A few weeks ago in class we talked about blogging in relation to other popular web-based "personalized" spaces, in particular FaceBook and MySpace. The Communication Survey we did in class made it clear that both FB and MS are hugely popular among this group of students. I suspect, too, that these students represent the average and that FB and MS tend to be staples in the diets of almost all students at SJU and elsewhere (at least among wired communities -- note access issues complicate this portrait).
Is it fair to characterize FB and MS as "face-based" spaces? In other words, do they prioritize personality, individuality, uniqueness, and self-image (literally with pictures) as the key criteria for establishing and mainting one's presence (perhaps status) in digital environments?
Assuming that this analysis is generally correct, I wanted to propose (that day in class) that we approach blogging as an activity similar in many ways to FB and MS activities but also significantly different in its priorities. Originally blogging was strictly a text-based, journalist activity. Soon photo-blogging and video-blogging (vlogging) entered the fray as variations on that original textual theme. I'm hip to those developments but also want to reserve space, in blogging, for text-based composition activities that nonetheless "present" and "personalize" in ways similar to MySpace and FaceBook.
In fact, it may help to think of blogging as a variation on MySpace and FaceBook activities but with the "My" and "Face" of those two entities deleted -- or muted, made less important -- in the interest of prioritizing the "Book Space" of text-based blogging.
Depending on how dedicated and *active* they are, students in this class will have generated, by the end of the semester, enough material to fill a book, so why not be proactive about that possibility now and mobilize our blog spaces as book spaces -- i.e., as digital composition laboratories where all of us write our own books. This blog, VisiblePage, is already taking the shape of a series of chapters that will likely be folded into a future version of the Vision Quest Guidebook. I wonder how the "chapters" now being written by the students would fit in a book of their making.
The "Presentation and Production" project discussed at the end of VQ could be a way to formalize this push toward blogging as book-making. Maybe we could present all these blogs to the world simply by framing or "binding" them in such a way that they become, in total, the BOOK written collectively by this class, at this time, at this university, in this part of the world. Perhaps individual students will want to reframe or redesign their blogs (remember, we can change the template at any time without losing any of our entries) to highlight their status, at the end, as books-in-progress. Maybe some students will want to start a new blog, or a group blog, where they copy and paste the *best* of what they've written. This group/class blog could function as a kind of anthology of student research writing.
A lot of possibilities, I think, if we begin to think of blogs as book spaces.
ENG 1000c -- Composition
9 comments:
OK SO HERE'S THE DEAL WITH THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BLOGGER AND FACEBOOK AND MYSPACE...MYSPACE AND FACEBOOK IS LIKE A NETWORKING THING THAT IS JUST LIKE YOU SAID BASED ON PHOTOS AND NICE SHINY GRAPHICS AND WALLPAPERS....IT'S JUST LIKE SOMTHING THAT EVERYONE HAS TO HAVE...IF YOUR NOT ON IT THEN YOUR A SQUARE....IT IS VERY WIDELY KNOWN THAT EVERYONE HAS ONE AND EVERY ONE SHOULD GET ONE...IT IS LIKE A SOCIETY NECCESITY...IF YOU DON'T YOUR DAMNED AND IF YOU DO YOUR DAMNED FOR BEING SUCKID INTO THE HOLE OF PICTURE BLOGGING...IT'S LIKE A PLACE TO ALSO MEET PEOPLE BY ATTRACTION OF OUTER PERSONALITIES AND OUTER APPEARANCES...IT'S MORE FUN...THIS IS NOT SO MUCH ON THE INTELLECTUAL LEVEL AS BLOGGER WOULD BE BECAUSE ON BLOGGER YOU GO AHEAD AND POST YOUR WRITINGS ...YOUR BLOGS ARE MORE INTERPERSONAL WITH YOURSELF TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO LEARN THE REAL YOU THROUGH YOUR WRITINGS...ON FACEBOOK AND MYSPACE IT SEEMS AS IF IT A BIG FACADE...THE FACADE BEING THAT IF YOUR POPULAR YOU HAVE A MYSPACE AND FACEBOOK AND IF YOUR NOT THEN YOU GET ONE TO BE POPULAR...LIKE A COVERUP FOR THE REAL YOU...PEOPLE ON MYSPACE AND FACEBOOK DON'T ACTUALLY CARE WHAT YOUR THINKING OR ABOUT YOUR WRITINGS...WHAT THEY DO CARE ABOUT ARE YOUR LATEST COMMENTS...PICTURES...FRIENDS AND RANDOM MEMOS THAT YOU MAY FEEL TO WRITE...THE REASON WHY I WOULD WRITE ON THIS IS TO BROADEN MY CIRCLE OF FRIENDS TO INCLUDE OTHER PEOPLE IN MY NETWORK OF FRIENDS THAT KNOW MY FRIENDS...LIKE A KIND OF THING WHERE EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW EVERYONE...THE FAD WILL NEVER BE QUENCHED BY SOCIETY AND WE WILL ALWAYS BE MYSPACING FOR YEARS AND YEARS TO COME!!!!!!!!!
Professor!!
Facebook and My Space are quite different from Blogger. On FB and MS you only comment on other people's 'walls'. On MS there is some type of originality because you are able to add graphics and change your background and what not, as opposed to FB where all you can do is add as many photos are you'd like, but that's basically it. I agree completely with Rajiv when he says that "if your not in it then your a square" . It's true! Everyone either has one or the other, or possibly even both, why?, because that's the cool thing to do! I don't think anyone actualy thinks of why they have one of these pages, they just do.. it's kind of like the Apple Jacks Cereal commercial ("they don't even taste like apples, why do you kids like them" ..."WE JUST DO"). It is just a way to keep in touch with friends, I know that personally I love FB because I can keep in touch with friends that i haven't seen in over five years. I guess it's just another way that use to keep in touch because as we all clearly know, written letters are a thing of the past..(sorry to say).
i would have to agree yet disagree with the other comments...yes myspace is all about latest pictures and how cool your background is..but isnt that showing how original you are. dont people get their backgrounds based on their personality? i know i do. i feel you can get to know someone very well just by looking at their page. it states their interest in just about anything. people even go the extend where they add clips from their favorite movies and their favorite videos. and with the whole blogging thing...believe it or not people really do go to the extend to write in their blog about something meaningful to them..or even just whats going on in their mind. i think myspace is a modern day blogging. i think people take a lot of time in setting up their pages just so people can get to know them.
I agree with Rajif in the sense if your not in you can't win "if your not on it then your a sqaure" because I did not set up a face book on my arrival. It was actually through peer pressure that I was forced to make one and also because people wanted to be my friend! Actually which also brings up another point, it’s ridiculous that some people have 301 friends on face book. This means nothing to me; I bet they don’t even speak to a third of those people and what’s up with random people requesting you also. Yes it is definitely acceptable to characterize FB and MS as “face-based” spaces. It is indeed to prioritize “personality, individuality, uniqueness, and self-image as the key criteria for establishing and maintaining one’s presence in digital environment.” Just stating something here, I actually do not spend a lot of time in the face book digital environment and to not possess my space. So if we are relating presence in these two entities compared to my blog, well my blog wins hands down and if the same presence in our digital environments was recommended compared to blog, I would most certainly attain a fail. However regarding participation the blog is presently becoming an amalgamation of entries representing presentation, self-image and it adds your own distinctiveness in every aspect. obviously the main difference is time consuming because those other entities are done at our own desire and will and the blog is something that is a requirement. although i understand that prof marsh is trying his hardest to destroy this difference that exists between the two to establish writing as a fun activity. Even though there is a lot of work involved to reach a general standard of what is required I am having fun with it. I know it is associated with our English class, which I initially sough to put up barriers and restrictions because of the association but now I have realized that it is my blog. Yes my blog and I should share, post, write anything that tickles my fancy. I can use it to my hearts content; even if something is completely unrelated to anything (an oxymoron)as long as my interest is there it will be wrapped, dusted and posted. I have also thought what will happen when the English class concludes. Will I continue to blog? Will I continue to write about the random things I have discussed? Well we will soon find out!
"Everyone either has one or the other, or possibly even both, why?, because that's the cool thing to do! I don't think anyone actualy thinks of why they have one of these pages, they just do.. it's kind of like the Apple Jacks Cereal commercial ("they don't even taste like apples, why do you kids like them" ..."WE JUST DO")."
THIS IS PRETTY REVEALING! -- but is it true? I suspect people have reasons, but they may not be ready, willing, or prepared to "think" about them too often. But, I don't know, maybe people should think through this stuff. The old parable... if the group starts jumping off a cliff would you follow them because "it's what people do"?
I see a lot of people defending myspace and facebook. honestly? mmm myspace and facebook are images we promote to the world of how we want to be seen. People only put up pictures where they look "good" in. Pictures that catch other people's attention and they leave comments such as "o wow you're so hot!" .. blah blah. i guess its an ego booster? Honestly, myspace and facebook are awesome for networking. Thats how I keep in touch with a lot of people. But all this flashy designs and pretty graphics is uneccessary. Especially pictures from parties and drunk pictures. Is that how you really want your peers to view you? Who cares what other random people think and how they view you.
"those who dont matter, mind. Those who matter, don't mind."
I like bloggin because it allows to you express yourself. Express yourself not promoting false images. I feel like writing is more profound. You can analyze an authors writing and see their patterns and relate them to how they view society.
mm I have to go to class now. But i feel like I might continue this.
Personally, I have had my share of problems with Facebook and Myspace due to individuals not caring about certain things they say on someone's page (for ex. My boyfriend), but over all both are very good networking spaces, where it is highly needed now-a-days, because of the interests listed for all to see, the pictures (albums, pictures tagged, evetns and parties going on, etc), and pretty much in everyone elses business, for example, Facebook has a mini feed on what everyone did or is going through. I like the blog a lot more because although public it is still personal to me in ways that it is just writing and what you want to write about In leaving comments, the studetns who leave comments are positive ones, and this whole thing is just like a hug journal, so I enjoy this a lot better than the ever so annoying factbook and myspace
I can tell you now why I have facebook and my reasons I think are ones of value. It is fairly obvious I am from Ireland: a lesser land of opportunity! The only reason why I acquired a digital environment in the long run is because it allows me to sustain my friendships once I’m gone. Whether I’m gone for reasons such as Christmas and summer or when I finally head back to the emerald isle, never to return until much later in life. This digital environment allows me to continuously converse with my good friends. I even have another digital environment similar to my space, an Irish based system that keeps me in contact with old school friends. It is similar to facebook as I have noticed people have their different schooling networks.
No I don’t think it would jump off a cliff or put my hand in the fire if my friend did. I have to say sometimes I am easily influenced but I have this head of mine firmly secured on these petite shoulders of sensibleness. I know I did get firmly coaxed into creating a facebook but I knew I would eventually make one to solely function as a means to communicate with my friends from across the pond. I don’t use it for anything else; I rarely upload pictures of myself. However my Irish counterpart I occasionally do to keep my friends updated on my bizarre activities.
If you must know after writing the previous comment to this post it made me realize how little I keep in touch with my friends at home. So I have started to use it more and since then I have spoke to all my wonderful Irish friends who await my return!
I think websites such as Facebook and Myspace are totally different form blogging. Facebook and Myspace are there sort of for networking and making friends (i personally dont see why you would want to make friends over the internet). I do admit to having a facebook, but I have met or somehow know the people who I am friends with and it is simply there to keep in touch with them and see what is new in their lives since you have last seen them. It is kind of like maintaining a long distance friendship throught the internet.
Blogging on the other hand, is kind of like Xanga. People would go on Xanga and write their whole life story and what they did everyday and people where actually interested in knowing and reading about people who they probably see everyday anyways just to see what was actually going on in their heads. Blogging is there to post opinions and say what is up and on your mind at the moment. That is why i beleive they are two totally different things and do not relate to eachother.
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