Still Trying to Find the Proper Voice For This....

So far in this class, I've had a decent amount of trouble blogging. This is obviously a problem as the class happens to be Writing for the Internet . So far in class we've focused on creating webpages using HTML, which I'm quite comfortable with. I'm definately satisfied with the homepage I made, as well as the other projects we've done. However, we've also read about, and discussed several topics concerning the actual writing aspect of online communication. While I have little trouble with in-class discussions, the blogging aspect has been difficult for me. This is somewhat strange, as I thoroughly enjoy writing, and it isn't in the least something that's new or difficult to me. I'm just struggling to find the right voice for this medium.

One of the things that initially put me off, is the fact that anyone can read it. One of the first things we discussed was the fact that ten years from now someone I've never met may read this draw unwanted conclusions about my character. I find it terrifying that if one punches my first and last name into google, the first result will be one of my entries. I'm no stranger to writing for a large audience. I've written for magazines and newspapers, but really never worried about that. In both cases one can hide behind the filter of AP style and produce the sort of text that reveals nothing about the writer.

Blogging is different in that it's just a little more personnal. I also have no problem writing personnal writing, but I tend to do so with a reasonably small target audience in mind. In every case the audience has been comprised of people who have met me before. It is quite a lot easier for me to write candidly to someone who has likely heard me say something completely ridiculous after a few drinks at a party, than someone whose existence I wasn't aware of until they left a comment.

That said, I think I'm starting to get a better grasp on this. Now that the focus is shifting to content, I feel that blogging will become easier, or at least a little more painless. Hopefully, you'll all see some improvement.

I apparently need to read the course website a bit more thoroughly, or pay closer attention. Until just now, I didn't realize that a quote was necesary for the entries about the readings. For that reason, the only one that I included a quote in was the one regarding writing for the web 3.0 by Crawford Killian. Despite the lack of a quote, I feel that my entry regarding creating a webpage with HTML did a good job of responding to the content.

While I may have not posted often, or especially well, I did tend to post things on time. While this particular entry will be posted approximately 7 hours before class begins, generally I managed to post other assignments a bit earlier. I posted the first out of class assignment, where I made my first webpage, a day early. My entry about writing in HTML was posted long before the next class meeting.  With the exception of this one, and the previous one, everything else was posted at least 13 or so hours before the next class meeting.

I've had very little interaction, and should really start coming up with more clever titles for my entries. The only one that meets both criteria of being somehow relevant to the course, and longer than three words, was recently posted on my entry about the effect of text speak on the English language as a whole.

While many of my entries have been brief, a few tended to analyze the material to a greater extent. My entry about the "Smiley" is one example and the one about the effect of text speak on the English language, is another good example.

The other aspect of blogging that I really need to improve on is in providing feedback to my peers. I've recently commented on Aja's entry about wikipedia "Everyone else is using it. Why aren't you?"  as well as Anne's entry about the effect of the internet on print newspapers "Long Live the Paper!"