Blogging About Blogging

When I first heard that a major part of our AS class this year was going to be our blog, I was really apprehensive.  First, I am not the most technology driven person- I find it to be a great accomplishment when I get a DVD to actually play on the TV.  Also I didn't watch the news or have any constant flow of outside information.  I told myself that I didn't have time but I really just didn't want to take the effort to check for it.  This lack of following the news early on in the year is reflected in my early blog posts.  In my first three blog posts (Is There Such a Thing as Coincidence, The Means Not the End, and The Most Interesting) I did not reference a single news story.  All of the blog posts were based off of my personal experiences and event. And while this is not an entirely negative blog topic, it severely limited my audience.  As I have written more blogs, I continue to link them to more modern universal issues.  For example my blog post Connotations of Actions talks about the acceptance of gay and lesbians, which is a topic very present in the news today.  

A similarity between my different blog posts is that I always directly relate them to the main topic in class.  I will always write my blog post after looking at my class notes for the week and then finding an article online to support it.  A change to my blog that I would like to see in the future is finding a news topic or article before linking it to class.  By doing that I would be able to widen my topics in my blog and go deeper into our class discussions then just "in class we have been talking a lot about connotations of different words" (Connotations of Actions) or "in class this week we started talking about our interview subjects" (The Most Interesting).  By digging deeper than just the direct topic in class discussions I will be able to address many different topics and have empathy for my readers other than just fellow AS students.

My favorite part of the blogging process has been the commenting.  I often comment on my peer's blog before I comment on my own.  In the beginning of the year I was very cautious to not disagree with someone or make them feel bad.  Now I feel confident challenging the statements of my classmates and enjoy when they challenge what I have to say.  Commenting also continues a discussion on a topic that not everyone could have time to voice their opinions on in class.

Overall I have really enjoyed blogging.  Although sometimes it is a pain to log on and try to get inspired, more and more often I am getting ideas for blog post in everyday life and without even trying.  Blogging has got me to look at stories with a more critical eye and be wary of what I read and see.

The blog post I would like you to grade is my most current blog post, Creative Liberty or "A Million Little Lies".  It was posted on Sunday, October 24, 2010.