Week 5: Blog about Blogs

What Blogs Are / Are not

So I was thinking that blogs cannot soapboxes, or they shouldn’t be in my opinion. Who want to read that? Then a thought crossed my mind: Do I actually know what a soapbox is? Of course I am familiar with the expression, but I thought I should look it up before I post it for the world to see. I went to Google which directed me to Wikipedia. I read through the history of the word and was amazed, and slightly shocked, when I read the first of the three terms listed under the heading “See Also.” “Debate” didn’t bother me. Neither did “Forum.” What did was the four letter word listed first, “Blog.” Hmm…

I guess I was wrong. A blog can be your soapbox. It is clear to me now that a blog can be whatever you want it to be. Anyone can blog about anything they want. Because of this, there is certainly no “one size fits all” format. If you want people to read your blog however, I think it certainly needs to be informative, easy to access, and well thought out.

I thought I’d see what Google had to say if I searched “why blog” and I eventually came across a blog called The Ed Techie. The author has three main points about why to blog which are summarized below:

1. Exposure: Blogging exposes our thought process for others to see.

   “A blog is good means of allowing others to observe some of the less well thought out ideas and ongoing projects of an academic.”

2. It keeps us current, technologically speaking.

   “It provides a useful tool for engaging with other technologies – the array of web 2.0 technologies can be quite daunting. However, many of these relate to blogging, and so by keeping a blog one is exposed to these technologies in a meaningful context.

3. It is a place to post the ideas in your brain, without going through the formalities of publishing an article in a journal.

After reading this blog, I decided to add it to my Reader. As I was doing it I had and “Ah-Ha” moment. It is starting to become apparent to me that Web 2.0 is all about establishing connections with people with similar interests. We are no longer limited to the people we share lunch with to bounce ideas off of. The entire world is out there, ready to and willing to collaborate.