Wednesday, January 25, 2006
To Blog or Not to Blog?
In response to Michael Berube's article "Blogging Back At The Right," I feel that the use of weblogs has the potential to do more harm than good because other sites can pick and choose any element of your writing to comment about without the repercussion of an editor or a censor. The vulgarity and blatant disregard for proper attribution that has occurred over the recent years discourages me greatly from having a website.
As evident by Berube's stories of how his writings were misinterpreted, one could receive a harsh backlash as a result of poor communication with readers or because of another blogger who sharply disagrees with your views. Writing for personal enjoyment is one thing. To express yourself with a website has the potential to be something fun and enjoyable, but to convey opinions or to respond to other's opinions can lead to a world of trouble.
The advantages of publicly commenting on issues is the ability to quickly respond to events that occur. One can begin typing and publishing as soon as the information is received. Another advantage is the ability to edit and quickly retract false information or mistakes. Unlike a newspaper which would have to wait an entire day, one could retract or apologize within minutes of publishing wrong information.
A disadvantage is that the competition to have the first story published could lead to a rushed publication which more than likely will have mistakes. The authors may not take enough time to properly fact check or spell check which could cause confusion or an unreadable work. A newspaper will have editors and fact checkers. Even though it may take longer to publish, their work will be more error-proof.
As evident by Berube's stories of how his writings were misinterpreted, one could receive a harsh backlash as a result of poor communication with readers or because of another blogger who sharply disagrees with your views. Writing for personal enjoyment is one thing. To express yourself with a website has the potential to be something fun and enjoyable, but to convey opinions or to respond to other's opinions can lead to a world of trouble.
The advantages of publicly commenting on issues is the ability to quickly respond to events that occur. One can begin typing and publishing as soon as the information is received. Another advantage is the ability to edit and quickly retract false information or mistakes. Unlike a newspaper which would have to wait an entire day, one could retract or apologize within minutes of publishing wrong information.
A disadvantage is that the competition to have the first story published could lead to a rushed publication which more than likely will have mistakes. The authors may not take enough time to properly fact check or spell check which could cause confusion or an unreadable work. A newspaper will have editors and fact checkers. Even though it may take longer to publish, their work will be more error-proof.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
I just found my new best friend...
Who knew that a simple in-class ice-breaker could spawn a terrific new friendship? In one of my English classes, I met Desirae Brown from Bridgeport, Conn. Desirae and I enjoyed a nice ten minutes of inquisitive conversation which led to our blossoming friendship. Her interests were very similar to mine and we shared heaps of laughs.
This avid Winnie the Pooh enthusiast is currently a Junior at Fairfield University where she majors in English with a focus in business writing. I too am an English major and have also been to Disney World several times, so I was well-equipped to talk about school or cartoons.
She is a Resident Assistant in the Regis dormitory here at Fairfield University. This led to further conversing because my sister, a freshman, lives in that dorm. Luckily, I received no bad news about my sister's behavior.
We shared the same passion in traveling. She is a great admirer of the culture and traditions of Spain. After traveling along the east coast of the United States and having been to California, Spain still stands out to her as the most cherished traveling memory. I too am traveled, having been to Australia twice in my life, most recently spending my spring semester of my junior year in Brisbane. She spoke of her love of the steel factory she visited in Toledo, Spain. I spoke of my best experience at Stradbroke Island, Australia. It was great.
She is a sister to two and a best friend to two as well. She considers her friends to be her favorite part of Fairfield University. I'm just hoping that our friendship can be as great.
