fitzpatrick). those written ones were intense. we were graded very toughly on a scale of 1-10. i remember working sooo hard to get that 10, and it only happened once or twice. i don't think that i'm such a grade-grubber, but i really felt like high quality writing was expected of me. and i wanted to become very articulate in that class, especially because media studies was so new and different for me (as a frosh, coming from a high school with limited elective classes).

anyways, blogging is a different animal. they are NOT reading responses in the traditional sense, and as soon as i learned that, the better i was able to take advantage of the community aspect of blogging. unfortunately, i made this realization in my very last blog of that theory class, i.e. when it was too late.

that was the nice thing about this year. i understood that being really participatory was the point, the strength, and the fun of class blogging. another effect that i really like of blogging is that it blends internet social culture with academic culture so well that you really are practicing what you are studying and blogging about. that's very postmodern itself: the blurring of high and low culture.

and honestly, i needed blogging to be mandated for me to start doing it. i had never blogged before being asked to do it for ms 149 last fall. and i really like it, as long as there is a purpose to the blog. (i don't really get the thrill of livejournal and xanga, and writing down mundane daily details...i guess, unless you know someone from home or somewhere that wants to read them.) anywho, i have since written some other blogs, such as one following my thoughts during my summer research project in mexico city. blogging is fun.

also, this time around, i've finally started playing with the html, at least a little, and not being afraid to add multiple links to my blogs, as well as bold letters, italics, etc. it's pretty fun actually in a creative sort of way. i've been using dreamweaver to do basic website updates at my job, and familiarity with simple html is really helpful.

i have really enjoyed this sense of community. truth be told, i doubt that many of my entries have been read, but i really like the feeling that they are being read, because it makes me think about what i want to say more, like a sense of ownership. it makes me want to say something useful and applicable, instead of all theoretical (which is, oddly, my natural inclination). blogging helps me ground media studies with real life. also, i love the links pple throw up of articles, youtube clips, etc. having learned from last year's blogging experience, i have been a lot more participatory with this and have really benefitted from it.

to everyone, blogging with you and being with you in class has been awesome. i wish media studies majors had been able to come together like this more throughout our time here. i am really impressed (and entertained *smile*) by everyone's comments and thesis topics, and i'm really excited to hear how they turn out, whether they be about PWT, mash-ups, wikipedia, or digital poetry (and all the other amazing ones too). i have really enjoyed this seminar class because of your company. three-hour classes never passed so quickly before. i wish everyone a happy winter break and the best of luck with everything next semester. i kinda wish we could keep this blog going to continue to bounce ideas off each other and share fun links, thoughts, etc. of course, i don't it would happen if it weren't mandatory. oh well. se la vie. it's been fun, and i hope to see y'all around. senior year's halfway over--AHHH!

peace out!!!!