HW 14: Blogs Creating Communites Around The World

ALTHOUGH IT IS TRUE that communities are formed from people that we know in person, online blogs are creating communities with virtually anyone in the world. AS A RESULT, many new discoveries are occurring across the globe on the Internet to connect people that would other wise never understand or know about some other person's ideas and beliefs. ACTUALLY, Joi Ito, a popular Japanese blogger, had an experience on his blog that was quite amazing. SO, Ito reveals in his interview in David Kline and Dan Burstein's Blog! novel that he had written a blog post to a reverend from Chicago, Reverend Akma, "I wrote a very flippant post about God...he (the reverend) was so offended and he wrote this own his blog. So I called him and said, "So explain this God thing to me"....I would have never have had this opportunity to call up a reverend and have them explain God to me, and he would probably never have gotten a call from somebody in Japan asking to explain God to him, if it weren't for the fact that we stumbled upon each other on blogs" (Kline and Burnstein 149). ULTIMATELY, this story of a Japanese man and a Chicago reverend, shows that the global division of misunderstandings can be eliminated by the blogs from around by the world.
HOWEVER, blogging is also changing the face of other aspects of communities like the music industry for small groups like folk that are overshadowed by larger music giants such as rock or pop. IT IS TRUE, Ito believes that "we are in a period now where we are in a very constrained, narrow, mass communication method-television, radio, newspapers-where you try to tune the whole world into a very narrow band, where you have big stars like Michael Jackson...how can a hundred million people like the same song? It's very difficult if you think about the fact that we are quite culturally diverse" (Kline and Burnstein 145). THAT IS, less popular music types that have been overlooked due to the mass productions of larger musicians, have a better chance of being successful with the support of blogs. FURTHERMORE, blogs are developing a larger spectrum of diversity of music which will in turn open up people's eyes to so many different types of music that they may not have listened to if it were not for blogs.

HW 13: Blogs of The People

In my view, the impact of blogging on communication by individuals is more important then the impact of blogging on business. Some companies are unaware that communication by blogs is changing the way people view their company. AT FRIST GLANCE, BUSINESSES MIGHT SAY THAT what people are blogging about is irrelevant to their company and its success. Some blogs are about Snoopy the dog or vacationing in the Bahamas. BUT ON CLOSER INSPECTION, businesses will find out if they research their name over all the blogs, that a portion is actually talking or possibly criticizing their company on the web for everyone to see. "There are some 9 million blogs out there, with 40,000 new ones popping up each day...that leaves some 40 new ones every day that could be talking about your business, engaging your employees, or leaking those merger discussions you thought were hush-hush" (Kline and Burnstein 223). Clearly, the individual bloggers have the fate of businesses in the palm of their hands. IN AN INCREASINGLY technological WORLD, people are blogging more and listening less and less to the mainstream media. For decades, regular civilians and the mass media had a dividing gap between them. If a person had a comment or disagreed with what a magazine or newspaper was saying, there wasn't much an individual could do to be heard because what the company chose to publish was up to their editors and publishers. Now with blogs, there has been a total change of events and people are now being heard. "Blogs...they represent power. Look at it this way: In the age of mass media, publications like ours printed news. Sources try to get quoted, but the decision is ours. Ditto with letters to the editor. Now instead of speaking through us, they can blog. The divide between the publishers and the public is collapsing. This turns mass media upside down. It creates media of the masses" (Kline and Burnstein 224). The communication that is generated by blogging is forming the way of the future. People now and will continue to be a vital part of every business and media production.

HW 11: "Global Voices: For the Good and The Ugly"

The blog that I chose to view that Rebecca MacKinnon mentions in her interview with Kline and Burnstein in Blog! Is Global Voices at http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/. The blog looks like it is very well made and it seems to be run or created by a professional web designer. People blog from all over the world, especially from countries in the Middle East and Asia that control what their people can and cannot say on the Internet. The style of writing is conversational and straightforward. The topics that people blog about are corrupt governments and officials. Also many blog about the oppression of certain minority groups and the people of certain countries that are being constrained by their administrations. I believe that the Global Voices blog as it now exists still corresponds to MacKinnion's view of it in her interview in Blog! quite accurately. The website does a great job of organizing all of the blogs and categorizing them all into different topic categories and world regions. MacKinnion in her interview hoped that this blog could link people from one country to the next and create more awareness and understanding between individuals about their differences and similarities. I believe that Global Voices does do this concept much justice. I can easily maneuver around the site and read about Ramadan in Libya or the marginalization of the world's indigenous people. I am able to learn about breaking news and stories in struggling countries that generally would have been overlooked by the mass media. HERE MANY WHO ARE LOYAL TO THEIR GOVERNMENT WOULD PROBABLY OBJECT THAT it is not acceptable or law abiding to go against your countries views and contradict them. To have a group of people that object to the their government makes it difficult for others who follow the rules to maintain a normal life style. I am sure that citizens, who accept and respect their higher official’s choices, would very much like their opposers to not blog negatively about the way their country is run. Blogging is creating much controversy between the people who have differing views about their country. With the growing number of blogs that are questioning their government, the larger the gap is becoming between people on seeing at a mutual stand point.

HW 9: "Ayelet Waldman's Secrets"

In an interview with Ayelet Waldman, we learn of the effects that blogging has had on her life. Once an addicted blogger, Waldman would confess to the on-line world her troubles with her marriage and children. The overwhelming support Waldman received from her fellow bloggers gave her an outlet to express her deep feelings and concerns. BY FOCUSING ON the great counseling and help she gained from her cyber friends, WALDMAN OVERLOOKS THE DEEPER PROBLEM OF the things that she exploits to the entire web will be something that her children will have to deal with. The consequences for being so open seem to be in the back round of Waldman's mind. Her children may misinterpret their mother's private thoughts later on in life when they read her blogs and that could have a devastating impact on their relationship. I believe that Waldman could have had the same results of comfort she was seeking but without being so personal. ALTHOUGH I DISAGREE WITH MUCH OF WHAT WALDMAN SAYS, I FULLY ENDORSE the supportive and caring groups that form on-line for people like stay at home moms, who need help dealing with everyday life and their family. Giving advice and answering questions on a blog for woman who are pregnant is an amazing source of information and something I would probably use myself if I were in that situation. There are great things that come from venting and speaking your mind on your blog but going too in depth about your personal life isn't really necessary. You can achieve the same outcome of assistance you are looking for from blogging but by censoring your writing and avoid dramatizing and exploding your life problems. You should not treat your blog like your dairy; your dairy is meant to be private to the writer and if you want to blog during a hot headed moment, just make sure your not writing something you will later regret.

HW 7: Monitoring Your Middle-School Children's Writing On-Line

I believe that it is important for parents to be involved with their children's on-line chats. In the early years of teenage life, guidance is vital to the success of a young adult. While some teens are responsible with the information they provide to the World Wide Web through LiveJournal and Blurty, others can be very unwise with what they say. Emily Nussbaum depicts the down side of the on-line chat world in her article, "My So-Called Blog:"

In such an unstable environment, it's no wonder that distinctions between healthy candor and "too much information" are in flux and that so many find themselves helplessly confessing, as if a generation were given a massive technological truth serum. (Kline and Burstein 351)

Many young teenagers are not yet mature enough to distinguish what they should be revealing to the entire web. Parents should be concerned with that their children are writing on-line but this does not mean that they need to be pouring over their child's every on-line chat or journal. Granted children need to learn things on their own but there comes a point when a child's safety could be in jeopardy. Putting your full name on your LiveJournal is a big no-no or using someone else's name can lead to major concerns. When Emily Nussbaum went to a high school to investigate the popular on-line journaling, she found out what one student was discussing with the entire web:

Over the course of a monthslong breakdown, she posted graphic descriptions of cutting herself, family fights, sex. It was all documented on her Web log, complete with photos and real names. (Kline and Burstein 358)

This would be overwhelmingly disturbing to the parents of this troubled girl. With serious situations like this, it is the responsibility of the parents to make sure that their child is safe. If a child needs further help then the parents need to get that for them. Every teen goes through their different phases but exploiting every detail of them selves is not acceptable. There is a fine line between venting about your bad day and making yourself completely vulnerable to unsafe situations. Although parents need to give their young teen's boundaries, keeping up on the events and emotions of your child's life is just as imperative.

HW 6: Interest Statement for Semester-Long Project

Three social computing technologies that I find most interesting right now are blogs, online reputation economies, and social networking services. I have used blogs before this class and I also have read reviews on blogs on products that I would consider buying like my laptop. A lady that I know uses a online reputation economy, E-Bay, to sell items on this site that she buys from second hand stores like Good Will and The Salvation Army and she makes a good profit doing it. Another lady that I know uses a social network service like cupid.com for finding dates with guys online. This lady as of yet has been unsuccessful to find the man of her dreams.
Three kinds of empowerment of marginalized groups that I am most interested in finding out about right now are ageism, empowerment of working-class people, and issues with refugees. As a young 18-year-old woman, I am discriminated against because of my age. When I wanted to rent an apartment, most landlords wanted older tenants to occupy their establishments. My mother hasn't had health insurance in over 15 years because she is self-employed, and in some countries everyone has access to health care benefits regardless of their profession. At my high school in Portland, Maine, about half of my fellow peers where refugees from Somalia and Sudan.
Two geographical areas that I'd like to start looking at are Central America and the Middle East. I lived in Costa Rica for a month and completed 200 hours of community service there. I want to learn more about the Middle East because the area in general I don't know that much about and at this point in time it is a very important place. I believe that the more you know about a certain place the better you will understand it.

HW 5b: "The Journey Of Life"

Kline demonstrates in his novel Blog! that the virtual social world of blogging has created a place where individuals can go and express their feelings to others on the Internet. The need for therapists in the future is BELIEVED to decrease since bloggers now have an unlimited outlet to communicate their feelings to others who are willing to listen. Kline CLAIMS that "one must assume that the more deliberatively people appraise and document their lives, the more purposefully those lives will be lived." It is INSISTED here that blogging has such a powerful impact that it allows people to live their lives to the fullest. This is a very bold statement and I QUESTION this because to interact with someone through a computer screen is not the same as talking to someone face to face. There is vital human characteristics that cannot be conveyed as thoroughly as it could be when speaking to someone directly in the present. You cannot visualize body language when you are chatting on IM or in a chat room and a large percentage of what we say is actually non-verbal. So how is it possible that people can be completely clear and exact about what they are trying to say when typing on a computer to a numerous mass of the population? This could lead to major misinterpretations and misunderstandings when reading about others or perhaps others reading about you. For example, when chatting with my friends on-line, it is often hard to distinguish when someone is being sarcastic or when they are being serious. As you can imagine this could become quite complicated and messy. I further CONTEND the importance of the human race to interact with each other in person rather than through a porthole.

HW 4: Option 1; "The Voice of The Harley-Davidson Customer"

For this blog exercise, I researched the website for Harley-Davidson motorcycles via the Google search engine. The pages that mention the motor cycle company on Kline and Burstein's Blog! Is 106 and 111 through 113. The official Harley-Davidson website portrays that their motorcycles are far greater than just a machine. When you ride a Harley, "It's not a ride. It's a way of life." The image that first appears when you open the site displays a scene deep in a forested area surrounded by a picture perfect rugged environment. Owning a Harley gives you an experience like nothing else. "Riding is about more than freedom and adventure. It's about a heightening of the senses." If you are a Harley-Davidson owner, you can explore the road world in a way that a regular person driving a car couldn’t. You are placed in a special category with other riders that share the same unique pleasure. This website depicts that a motorcycle is not just another mode of transportation. You are completely submerged in the wilderness and all of your senses are engaged and sensitive to everything around you. If you are a dedicated owner of a precious Harley-Davidson, then you can register to get up to date e-mails regarding the motorcycle company. I found this information on the Harley-Davidson site, https://www.harley-davidson.com/. I found the site was very helpful if I was interested in purchasing a Harley; you can locate a dealer, rent a Harley, or get “rider education” pertaining to different aspects of riding. The Harley-Davidson website does a superb job of getting a specific image to their customers and their execution of this is flawless. If I were in the market to buy a motorcycle, I would definitely be interested in checking out Harley-Davidson’s just by what I have seen of their website. What this website does that Blog! explains is that to get customers and return buyers, your website and company has to create a quality product as well as a emotional response to keep the customers coming back for more. Clearly, the Harley-Davidson company has been very successful and will continue to be if they listen to what their customers want and respond appropriately and advertise in a strategic way.

HW 3: "Toward a More Participatory Democracy"

In the first chapter of Blog! by David Kline and Dan Burstein, they tackle the political aspect of blogging. The influence on American politics has been greatly impacted by the phenomenon of the blogosphere. AMERICANS TODAY TEND TO BELIEVE THAT the mainstream media lacks credibility and doesn't focus on key issues that are important to most today. There are a staggering high number of people that are relying on getting true and accurate news from blogs and other internet sources. On the internet, nothing is filtered or edited to manipulate the minds of the American people. One large issue that bloggers have with the media is the way it portrays politics and in particular political debates. The mass media gets to choose and pick what they want to focus on and what they don’t want or want to tell. Maxwell McComb and Donald Shaw state that "the mass media may not be successful in telling us what to think, but they are stunningly successful in telling us what to think about." ON ONE HAND, the creation of a place where people can openly discuss and support their issues on politics is a great stride towards a "more participatory democracy." ON THE OTHER HAND, the division between Americans is growing deeper everyday due to the fact that people are not listening to each other but they are simply expressing their own beliefs. Ezra Klein says that he has "not yet-and not for the lack of trying-found the blog where smart and engaged partisans are respectfully speaking to each other...where the point is to inform and enrich rather than enrage and destroy." MY OWN VIEW IS THAT blogs both have a negative and positive impact on our society and especially on politics. It will remain to be seen in the future of blogging if minds can be altered to be listening more and blogging less.

The Effects of Blogging in the 2008 Elections

In David Kline and Dan Burstein's Blog!, there is a list of 12 key ideas of the blogosphere. One in particular is that blogs favor liberals over conservatives but in factuality, that is said to be untrue. The left wing as well as the right wing party has equal amounts of exposure through the social computing network. During the 2004 controversial presidential elections, republicans were just as active as democrats in voicing their opinions and getting awareness out for the candidate of their choice. Since blogging has become even more popular since 2004, I believe that it will have a substantial impact on the outcome of the hyped up 2008 elections. The author states that conservatives are as involved in the political virtual world as liberals are but before reading this I was under the same assumption as many other Americans. Just because it would seem one way to me, it is not always so. Misconceptions can lead to a belief that many people agree in something like who is to be elected for president, but once it comes down to election time and the results, there can be a very different outcome. There is a majority of Americans who still do not use blogs or the Internet, and maybe this is the group that makes the margin from one candidate over the other. So, all of those votes that might be overlooked by the blogosphere could be the most important factor of all.