Blog Commenting

...yes, that's "Blog Commenting" with a capital "B" and "C".  : )

Are you familiar with the concept of Blog Commenting as a strategy?  I wasn't until I funny little Hans VonPuppet explained it to me.  What an interesting concept!

It's already time for a final reflection!

Lessons learned

As explored in the comments of Euginia’s post on the trustworthiness of blogs, the main ‘lesson’ I have learned in my semester as a blogger is that writing in the context of a blog requires the realization that I am writing for a specific audience.  For me, that realization went beyond the fact that I have been writing for my classmates.  The key element was the recognition that I was writing for a group of digital natives who are used to (and who expect) the specific “blogging style” of writing.  

This facet of blogging can be viewed as both an affordance and a constraint of blogging, I believe.  It is an affordance if you are aware of what the blogging style of writing is, if you are aware that writing in a blog requires less formality and objectivity.  It is an inherently personal and relatively informal platform.  It is easier!  If a writer knows these things, he or she can write a post that will be effective in conveying a message in a context-appropriate fashion.  However, this blogging style can be a constraint if the writer is not aware of its conventions or if the message that the writer wants to convey is more serious or more technical in nature.  In these cases, blogging would probably not be the most appropriate platform. 

  

Cartoon by: cambodia4kidsorg

Extending lessons learned

I believe that this lesson can be extended to writing for all new media tools, based on my experiences with the various tools we experimented with in class.  Each tool that we have encountered has required a unique and specific set of message conveying abilities.  For example, I had never created a video of any sort before this course.  And so, through learning to create one in a hands-on, step-by-step context, I was able to learn the multiple new literacies needed for sending a message via video.  I am proud of the end result, mostly because I now understand the work that goes into even the simplest YouTube videos I watch.  Video creators must think in two streams at once:  they have to know what words and sounds they want to create while simultaneously knowing what images they want to accompany those words.  And then they have to put those two together.  

The fact that new media content creation tools each require their own unique set of literacies is actually nothing new, when I reflect upon it.  Even the “old” media, if you will, each required different skill sets.  Writing a novel has always been different from writing a newspaper article, and so on.  I suppose what is new is the fact that these skill sets do not directly carry over into the new media context, and so as new media content creators, we have to learn new skills and innovate the ones we already possess. 

A somewhat surprising observation

I have sincerely enjoyed reading and commenting on my group’s blogs, and I have been impressed with the writing of our class as a whole.  A major surprise to me throughout this process has been the length of the comments on our blogs in comparison to the comments that I have seen on most other blogs I read, such as Sarah Writes Daily and The Urban Muse.   I myself am guilty as charged, but I am surprised to see that most everyone else is, too!  Perhaps this has to do with the fact that we all knew we were writing for an academic (as opposed to purely “real world”) setting, or maybe it is related to the analytical and contemplative nature of our posts.  Either way, the lengths of the comments stood out to me.  (The reason that mine were so long is likely that I tend to be a long-winded writer no matter what the context…alas, an improvement I need to make if I want to write in the new media context!)

Overall, I think I like blogging.  For some reason, I am drawn to the fact that I am able to share my personal thoughts in the first person.  But, I think I like reading blogs even more.  I have loved the fact that my classmates’ personalities have shown through in their posts and that a blog writer’s personality typically does shine through in this context, no matter what the topic of the blog.  To be honest, I probably will not blog much more after the end of this project than I did before we started.  However, I have already started to read more blogs and am able to better appreciate the skill set required to produce them successfully.  And I think that was the purpose of this assignment anyhow. : )

The debate over net neutrality in the age of Web 2.0

The debate over net neutrality has taken on a new significance with the rise of Web 2.0 and its corresponding new media texts.  Pro-net neutralists argue that a net neutrality law is needed to foster future innovation, protect Internet users’ freedom of speech and avoid Internet use discrimination that is based solely on income. Anti-net neutralists assert that free market capitalism and the fact that we are currently operating on a limited amount of available bandwidth are strong reasons for opposing net neutrality policies.  Both sides offer solid evidence for their stances, and thus, the debate carries on. 

Below is a podcast I created on this topic.  You may access the full transcript + reference list here.

Why we should study how to write for the new media context

Despite my residual hesitance to totally hand over my personal life to the use of new media tools, I strongly believe that learning how to write for these new media tools is vitally important to me.  I feel this way because I hope to pursue a career as a corporate copywriter, a job that will undoubtedly require me to write in new media contexts. Without the proper skills and a thorough understanding of the rules and mechanics of new media writing, I will not be able to perform successfully as a copywriter.

On the whole, I believe that it is important for anyone who chooses to participate in today’s new media environment to learn how to contribute to it according to the accepted norms.  Like virtually everything else in life, one cannot reap the full benefits of a situation if he or she does not understand how to contribute to the situation.  For example, if a Buddhist attends a Christian church service, he or she might be able to appreciate the concept of collective prayer and of fellowship among the holders of a common belief, but he or she will not be able to fully appreciate the intricacies and underlying meanings of the service without a deeper knowledge of the Christian tradition.  Likewise, someone who attempts to use new media tools without knowing the conventions for doing so might be able to understand the new media culture on the surface, but without a deeper knowledge of how to write texts for this specific context and why they are written this way will not come away from the experience with a full understanding of its uniqueness.

If we do not want to have a full experience with new media, then it is not important for us to study how to write in the new media context.  However, if we do want our experience to be as rich as possible, then we must understand this critical aspect of new media, especially given that a pivotal aspect of new media is content creation.

Innovations in writing for new media

Innovations in the world of new media seem to be happening all of the time. Just take our class’ presentation of new media tools two weeks ago – wow!  Ten totally new and completely unique content creation tools! 

These tools highlighted some of the most interesting aspects of digital media that make the task of writing for new media a new challenge that will require writers to expand upon (but not abandon) the techniques used to write using traditional media.  These new aspects that will require innovations in writing techniques include the differences in the ways people read using new media, the differences in the reader-writer relationships in new media and the new ways that meaning is created with new media. 

New methods of reading

One of the most significant differences in the way that new media texts are read in comparison with traditional texts is that new media texts are no longer read and processed in a linear fashion.  As we’ve discussed on multiple occasions, techniques such as scanning, hyperlinking and utilizing multimodality are becoming the new norm when it comes to reading in a new media setting and linear front to back, top to bottom reading is taking a back seat.

Numerous new content creation tools reflect these new norms, including many of the tools presented in class, such as Prezi, HubPages and Storify.  I believe that Prezi is exhibits these new methods of reading the best.  It allows people to present their message in a non-linear, non-specifically-structured fashion that complements the ways in which people read new media texts, thus making it easier for the reader to process the ideas being presented.  This is highly innovative, because instead of adapting traditional methods of presenting content to the new methods of reading, Prezi has totally revamped the system in which ideas can be presented.  Instead of attempting to adapt the old content creation tools, Prezi has created a new one that, in my opinion, is much better suited to today’s new media readers. 

New reader-writer relationships

A second new aspect of digital media that has changed the way we read and write is the closer, sometimes blurred, relationship between the readers and the writers of new media texts.  In fact, I believe that this has become a defining feature of new media.  It is difficult to find a new media tool that does not have some version of a comment box or that does not allow readers to respond or react to content in some manner. 

Although nearly all of the new content creation tools presented in class feature a closer relationship between the content creator and the content receiver, Storify, WizIQ, Nico NicoDouga, Weibo and 500PX exemplify this new relationship. They are each based on the idea that while content may be king, the content creator is no longer.  When using these tools, the reader has the ability to not only intake information but also to input information for others to read, including the original content creator.  In this way, these tools allow both the reader to be the writer and the writer to be the reader virtually whenever they choose. 

New ways of creating meaning

The final aspect of new media that is forcing a change in the ways we create content is the new manners in which we are able to create meaning in our messages.  In many new media settings, users can now create meaning multimodally, using text, images, sound and video all at once if we so choose.  No longer are we confined to black and white text in a book or to simple photos in a photo album; now we can tell a story or present an argument or teach a class using all of these tools and more all at once.  This new ability has forced us to rethink the tools we use to create our content and to create new ones where necessary.  Every single tool we discussed in class reflects this important aspect of new media. 

Because the ways in which new media texts are read and written and the meanings that can be created within them have evolved, so have the tools that are used to create them had to adapt.  Now as users of new media content creation tools, it is our turn to adapt and to begin to use these new tools when we write in new media contexts.

My digital life

As a 22-year-old with the dumbest (as opposed to 'smart'est) phone in her entire social circle (parents included) and a Facebook friends list totaling a mere 100 or so, one might say that my digital life is mostly, if not entirely, non-existent.  I beg to differ, however.  I would describe my digital life as tame and maybe even a bit old-fashioned, harkening back to the bygone days of having separate devices for talking, emailing, photo-sharing and the like, but, believe me, it's there. 

And I keep it that way by choice.  Just as the Amish decided to draw their arbitrary line in the sand somewhere between porch lights and automobiles, I have drawn mine where my perceptions of  productivity and addiction fade into each other.  While neither me nor the Amish may be 'correct' in our answer to the question "how much technology is the right amount for me and how much is too much?", I am proud of myself for asking it. 

Based on my answer to that question, my technological arsenal includes the following: 

1. A highly-durable Nokia 6275 candybar phone (yes, it has a color screen!);
2. A hand-me-down iPod touch; and
3. My favorite piece of technology, my dark brown ASUS laptop

Of these three, my 'can't-live-without-it' item is definitely my laptop.  Whether I'm perusing NPR or Skyping with my family and friends around the world, it is the one piece of technology that I'd be sad to see go.  

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Despite my lacking affinity for technological gadgets, I do hope to fully immerse myself in what I'd deem the "digital culture" that we're about to delve into in this course.  I'm planning on putting aside my preconceived judgements about the time-consuming nature of today's new media as best I can and listening with an open mind.  

And while I probably will not walk away spending any more time on Facebook than I already do, I sincerely hope to gain as many new tools and resources as I can over the course of the next two months.  I am truly excited to be doing so alongside my peers, from whom I can surely learn the most.

                               Image courtesy of: RandomCuriosity

Thanks for joining me...

...on my journey into the depths of the world of new media!