HAH! Look what I can do!

My Humps

Add a video to your site Webratsmusic.com

The assignment was to add something new to our blogs. Hmm, ok. Google was my first thought, and boy did I luck out. I wanted to add music to my blog, and instead I added a music video! To go along with the blogger stereotype (or one that seems to be quite popular) I'm going to brag a little bit because hey, I'm proud of myself. I also decided to pick a video that was somewhat obnoxious (we're supposed to find our own voice, right?).I was surprised how easy this actually was, because trust me I am somewhat technologically handicapped, basically, if I can add one, then so can you :o)

SIR, BLOGGING, SIR!

Soldiers are blogging from the frontlines. What does this mean for our country? Anyone with access to a computer and the internet can get almost instantaneous accounts of that day halfway across the world. There's absolutely no way that our government likes this. Depending on your opinion of the war this could either be a good or a bad thing (but that is one subject I am NOT going to even attempt to cover). What I do know is that this blogging doesn't go without some form of censorship. At least according to the article, The Blogs of War that is.

Some may argue that the guidelines that restrict how much information the soldiers post is the governments way of hiding the "truth" about the war, and others will argue that they do it for the safety of the troops. Personally, I believe the latter.

Overall the article about the military blogging phenom was incredibly interesting and makes me want to find these blogs and get my own ideas about it. Getting a soldiers account of daily happenings in Iraq is one way to stay informed about what's going on in that part of the world. Many of the blogs can be found just by searching Google for Milblogs as the military blogs are referred to in the article. Once such blog is the Mudville Gazette, check it out for youself and form your own opinion.

Blogging with the Best

Oh. My. God. I'm reading someone's diary... Or at least thats the way it feels sometimes when I start reading some blogs. Dr. David Gudelunas, professor of communication and avid blog reader. After listening to his presentation last week about blogging, I came to the realization that perhaps I should start reading some blogs for fun.

Along with some interesting vocabulary, it was also reiterated that some of the best blogs have a unique voice. This raised an interesting question in my mind, just how sassy can I be without affecting my grade? I think we have enough lee-way to be unique and still scholarly but I'm not entirely sure just how many grammatical errors I can get away with.

Sentence fragments aside, Dr. Gudelunas raised an interesting point, why have blogs become so popular now as opposed to five even ten years ago? The prevalence of technology is not a sustaining answer. Everyone wants to be heard don't they? Let's face it though, some of us are just timid enough to not want to rock the boat, but we feel confident enough to do so under a username, an alter-ego through which we control just how much is actually known about us (and even the information that we decide to give may be false).

Another bloggers apparently love to do is talk about themselves and their blogs. Egotism at its best? Perhaps, or perhaps this is just another characteristic of our ever evolving culture. That however is a topic for another day.

Hate Crimes on campus?

Is there racism on campus? How that question is answered depends on who you speak with. In reference to an online publication of The Mirror from February 23, 2006:

According to Fairfield University's "Uniform Campus Crime Report," hate crimes are defined as "crimes involving bodily injury to any person in which the victim is intentionally selected because of the actual or perceived race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity or disability of the victim that are reported to campus authorities or local police agencies.

"In technical terms, Fairfield has experienced no hate crimes in recent history; however, the university has encountered what Director of Public Safety Todd Pelazza refers to as "bias-related incidents."

Can bias be a synonym for racism- many students feel that the meanings do not match up. Instead of calling incidents Hate Crimes, it could be viewed that the university doesn't view it as such and thus does not feel that these incidents are severe as those who are victimized. Perhaps it is time for this institution to revamp their terminology.

Still curious about what Fairfield's policy on hate crimes? Check out the Dept. of Public Safety and see what they have to say.

Who Let the Blogs Out?

One thing is for sure, this reading was much easier to get through that Neuromancer. It was interesting to read how blogging got started and which people were in a way responsible for the form of expression.

Biz Stone's book Who Let the Blogs Out? seems to be written with more attention placed on the idea that not everyone knows what a blog is (imagine that!) much less how to go about writing with proper protocol. For someone, such as myself, who is new to the blogging world this has become an invaluable tool. Not only can you read it and not feel completely lost as I will admit I felt with Neuromancer (surprise right?) it also lists sites in the back of the book to help you personalize your blog. I also found the glossary in the back to be quite helpful when deciphering the terms used in the chapters.

The reading covers a great deal of topics, and at times almost seems like an instructional on how to post things properly. In the portion that I read, it appears that this publication also has valuable etiquette tips and answers to frequently asked questions.

Overall, this book has many valuable points and as blogging leaves the "geek culture" and becomes more mainstream it is important for those of us who aren't as technologically advanced to be informed of the proper way to do things.