Well, it is kind of hard to describe only one interesting thing I learned. Even in the first ten to fifteen minutes of going over current events I found out so many different things. It does not take very long to become informed, it just takes a little bit of effort. Also a lot of the things that we looked at are things that we kind of already knew, but we shed new light on it. One thing in particular is the press sphere we studied. If we ever really thought about it, we probably could of identified influences such as these, but this course really brought it to light.
As far as my writing skills have changed, I do not think they have changed an immense amount. I do believe that I have acquired certain skills that will be rather useful to me. I feel the short and recent blog posts have helped me to learn to write concisely and quickly on certain topics. I always hated doing major research projects in high school and still am not a big fan of writing when I have to for school. I think this course will help me in social situations. I do not think I will have to write huge papers on topics when I grow older and start my career. Finally, an example of how my writing and reading have changed, I think I do have less patience with longer pieces. I think I can get more to the point quicker and formulate ideas faster. I think this also expands to talking with people and other situations such as that. This class has increased my writing speed for the most part.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Final Draft
Stephen Guelda
ENGL 105
Mr. Leake
23 November 2009
Multiple Lives of the Swine Flu
The swine flu has been talked about for months upon months ever since it first started appearing in the United States. There have been more infections and deaths as time has drawn on. It has been in the paper and news for probably about as long as Michael Jackson was when he died. There have been stories ranging from how many people have been infected to the vaccine and then stories about those stories and responding to everything those say. This story has been of interest to people ever since the H1N1 started showing up because it deals with people’s health and safety. It has been developing for months upon months as scientists and researchers have studied more and researchers have been producing vaccines for the swine flu.
The swine flu was discovered and classified as a new strain of flu in April 2009. People started to worry about how it would affect them and the news of course covered it. Many sites urged precaution and caused some panic because people did not know how bad the new virus would be. There had been few studies and not that many people were sick, so they did not necessarily have much of a clue of how it would affect everyone. Some people were saying it would be as bad as the flu pandemic in 1918-1919 which killed somewhere around fifty million people worldwide. So even though no one really had any solid proof of what this strain was capable of people started coming up with their own ideals and debating about how much it would affect everyone.
After the first cases started showing up throughout the United States, it started to get national attention. It had been active in countries such as Mexico for a while before it ever came to the United States, and the government had no desire of the same thing occurring. The government started focusing on preventing the spread of the disease and the procurement of a vaccine that would be able to be produced and distributed quickly. President Obama suggested a plan that would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to help research the H1N1 strain, develop a vaccine, and prevent the spread of it through out the United States. People started to realize that this could be a very serious threat to people, and as most normal people would do, they started to question what type of preparation was being done to stem off this virus that could be potentially lethal. Some people panicked and worried that it was going to be a pandemic and tons of people would die. On the other hand many people thought everyone was overreacting and that it would be no worse than even the seasonal flu. Studies started being conducted to determine some of these things, but nothing really definitive had come out yet. Stories continued to come about the swine flu and different people’s reactions to it.
As the virus started becoming more prevalent in a majority of the states in the United States, people really started worrying. People were even starting to die, and many people were starting to panic. People did not see many things going on to help stop this from becoming a pandemic. People wanted answers and started commenting on how they thought the government was doing in preparing for the swine flu. Everyone from blogs to newspapers covered the story, and it even became a topic that many people discussed among their peers. People demanded that vaccine be made and the government came up with an estimate that around a hundred million doses would be ready by mid-October.
As the situation currently stands the vaccine has started being administered across the country, but not nearly as much as the government proposed would be ready at this time. Drive thru clinics with the limited supply of the swine flu shot were set up with the one that happened at the University of Louisville’s Stadium being a prime example. Also people were being administered a nasal spray form of the swine flu vaccine. This by itself became a totally different story as people questioned this new vaccine. The nasal spray vaccine is an active virus, and people started saying that this was going to spread the disease more than stop the spread of it. Many people have said that they will not be getting the vaccine and even health care workers have protested getting it. The government had to defend itself and this turned into stories and counter stories over this new vaccine. All this was happening while people were arguing over methods to speed up the regular vaccine production. The whole process was under heavy scrutiny by many people for not meeting the expectations that they said they would complete.
One main issue that people looked at with the vaccine was rather or not to receive the vaccine. There are many different reasons why people decided they were or were not going to get the vaccine. One big issue as mentioned above was the different types of vaccine. The nasal spray form was put under a lot of scrutiny because it uses an active form of the virus. Another reason that people were questioning it was because they were wondering if the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the possible negative side effects of the vaccine. One person thinks not. Dr. Russell Blaylock mentions many statistics about how the vaccine is a waste of time. In an article that he wrote in November, Blaylock covers facts such as the death rates, the contagiousness, and the severity of the actual flu virus. He also covers such things as the vaccine testing. He says that the vaccine was only tested for a week, so it is not proven safe, and he mentions on how the swine flu is really not that serious a deal(Blaylock). The possible consequences are devastating as well. Many vaccines have been linked to cause different major conditions in certain patients. He lists some examples such as Gardasil that has been linked to possibly cause a dementia like illness in children. Blaylock says the media and the CDC are building up the vaccine and are being fear mongers to sell the vaccine to further themselves. He says it is all a big hoax to make money, and he strongly advises against spending money for something that has a slight chance of hurting you a lot more than it helps you.
This is completely opposite from what sites such as those made by the Center for Disease Prevention and Control and the New York Times have to say. They are still saying everyone should take the vaccine to be completely safe (CDC). They are saying it is still a major threat to the nation even though activity seems to be going down in many places. In fact on the CDC’s website it says that major swine flu activity is only being recorded in twenty five of the fifty states in the United States. The vaccine is still being administered through out the United States as clinics are popping up in places such as schools, universities, and doctors offices. The severity is not at all what people may have expected with the beginning estimates being that there would be hundreds of thousands in the hospital and the Intensive Care Unit, but one can never be too safe when it comes to his or her health. Who are you supposed to believe? They both have facts to back up their research. Both sets of facts may be right too. This is where the story develops within the audience personally.
Even now this story has not ended. There is no telling where this story will go in the time ahead. Even the most prominent newspaper, The New York Times, has an overview of the swine flu over time and a swine flu navigator (The New York Times). The swine flu is still popping up all around the world and for the most part has spread to every state in the United States. There have been over one thousand deaths and tens of thousands of infections in the United States attributed to the swine flu alone and this number is only going to increase as time goes on. People have been saying that the swine flu has been through the first wave, and many people are expecting a second wave when winter hits. All of these speculations lead to more stories, and whether or not a second wave of the H1N1 flu hits will determine whether or not this story will live on and there will be even more stories. This story will live on through the upcoming months as the flu season draws closer and depending on how widespread the consequences are it may even live on in history.
Works Cited
"Swine Flu (H1N1)." The New York Times. 11 Nov. 2009. Web. 23 Nov. 2009.
Blaylock, Dr. Russell. "Swine Flu -- One of the Most Massive Cover-ups in American History." Web.
CDC. "General Information About 2009 H1N1 Vaccines." Web.
ENGL 105
Mr. Leake
23 November 2009
Multiple Lives of the Swine Flu
The swine flu has been talked about for months upon months ever since it first started appearing in the United States. There have been more infections and deaths as time has drawn on. It has been in the paper and news for probably about as long as Michael Jackson was when he died. There have been stories ranging from how many people have been infected to the vaccine and then stories about those stories and responding to everything those say. This story has been of interest to people ever since the H1N1 started showing up because it deals with people’s health and safety. It has been developing for months upon months as scientists and researchers have studied more and researchers have been producing vaccines for the swine flu.
The swine flu was discovered and classified as a new strain of flu in April 2009. People started to worry about how it would affect them and the news of course covered it. Many sites urged precaution and caused some panic because people did not know how bad the new virus would be. There had been few studies and not that many people were sick, so they did not necessarily have much of a clue of how it would affect everyone. Some people were saying it would be as bad as the flu pandemic in 1918-1919 which killed somewhere around fifty million people worldwide. So even though no one really had any solid proof of what this strain was capable of people started coming up with their own ideals and debating about how much it would affect everyone.
After the first cases started showing up throughout the United States, it started to get national attention. It had been active in countries such as Mexico for a while before it ever came to the United States, and the government had no desire of the same thing occurring. The government started focusing on preventing the spread of the disease and the procurement of a vaccine that would be able to be produced and distributed quickly. President Obama suggested a plan that would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to help research the H1N1 strain, develop a vaccine, and prevent the spread of it through out the United States. People started to realize that this could be a very serious threat to people, and as most normal people would do, they started to question what type of preparation was being done to stem off this virus that could be potentially lethal. Some people panicked and worried that it was going to be a pandemic and tons of people would die. On the other hand many people thought everyone was overreacting and that it would be no worse than even the seasonal flu. Studies started being conducted to determine some of these things, but nothing really definitive had come out yet. Stories continued to come about the swine flu and different people’s reactions to it.
As the virus started becoming more prevalent in a majority of the states in the United States, people really started worrying. People were even starting to die, and many people were starting to panic. People did not see many things going on to help stop this from becoming a pandemic. People wanted answers and started commenting on how they thought the government was doing in preparing for the swine flu. Everyone from blogs to newspapers covered the story, and it even became a topic that many people discussed among their peers. People demanded that vaccine be made and the government came up with an estimate that around a hundred million doses would be ready by mid-October.
As the situation currently stands the vaccine has started being administered across the country, but not nearly as much as the government proposed would be ready at this time. Drive thru clinics with the limited supply of the swine flu shot were set up with the one that happened at the University of Louisville’s Stadium being a prime example. Also people were being administered a nasal spray form of the swine flu vaccine. This by itself became a totally different story as people questioned this new vaccine. The nasal spray vaccine is an active virus, and people started saying that this was going to spread the disease more than stop the spread of it. Many people have said that they will not be getting the vaccine and even health care workers have protested getting it. The government had to defend itself and this turned into stories and counter stories over this new vaccine. All this was happening while people were arguing over methods to speed up the regular vaccine production. The whole process was under heavy scrutiny by many people for not meeting the expectations that they said they would complete.
One main issue that people looked at with the vaccine was rather or not to receive the vaccine. There are many different reasons why people decided they were or were not going to get the vaccine. One big issue as mentioned above was the different types of vaccine. The nasal spray form was put under a lot of scrutiny because it uses an active form of the virus. Another reason that people were questioning it was because they were wondering if the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the possible negative side effects of the vaccine. One person thinks not. Dr. Russell Blaylock mentions many statistics about how the vaccine is a waste of time. In an article that he wrote in November, Blaylock covers facts such as the death rates, the contagiousness, and the severity of the actual flu virus. He also covers such things as the vaccine testing. He says that the vaccine was only tested for a week, so it is not proven safe, and he mentions on how the swine flu is really not that serious a deal(Blaylock). The possible consequences are devastating as well. Many vaccines have been linked to cause different major conditions in certain patients. He lists some examples such as Gardasil that has been linked to possibly cause a dementia like illness in children. Blaylock says the media and the CDC are building up the vaccine and are being fear mongers to sell the vaccine to further themselves. He says it is all a big hoax to make money, and he strongly advises against spending money for something that has a slight chance of hurting you a lot more than it helps you.
This is completely opposite from what sites such as those made by the Center for Disease Prevention and Control and the New York Times have to say. They are still saying everyone should take the vaccine to be completely safe (CDC). They are saying it is still a major threat to the nation even though activity seems to be going down in many places. In fact on the CDC’s website it says that major swine flu activity is only being recorded in twenty five of the fifty states in the United States. The vaccine is still being administered through out the United States as clinics are popping up in places such as schools, universities, and doctors offices. The severity is not at all what people may have expected with the beginning estimates being that there would be hundreds of thousands in the hospital and the Intensive Care Unit, but one can never be too safe when it comes to his or her health. Who are you supposed to believe? They both have facts to back up their research. Both sets of facts may be right too. This is where the story develops within the audience personally.
Even now this story has not ended. There is no telling where this story will go in the time ahead. Even the most prominent newspaper, The New York Times, has an overview of the swine flu over time and a swine flu navigator (The New York Times). The swine flu is still popping up all around the world and for the most part has spread to every state in the United States. There have been over one thousand deaths and tens of thousands of infections in the United States attributed to the swine flu alone and this number is only going to increase as time goes on. People have been saying that the swine flu has been through the first wave, and many people are expecting a second wave when winter hits. All of these speculations lead to more stories, and whether or not a second wave of the H1N1 flu hits will determine whether or not this story will live on and there will be even more stories. This story will live on through the upcoming months as the flu season draws closer and depending on how widespread the consequences are it may even live on in history.
Works Cited
"Swine Flu (H1N1)." The New York Times. 11 Nov. 2009. Web. 23 Nov. 2009.
Blaylock, Dr. Russell. "Swine Flu -- One of the Most Massive Cover-ups in American History." Web.
CDC. "General Information About 2009 H1N1 Vaccines." Web.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Final Essay Rough Draft
Stephen Guelda
ENGL 105
Mr. Leake
23 November 2009
Multiple Lives of the Swine Flu
The swine flu has been talked about for months upon months ever since it first started appearing in the United States. There have been more infections and deaths as time has drawn on. It has been in the paper and news for probably about as long as Michael Jackson was when he died. There have been stories ranging from how many people have been infected to the vaccine and then stories about those stories and responding to everything those say. This story has been of interest to people ever since the H1N1 started showing up because it deals with people’s health and safety. It has been developing for months upon months as scientists and researchers have studied more and researchers have been producing vaccines for the swine flu.
The swine flu was discovered and classified as a new strain of flu in April 2009. People started to worry about how it would affect them and the news of course covered it. Many sites urged precaution and caused some panic because people did not know how bad the new virus would be. There had been few studies and not that many people were sick, so they did not necessarily have much of a clue of how it would affect everyone. Some people were saying it would be as bad as the flu pandemic in 1918-1919 which killed somewhere around fifty million people worldwide. So even though no one really had any solid proof of what this strain was capable of people started coming up with their own ideals and debating about how much it would affect everyone.
After the first cases started showing up throughout the United States, it started to get national attention. It had been active in countries such as Mexico for a while before it ever came to the United States, and the government had no desire of the same thing occurring. The government started focusing on preventing the spread of the disease and the procurement of a vaccine that would be able to be produced and distributed quickly. President Obama suggested a plan that would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to help research the H1N1 strain, develop a vaccine, and prevent the spread of it through out the United States. People started to realize that this could be a very serious threat to people, and as most normal people would do, they started to question what type of preparation was being done to stem off this virus that could be potentially lethal. Some people panicked and worried that it was going to be a pandemic and tons of people would die. On the other hand many people thought everyone was overreacting and that it would be no worse than even the seasonal flu. Studies started being conducted to determine some of these things, but nothing really definitive had come out yet. Stories continued to come about the swine flu and different people’s reactions to it.
As the virus started becoming more prevalent in a majority of the states in the United States, people really started worrying. People were even starting to die, and many people were starting to panic. People did not see many things going on to help stop this from becoming a pandemic. People wanted answers and started commenting on how they thought the government was doing in preparing for the swine flu. Everyone from blogs to newspapers covered the story, and it even became a topic that many people discussed among their peers. People demanded that vaccine be made and the government came up with an estimate that around a hundred million doses would be ready by mid-October.
As the situation currently stands the vaccine has started being administered across the country, but not nearly as much as the government proposed would be ready. Drive thru clinics with the limited supply of the swine flu shot were set up with the one that happened at the University of Louisville’s Stadium being a prime example. Also people were being administered a nasal spray swine flu vaccine. This by itself became a totally different story as people questioned this new vaccine. The nasal spray vaccine is an active virus, and people started saying that this was going to spread the disease more than stop the spread of it. The government had to defend itself and this turned into stories and counter stories over this new vaccine. All this was happening while people were arguing over methods to speed up the regular vaccine production. The whole process was under heavy scrutiny by many people for not meeting the expectations that they said they would complete.
Even now this story has not ended. There is no telling where this story will go in the time ahead. Even the most prominent newspaper, The New York Times, has an overview of the swine flu overtime and a swine flu navigator. The swine flu is still popping up all around the world and for the most part has spread to every state in the United States. There have been over one thousand deaths and tens of thousands of infections in the United States attributed to the swine flu alone and this number is only going to increase as time goes on. People have been saying that the swine flu has been through the first wave, and many people are expecting a second wave when winter hits. All of these speculations lead to more stories, and whether or not a second wave of the H1N1 flu hits will determine whether or not this story will live on and there will be even more stories. This story will live on through the upcoming months as the flu season draws closer and depending on how widespread the consequences are it may even live on in history.
Works Cited
"Swine Flu (H1N1)." The New York Times. 11 Nov. 2009. Web. 23 Nov. 2009.
ENGL 105
Mr. Leake
23 November 2009
Multiple Lives of the Swine Flu
The swine flu has been talked about for months upon months ever since it first started appearing in the United States. There have been more infections and deaths as time has drawn on. It has been in the paper and news for probably about as long as Michael Jackson was when he died. There have been stories ranging from how many people have been infected to the vaccine and then stories about those stories and responding to everything those say. This story has been of interest to people ever since the H1N1 started showing up because it deals with people’s health and safety. It has been developing for months upon months as scientists and researchers have studied more and researchers have been producing vaccines for the swine flu.
The swine flu was discovered and classified as a new strain of flu in April 2009. People started to worry about how it would affect them and the news of course covered it. Many sites urged precaution and caused some panic because people did not know how bad the new virus would be. There had been few studies and not that many people were sick, so they did not necessarily have much of a clue of how it would affect everyone. Some people were saying it would be as bad as the flu pandemic in 1918-1919 which killed somewhere around fifty million people worldwide. So even though no one really had any solid proof of what this strain was capable of people started coming up with their own ideals and debating about how much it would affect everyone.
After the first cases started showing up throughout the United States, it started to get national attention. It had been active in countries such as Mexico for a while before it ever came to the United States, and the government had no desire of the same thing occurring. The government started focusing on preventing the spread of the disease and the procurement of a vaccine that would be able to be produced and distributed quickly. President Obama suggested a plan that would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to help research the H1N1 strain, develop a vaccine, and prevent the spread of it through out the United States. People started to realize that this could be a very serious threat to people, and as most normal people would do, they started to question what type of preparation was being done to stem off this virus that could be potentially lethal. Some people panicked and worried that it was going to be a pandemic and tons of people would die. On the other hand many people thought everyone was overreacting and that it would be no worse than even the seasonal flu. Studies started being conducted to determine some of these things, but nothing really definitive had come out yet. Stories continued to come about the swine flu and different people’s reactions to it.
As the virus started becoming more prevalent in a majority of the states in the United States, people really started worrying. People were even starting to die, and many people were starting to panic. People did not see many things going on to help stop this from becoming a pandemic. People wanted answers and started commenting on how they thought the government was doing in preparing for the swine flu. Everyone from blogs to newspapers covered the story, and it even became a topic that many people discussed among their peers. People demanded that vaccine be made and the government came up with an estimate that around a hundred million doses would be ready by mid-October.
As the situation currently stands the vaccine has started being administered across the country, but not nearly as much as the government proposed would be ready. Drive thru clinics with the limited supply of the swine flu shot were set up with the one that happened at the University of Louisville’s Stadium being a prime example. Also people were being administered a nasal spray swine flu vaccine. This by itself became a totally different story as people questioned this new vaccine. The nasal spray vaccine is an active virus, and people started saying that this was going to spread the disease more than stop the spread of it. The government had to defend itself and this turned into stories and counter stories over this new vaccine. All this was happening while people were arguing over methods to speed up the regular vaccine production. The whole process was under heavy scrutiny by many people for not meeting the expectations that they said they would complete.
Even now this story has not ended. There is no telling where this story will go in the time ahead. Even the most prominent newspaper, The New York Times, has an overview of the swine flu overtime and a swine flu navigator. The swine flu is still popping up all around the world and for the most part has spread to every state in the United States. There have been over one thousand deaths and tens of thousands of infections in the United States attributed to the swine flu alone and this number is only going to increase as time goes on. People have been saying that the swine flu has been through the first wave, and many people are expecting a second wave when winter hits. All of these speculations lead to more stories, and whether or not a second wave of the H1N1 flu hits will determine whether or not this story will live on and there will be even more stories. This story will live on through the upcoming months as the flu season draws closer and depending on how widespread the consequences are it may even live on in history.
Works Cited
"Swine Flu (H1N1)." The New York Times. 11 Nov. 2009. Web. 23 Nov. 2009.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Taking an Approach...a little bit late
This chapter is definitely one of the most challenging in the book so far. Forwarding and Countering were simple concepts compared to this chapter. However, the more complex something is usually means it has much more applications than something that may be constrained or constricted. I believe this applies to Taking an Approach. The applications of taking an approach can be applied to anything, not only writing texts. As we talked about in class, even businesses and movie producers and other things use this to improve things or sell more item. Some of the things Harris discusses in this chapter are "Acknowledging Influences," "Turning an Approach on Itself," and "Reflexivity."
I think every piece "Takes an Approach" even if they do not try to. Every author has their own style that they tend to use even if they realize it or not. I think you could link this to your personality a little bit as well. Writing is just a way you express yourself using written words. There are so many different ways to express yourself and each way has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, Hedge's writing style was very bold and harsh. This can get a point across to people fiercely, but it can also turn people away quite easily. Whereas if you take a milder approach you might not inspire people with as much emotion, but you might have more people agree with you. So when you try to examine what you lose or gain by taking an approach it can be difficult because there are so many variables. Ultimately, it depends on how you take your approach that determines what is lost or gained. Without an approach you do not have anything.
I think every piece "Takes an Approach" even if they do not try to. Every author has their own style that they tend to use even if they realize it or not. I think you could link this to your personality a little bit as well. Writing is just a way you express yourself using written words. There are so many different ways to express yourself and each way has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, Hedge's writing style was very bold and harsh. This can get a point across to people fiercely, but it can also turn people away quite easily. Whereas if you take a milder approach you might not inspire people with as much emotion, but you might have more people agree with you. So when you try to examine what you lose or gain by taking an approach it can be difficult because there are so many variables. Ultimately, it depends on how you take your approach that determines what is lost or gained. Without an approach you do not have anything.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Making my Blog Better
Hedge's once again comes out fighting in his article as he tries to explain how democracy is failing and that news is being turned into entertainment by corporations. He starts out by saying how the journalism industry is failing, and he states the facts that the stocks of many newspapers are falling. He does have links this time, but Hedges does not put the links to these facts unfortunately. What is the point? I don't know either. I agree that the newspapers stock prices were falling and could also see where it could be interpreted that newspaper companies were failing, but I would like to think that these facts may not have been taken in context. During that time not only newspaper companies were struggling with low profits, but also many other companies were struggling as well. This article was written around the time the economic recession started, and I believe after the article was written it was more noticeable that everything was going downhill. They may have been one of the first ones to get hit, but many stocks dropped as everyone well knows. Hedges believes that no one cares about the real facts anymore and says that the internet along with massive corporations are slowly destroying traditional media such as newspapers. Once again Hedges sounds like someone who is a little too afraid of change.
Now on to the second piece. Clive Thompson has a radically different opinion compared to Hedges. Thompson somehow believes that the internet is actually making us more literate. Hedges might blow a gasket if he saw this one. He uses scientific studies from Stanford university to go against the numerous amount of people who think that our new internet habits are destroying are reading and writing habits. The study shows that in the world today people are writing extensively outside of school and job related writing. We are definitely a different generation and will have some differences, but Thompson and Lunsford(the person who conducted Stanford's study) believe that it will benefit us in the long run. Thompson's article is much less assertive than Hedge's and makes you feel like if you do not agree with his view you still might live. People are afraid of the unknown. Yes the writing and reading habits of our new generations are changing, but it does not necessarily have to be for the worse. We are sailing uncharted waters and may come up with new discoveries comparable to the discovering of the Americas. Just think of all the people that were criticized for challenging current ideas, and then look at where we are today because of them. This new age may be the same way.
Pretty much the only thing I changed was the wording of my opinions to make them more compatible with the process of "countering" and "forwarding." I just used some of the "Yes, but.." and "Yes, and.." phrases to maybe make my argument better. Mainly i focused on countering in my article because it deals with two opposing views. I probably could have worked a little more on the non-critical aspect though.
Now on to the second piece. Clive Thompson has a radically different opinion compared to Hedges. Thompson somehow believes that the internet is actually making us more literate. Hedges might blow a gasket if he saw this one. He uses scientific studies from Stanford university to go against the numerous amount of people who think that our new internet habits are destroying are reading and writing habits. The study shows that in the world today people are writing extensively outside of school and job related writing. We are definitely a different generation and will have some differences, but Thompson and Lunsford(the person who conducted Stanford's study) believe that it will benefit us in the long run. Thompson's article is much less assertive than Hedge's and makes you feel like if you do not agree with his view you still might live. People are afraid of the unknown. Yes the writing and reading habits of our new generations are changing, but it does not necessarily have to be for the worse. We are sailing uncharted waters and may come up with new discoveries comparable to the discovering of the Americas. Just think of all the people that were criticized for challenging current ideas, and then look at where we are today because of them. This new age may be the same way.
Pretty much the only thing I changed was the wording of my opinions to make them more compatible with the process of "countering" and "forwarding." I just used some of the "Yes, but.." and "Yes, and.." phrases to maybe make my argument better. Mainly i focused on countering in my article because it deals with two opposing views. I probably could have worked a little more on the non-critical aspect though.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Countering
Harris' description of countering is similar to his definition of forwarding. I believe they achieve the same purpose, but they use almost opposite techniques to achieve their goals. The purpose of countering is to advance arguments and your own ideas by using other people's pieces of works. Instead of looking at terms and ideas that are explained well that could be used for your advantage, you look at terms and ideas that could be explained more thoroughly and in a way debate against those and use those for your own means. One point that Harris emphasizes is important for countering is to make sure you are not just putting down other writers. There is not as much point to just proving people wrong and showing people that they are wrong. By delving deeper into the issue and looking at why it is flawed and looking at alternatives, you can begin to make new conclusions that might be useful. Plus bashing other readers tends to make people a lot of enemies and not respect your ideals even if they are insightful. I think a prime example is Chris Hedges.
There is an article about the Fort Hood Shooting that uses countering fairly well. The initial thoughts were that the man accused of the shootings was a terrorist carrying out the mission of a suicide bomber. However, in the article, it explains how that may be true, but it offers evidence that proves that may not be the reason and why they think so. They leave the possibility open for the original verdict, but propose an alternative that may be true. Countering is an effective tool that writers can use for making their paper better. So long as you do not focus too much on the other paper as your own.
There is an article about the Fort Hood Shooting that uses countering fairly well. The initial thoughts were that the man accused of the shootings was a terrorist carrying out the mission of a suicide bomber. However, in the article, it explains how that may be true, but it offers evidence that proves that may not be the reason and why they think so. They leave the possibility open for the original verdict, but propose an alternative that may be true. Countering is an effective tool that writers can use for making their paper better. So long as you do not focus too much on the other paper as your own.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Harris' Forwarding
What is the first thing most people think of when they think of forwarding?? I do not really know for sure, but I would guess it would be the email feature where you can send an exact copy of emails and such to other people you know. Harris completely goes off this model and describes in detail the entire process of what he believes is forwarding. He defines forwarding as having four distinct processes through which you can accomplish forwarding. The four processes are Illustrating, Authorizing, Borrowing,and Extending. Pretty much "forwarding" as explained by Harris includes taking ideas, opinions, passages, phrases, etc. from a work and using it to develop your own ideals or to expand on them. I would explain more, but I have a feeling that might be a waste of my time considering that everyone has already read it and probably has a idea about all of it.
Depending on what type of forwarding you choose to apply to your work will decide what is altered, changed, lost, or stays the same. If you "illustrate", pretty much everything stays the same. It just furthers your argument a little bit more and may give it more backing or authority. If you borrow or authorize something you are working with, you may alter the original concepts that the author conveys in his work. Regardless of what type of forwarding you use, any forwarding should make your argument or opinion stronger. The main things that are lost or altered are the original authors ideals and opinions.
One example of forwarding occurs in an article in the Daily Dish. It is describing how Republicans are pushing away all the moderates and has many forms of forwarding. First off there is a picture at the very start of the article providing evidence to the argument. Then in the actual article it has a quote from a Senator where they are using his ideal for their article. Then one example of forwarding that pretty much every author who writes on the internet nowadays is the hyperlink. This allows authors to not only cite info from people, but also it allows them to go back and get their own interpretation on the info that is given. Forwarding is a process used by many; you just have to find it.
Depending on what type of forwarding you choose to apply to your work will decide what is altered, changed, lost, or stays the same. If you "illustrate", pretty much everything stays the same. It just furthers your argument a little bit more and may give it more backing or authority. If you borrow or authorize something you are working with, you may alter the original concepts that the author conveys in his work. Regardless of what type of forwarding you use, any forwarding should make your argument or opinion stronger. The main things that are lost or altered are the original authors ideals and opinions.
One example of forwarding occurs in an article in the Daily Dish. It is describing how Republicans are pushing away all the moderates and has many forms of forwarding. First off there is a picture at the very start of the article providing evidence to the argument. Then in the actual article it has a quote from a Senator where they are using his ideal for their article. Then one example of forwarding that pretty much every author who writes on the internet nowadays is the hyperlink. This allows authors to not only cite info from people, but also it allows them to go back and get their own interpretation on the info that is given. Forwarding is a process used by many; you just have to find it.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
The NY Times vs My Blogs
There are many relationships between the NY Times and the two blogs I am following. The Daily Dish by Andrew Sullivan covers similar information to the New York Times. The consumerist does not deal with as much that the New York Times deals with, but they have similarities in their structure and style. I think a big difference is the audience that the blogs are concentrating on as opposed to the New York Times. My blog the consumerist is aimed at anyone who buys consumer goods and is a lot less lengthy and detailed. The audience is not for scholars who are trying to find out what is going on in the world and their nation. It is more for people who are worried about saving a little money and knowing certain things about items.
The New York Times and blogs both fit into the press sphere or news ecology. The New York Times is more part of the press part of the press sphere, but the blogs are more of the responses and people's opinions on it after it appears on the news. The blogs are the continuation of the news after it is formulated and distributed by the press. The blogs are more of what may perfect and finalize your opinion. They all fit into what influence us from the begginning of the news through the whole process.
In conclusion, There are many relationships between the NY Times and the two blogs I am following. The Daily Dish by Andrew Sullivan covers similar information to the New York Times. The consumerist does not deal with as much that the New York Times deals with, but they have similarities in their structure and style. I think a big difference is the audience that the blogs are concentrating on as opposed to the New York Times. My blog the consumerist is aimed at anyone who buys consumer goods and is a lot less lengthy and detailed. The audience is not for scholars who are trying to find out what is going on in the world and their nation. It is more for people who are worried about saving a little money and knowing certain things about items.
The New York Times and blogs both fit into the press sphere or news ecology. The New York Times is more part of the press part of the press sphere, but the blogs are more of the responses and people's opinions on it after it appears on the news. The blogs are the continuation of the news after it is formulated and distributed by the press. The blogs are more of what may perfect and finalize your opinion. They all fit into what influence us from the begginning of the news through the whole process.
The New York Times and blogs both fit into the press sphere or news ecology. The New York Times is more part of the press part of the press sphere, but the blogs are more of the responses and people's opinions on it after it appears on the news. The blogs are the continuation of the news after it is formulated and distributed by the press. The blogs are more of what may perfect and finalize your opinion. They all fit into what influence us from the begginning of the news through the whole process.
In conclusion, There are many relationships between the NY Times and the two blogs I am following. The Daily Dish by Andrew Sullivan covers similar information to the New York Times. The consumerist does not deal with as much that the New York Times deals with, but they have similarities in their structure and style. I think a big difference is the audience that the blogs are concentrating on as opposed to the New York Times. My blog the consumerist is aimed at anyone who buys consumer goods and is a lot less lengthy and detailed. The audience is not for scholars who are trying to find out what is going on in the world and their nation. It is more for people who are worried about saving a little money and knowing certain things about items.
The New York Times and blogs both fit into the press sphere or news ecology. The New York Times is more part of the press part of the press sphere, but the blogs are more of the responses and people's opinions on it after it appears on the news. The blogs are the continuation of the news after it is formulated and distributed by the press. The blogs are more of what may perfect and finalize your opinion. They all fit into what influence us from the begginning of the news through the whole process.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Sullivan vs. Jarvis
Jarvis' model of the press sphere and Sullivan's view of blogging compliment each other. I think that Sullivan's article proves the point that the Press Sphere has been changed, and Sullivan comments a lot about how news has changed because of blogging. Sullivan comments on how blogging changes the news after it comes out. How the blogging comments on and eventually ends up changing the news. This would go directly into the diagram Jarvis had on his blog. Blogging is only one of the processes that fits into Jarvis' press sphere however. I believe Jarvis' model covers a lot more material than Sullivan does. Sullivan covers his topic more thoroughly and has a more organized essay, but Jarvis talks about a much more general and inclusive topic I believe.
As far as this conforming to my personal experience, I think it conforms to everyones experience unless they do not have any experience with news in their life. Even though Jarvis's article was not organized it had some good points, and I agree with the points he pointed out in his blog post. I do not think that the two articles are related. The model pointed out in Jarvis' article, I believe, is what the model is truly like in the United States. The news is ever changing like many people have mentioned in articles. People need to incorparate Jarvis' press sphere into their life. Even though I think his press sphere model is correct, it only works when people are active in the system.
As far as this conforming to my personal experience, I think it conforms to everyones experience unless they do not have any experience with news in their life. Even though Jarvis's article was not organized it had some good points, and I agree with the points he pointed out in his blog post. I do not think that the two articles are related. The model pointed out in Jarvis' article, I believe, is what the model is truly like in the United States. The news is ever changing like many people have mentioned in articles. People need to incorparate Jarvis' press sphere into their life. Even though I think his press sphere model is correct, it only works when people are active in the system.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Jarvis's Press Sphere
I believe Jeff Jarvis's ideal of a press sphere is the news press talks about and everyone who contributes to it. In today's society that includes a large number of people and other things as many people are actively participating in critiquing and commenting on the news stories. He mentions many things such as witnesses, links, archives, and many other things that he includes in the press sphere. I think the main idea is that the news world is expanding and so is the role of everything outside the press. The press is not the sole proprietor of news anymore. Everyone can chip in and contribute their own opinions and ideals. Especially with the internet is news readily molded and changed. I like the point where he says a news story never ends anymore. Technically I do not think he is right, but I get what he is trying to say. There are always new angles, ideals, and stories that develop along the way. Like when we were discussing how the Iraq War started today, we commented on how why we were there changed many times as new info was obtained and intentions were revealed. Many news stories do not just have one article related to them anymore.
Even though I believe Jarvis has some good points in his blog post, I think he could of elaborated more. Some of the topics were not completely covered in full detail, and he could of organized everything a little bit better. He had too many charts and not enough explanation to a lot of things. You also have to think that it is a blog post, so he might not have meant to fully express every detail concisely. I think the topic needs to be explored more fully maybe by this press sphere.
Even though I believe Jarvis has some good points in his blog post, I think he could of elaborated more. Some of the topics were not completely covered in full detail, and he could of organized everything a little bit better. He had too many charts and not enough explanation to a lot of things. You also have to think that it is a blog post, so he might not have meant to fully express every detail concisely. I think the topic needs to be explored more fully maybe by this press sphere.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
My Two Awesome Blogs
The two blogs that I chose to follow are Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish and The Consumerist. The first one I found on the list of blogs provided for our class. We had used it in class a little bit and decided it would not be a bad choice to follow for the rest of the semester. The second one I found, The Consumerist, I found by searching on Google for popular blogs. The Daily Dish includes stories that deal with big political issues and opinions on this issues. They post many different posts dealing with all kinds of different stories. However, since we all pretty much know what the Daily Dish is about I will not spend too much time on it. The Consumerist talks about many different things to do with money and all kinds of different items that deal with the consumer. It includes anything from little tips and suggestions to full length articles about more important issues. For example, some of the stories I have read include item recalls, myths and facts about car care, and the debate of whether or not people should pay for internet use. The author includes different people who write small posts on the site. Then of course people can comment on the posts and put their own opinion. The audience can include anyone. I think the debate over the internet is especially significant because everyone uses the internet now. The purpose is to educate people on issues regarding different products and ideals in the consumer market and to help people get the most of their money.
My Experience with the NY Times
My experience with reading the New York Times has been going very well so far. I have learned of many new things that I would not have had a clue about otherwise. I have been following stories through their progression which I find rather interesting. It is kind of like reading a story at little intervals with some of the articles. I have been paying attention to many different stories from the New York Times. I usually will browse through the main categories(World, US, Health, etc...) and pick one or two stories that look interesting to me. So far I have read stories covering topics such as the lack of flu vaccines, the national deficit, and the Pakistani-Israeli conflict. There is not one certain section that I find all the stories I like, and I also realized sometimes stories are in two different sections because they fit in both categories. As far as why I noticed them I just think the heading and the intro paragraph thing just caught my attention and then I want to read further.
Even though it has been an adjustment having to read the newspaper and the blogs, I do not really think it has changed many of my habits. It might develop into a new habit, but as far as changing my current habits I have not seen a noticeable change yet. I believe it is too early to say anything though about the effects it might have. We still have a rather long time to the end of the semester, and my opinion could change. Also the effect it has on my reading and writing habits can not fully be described yet because there has not been a huge amount of writing since we started. I think it will effect me a little bit, but in my opinion, we still need more time to see real changes. Lastly, even though I think it is good to know what is going on, I feel like there is not much point. I never talk about the world news with other people that much. When I go and hang out with people like my friends, we do not sit around and discuss the current world crises. We just go and hang out and have fun. So I do not see the impact of this that much, but nevertheless I believe it would be a good habit to get into for later in life. The time will come when I will need to know this information before I know it.
Even though it has been an adjustment having to read the newspaper and the blogs, I do not really think it has changed many of my habits. It might develop into a new habit, but as far as changing my current habits I have not seen a noticeable change yet. I believe it is too early to say anything though about the effects it might have. We still have a rather long time to the end of the semester, and my opinion could change. Also the effect it has on my reading and writing habits can not fully be described yet because there has not been a huge amount of writing since we started. I think it will effect me a little bit, but in my opinion, we still need more time to see real changes. Lastly, even though I think it is good to know what is going on, I feel like there is not much point. I never talk about the world news with other people that much. When I go and hang out with people like my friends, we do not sit around and discuss the current world crises. We just go and hang out and have fun. So I do not see the impact of this that much, but nevertheless I believe it would be a good habit to get into for later in life. The time will come when I will need to know this information before I know it.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
I'm not the only one...
As I browsed throughout my different classmates blogs about where they got their information from, I started to realize something. I am not the only person who does not really try to keep up with the news that much. Many people said that they did not actively seek out the news and just heard it from people such as their family and friends. While there were exceptions as some people claimed they read the NY Times and other such news sites like CNN, I think that if it would not have been an honors class there would have been even fewer people who had even that much knowledge on what is going on. The dinner table is a place where news is actively traded among many families, but in some cases, the news seems to end there. I think what even this small study shows is the lack of civic literacy and the urge to attain civic literacy. Many people now a days do not have to know about what is going on and feel that it is a waste or they just do not feel like putting the effort into it. Hedge's would probably go off about how the United States is going to end up destroying itself while someone like Carr might try to examine it and find the causes of this. If people put in even a little effort like what we are doing for our class, I believe that we would become a more civicly literate nation. This would benefit everyone in the long run even though it may not seem like it has a point. We need to take some of the responsibility in our own hands.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Where I Learn What I Know
In all honesty, I do not keep up with the news that much. I used to pick up and read the paper every now and then, but now I do not even usually do that. I have a very superficial understanding of what is going on in the world today. The bulk of what I know about what is going on is from other people such as my parents who might discuss some of the major topics every now and then at dinner or sometimes when I go up to Hester's gym they will have the news on and I will be able to look at the major headlines. However, even though I can tell you that there is a lot of concern about things such as the H1N1 virus and things such as the economy, I could not go into very much detail about any of them. I read the NY Times for the first time last night and learned many new things just in about twenty to thirty minutes. If you count looking up stuff for school on groupwise and ulink as news, I guess you could say I use the internet for news. Now that we will be reading the NY Times for class that should be a major source of where I get my info. Other such media that many people use to get news such as the radio, I do not use. When I listen to the radio, I look for music, and if their is not any music, I will usually just turn it off. I think I need to start learning more about what is going on, and I think that this class will help me with that a lot.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Essay
Guelda 1
Stephen Guelda
ENGL 105-07
Mr. Leake
27 September 2009
Literacy and the Internet
Once there was a time when people had to walk ten miles to a library, search through rows upon rows of note cards in a card catalogue, and then drudge through page after page of a book just so they could find a little bit on information for a research paper. Things have definitely changed since those days. Now people just have to wander over to the computer desk, sit in a more often than not comfy chair, and double click on a little icon. The internet brings the whole world to anyone and everyone as long as they have a computer and an internet connection which nowadays is very rare for people not to have in the United States. The information age and the internet have allowed for people to access all the information they could ever need or want easily and efficiently. However, many people are wary of this change and wonder if the internet and everything it offers are really helping us as much as it seems. Or is the reverse happening to us? By having access to anything and everything are we losing the ability to read and write as effectively as we once did? Are we using the internet in a way where we are slowly becoming less literate and more slothful or are we the Columbus drifting slowly towards an America of the literary world?
Guelda 2
There are many naysayers against the use of the internet and the technology we have available to us. Many people can speak of personal experience from where they have noticed a change in their reading and writing habits since the internet started getting popular. Since the internet has shown up people like Nicholas Carr mention on how their concentration lasts a fraction of the time that it used to (Carr). Because everything on the internet is so fast paced and action packed, some people’s reading skills have taken such a toll that long essays and novels have become bothersome to read. The internet is used by a majority of the people in the United States, and it has been affecting many people. Everyone from the average person to literature majors is having difficulty. I can even notice this myself. School text books are not the most exciting thing, but I used to be able to sit down, focus, and plow through twenty or thirty pages with little effort. Now I am constantly moving around and having to refocus myself as my mind drifts to thoughts of video games and internet sites. Even as I agree that it has been affecting me, I also realize that I still can read through books and have a functional literacy. Some people like Chris Hedges will go so far as to say that our society is taking a turn for the worse because he believes our literacy problem is so injurious that we are becoming an illiterate mob of unintelligent zombies that can be controlled by those in power (Hedges). He mentions also how the internet is affecting things such as newspapers as writers on the internet are taking their place. He criticizes all the changes that are happening to our society and is blaming the internet as one of the many causes of this. However, much of the support he uses is not supported by scientific studies or proof at all. He makes some good points, but those points alone are not enough to prove anything about technology affecting our literacy.
Guelda 3
While Hedges makes some good points in his article, he has little proof of anything. However, Nicholas Carr provides many examples as to possibly how and why we are changing. He mentions studies from University College London that show people hardly ever read full articles or entries on the internet (Carr). He points out that we may read more today than we ever have, but the type of reading and writing that we are doing is changing from the time before the internet was around. Carr also quotes other scholars who say that we aren’t just changing the way we read and write but also the way we think. Our mind is literally changing with the internet constantly bombarding us with information and ads and everything else. One scholar Carr quotes, Maryanne Wolf, explains that writing and reading are not natural processes for people, so if we do not practice them or practice them in a different way or mind will actually shift to accommodate the changes (Carr). While this is not necessarily going to turn us illiterate, these critics point out that there are going to be some massive changes besides the ones that have already been popping up because of this new information age. Some of them are against it completely while others are just suggesting we should be careful since we are going into a new age.
However, there are some people who think that the critics are just being a little bit too paranoid. Even Carr, who is wary of the changes of the internet, says that he might be acting a little paranoid. He says that like many changes in the world, the internet may change some things but could ultimately help us out in the long run. One author who does not share the same views with the internet critics is Clive Thompson. In his article he explains how we are not becoming illiterate; we are in the midst of a literary revolution (Thompson). Things are changing
Guelda 4
completely. Ideals and opinions are being turned upside down as the world is changing. His article goes on to explain how people are writing so much more now than they ever did. Not only that, the arena in which we are writing is completely different. People used to always write to teachers for assignments and that was pretty much it. Nowadays people write for classes, but also they write a significant amount for things on the internet such as social networks like Facebook and MySpace, or through the exchange of emails. Also because of this his article explains how we have a much better sense of the audience we are writing for than the generations before us. We can write a lot of different styles from completely formal academic texts to the other end of the spectrum where we exclude half the letters in chatting and texting. Also many people think that texting is degrading to academic writing. Thompson cites research by Andrea Lunsford to disprove many myths about new technology hurting young writers and readers. She studied thousands of pieces of work from students at Stanford University and in all the academic writings she studied did not find any text language in them. Students today know when they need to write formally and when it is acceptable to use informal things such as texting abbreviations and emoticons (Thompson). Also in an article by Tara Brabazon, Brabazon explains how technology is treated as something new to the classroom when at one time every technique and tool was new. She says that we have to fully integrate the technology into our school and other systems and make sure that we are using it right (Brabazon).
Anything can be detrimental to peoples or societies if they are overused or used wrongly. The internet is no exception to this rule. It brings to mind when people use the saying, “everything in moderation.” We need to find a balance between the use of our technology and
Guelda 5
the limiting of all the new technologies; we can not become mindless addicts to the web. So I think the question is not whether there are going to be changes. There have been quite a few changes as many people have already noticed. The internet has been around in different forms for a while , and everyone is now realizing it is affecting us. The real question is what are we going to do with these changes. If we are able to find ways to integrate all the new technologies into our society in a useful manner that limits the amount of detrimental side effects we will be able to realize new things and explore uncharted waters to unlock many new technologies, ideals, and other positive things. Technology is not something that will inherently cripple our abilities. It is only if we let it control and degrade us that it will destroy what we value as literacy today. Technology can be used either as a tool to further what we already have or to replace what we have. The internet is changing the way we do things significantly in all aspects of our life.
Works Cited
Brabazon, Tara. "Bonfire of the Literacies? The Internet and Challenges to Literacy." EBSCO Publishing. Print.
Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google Making Us Stupid." Atlantic Monthly. Print.
Hedges, Chris. "Bad Days for Newsrooms." Truthdig. Print.
Thompson, Clive. "Clive Thompson on the New Literacy." People Magazine (2008). Print.
Stephen Guelda
ENGL 105-07
Mr. Leake
27 September 2009
Literacy and the Internet
Once there was a time when people had to walk ten miles to a library, search through rows upon rows of note cards in a card catalogue, and then drudge through page after page of a book just so they could find a little bit on information for a research paper. Things have definitely changed since those days. Now people just have to wander over to the computer desk, sit in a more often than not comfy chair, and double click on a little icon. The internet brings the whole world to anyone and everyone as long as they have a computer and an internet connection which nowadays is very rare for people not to have in the United States. The information age and the internet have allowed for people to access all the information they could ever need or want easily and efficiently. However, many people are wary of this change and wonder if the internet and everything it offers are really helping us as much as it seems. Or is the reverse happening to us? By having access to anything and everything are we losing the ability to read and write as effectively as we once did? Are we using the internet in a way where we are slowly becoming less literate and more slothful or are we the Columbus drifting slowly towards an America of the literary world?
Guelda 2
There are many naysayers against the use of the internet and the technology we have available to us. Many people can speak of personal experience from where they have noticed a change in their reading and writing habits since the internet started getting popular. Since the internet has shown up people like Nicholas Carr mention on how their concentration lasts a fraction of the time that it used to (Carr). Because everything on the internet is so fast paced and action packed, some people’s reading skills have taken such a toll that long essays and novels have become bothersome to read. The internet is used by a majority of the people in the United States, and it has been affecting many people. Everyone from the average person to literature majors is having difficulty. I can even notice this myself. School text books are not the most exciting thing, but I used to be able to sit down, focus, and plow through twenty or thirty pages with little effort. Now I am constantly moving around and having to refocus myself as my mind drifts to thoughts of video games and internet sites. Even as I agree that it has been affecting me, I also realize that I still can read through books and have a functional literacy. Some people like Chris Hedges will go so far as to say that our society is taking a turn for the worse because he believes our literacy problem is so injurious that we are becoming an illiterate mob of unintelligent zombies that can be controlled by those in power (Hedges). He mentions also how the internet is affecting things such as newspapers as writers on the internet are taking their place. He criticizes all the changes that are happening to our society and is blaming the internet as one of the many causes of this. However, much of the support he uses is not supported by scientific studies or proof at all. He makes some good points, but those points alone are not enough to prove anything about technology affecting our literacy.
Guelda 3
While Hedges makes some good points in his article, he has little proof of anything. However, Nicholas Carr provides many examples as to possibly how and why we are changing. He mentions studies from University College London that show people hardly ever read full articles or entries on the internet (Carr). He points out that we may read more today than we ever have, but the type of reading and writing that we are doing is changing from the time before the internet was around. Carr also quotes other scholars who say that we aren’t just changing the way we read and write but also the way we think. Our mind is literally changing with the internet constantly bombarding us with information and ads and everything else. One scholar Carr quotes, Maryanne Wolf, explains that writing and reading are not natural processes for people, so if we do not practice them or practice them in a different way or mind will actually shift to accommodate the changes (Carr). While this is not necessarily going to turn us illiterate, these critics point out that there are going to be some massive changes besides the ones that have already been popping up because of this new information age. Some of them are against it completely while others are just suggesting we should be careful since we are going into a new age.
However, there are some people who think that the critics are just being a little bit too paranoid. Even Carr, who is wary of the changes of the internet, says that he might be acting a little paranoid. He says that like many changes in the world, the internet may change some things but could ultimately help us out in the long run. One author who does not share the same views with the internet critics is Clive Thompson. In his article he explains how we are not becoming illiterate; we are in the midst of a literary revolution (Thompson). Things are changing
Guelda 4
completely. Ideals and opinions are being turned upside down as the world is changing. His article goes on to explain how people are writing so much more now than they ever did. Not only that, the arena in which we are writing is completely different. People used to always write to teachers for assignments and that was pretty much it. Nowadays people write for classes, but also they write a significant amount for things on the internet such as social networks like Facebook and MySpace, or through the exchange of emails. Also because of this his article explains how we have a much better sense of the audience we are writing for than the generations before us. We can write a lot of different styles from completely formal academic texts to the other end of the spectrum where we exclude half the letters in chatting and texting. Also many people think that texting is degrading to academic writing. Thompson cites research by Andrea Lunsford to disprove many myths about new technology hurting young writers and readers. She studied thousands of pieces of work from students at Stanford University and in all the academic writings she studied did not find any text language in them. Students today know when they need to write formally and when it is acceptable to use informal things such as texting abbreviations and emoticons (Thompson). Also in an article by Tara Brabazon, Brabazon explains how technology is treated as something new to the classroom when at one time every technique and tool was new. She says that we have to fully integrate the technology into our school and other systems and make sure that we are using it right (Brabazon).
Anything can be detrimental to peoples or societies if they are overused or used wrongly. The internet is no exception to this rule. It brings to mind when people use the saying, “everything in moderation.” We need to find a balance between the use of our technology and
Guelda 5
the limiting of all the new technologies; we can not become mindless addicts to the web. So I think the question is not whether there are going to be changes. There have been quite a few changes as many people have already noticed. The internet has been around in different forms for a while , and everyone is now realizing it is affecting us. The real question is what are we going to do with these changes. If we are able to find ways to integrate all the new technologies into our society in a useful manner that limits the amount of detrimental side effects we will be able to realize new things and explore uncharted waters to unlock many new technologies, ideals, and other positive things. Technology is not something that will inherently cripple our abilities. It is only if we let it control and degrade us that it will destroy what we value as literacy today. Technology can be used either as a tool to further what we already have or to replace what we have. The internet is changing the way we do things significantly in all aspects of our life.
Works Cited
Brabazon, Tara. "Bonfire of the Literacies? The Internet and Challenges to Literacy." EBSCO Publishing. Print.
Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google Making Us Stupid." Atlantic Monthly. Print.
Hedges, Chris. "Bad Days for Newsrooms." Truthdig. Print.
Thompson, Clive. "Clive Thompson on the New Literacy." People Magazine (2008). Print.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Very Rough Draft of our First Research Essay
Guelda 1
Stephen Guelda
ENGL 105-07
Mr. Leake
27 September 2009
Literacy and the Internet
Once there was a time where people had to walk ten miles to a library, search through rows upon rows of note cards in a card catalogue, and then drudge through page after page of a book just so they could get a little bit on information for a research paper. Things have definitely changed since those days. Now people just have to walk out of his or her room, walk down the hall, and sit down in their more often than not comfy computer chair and double click on a little button. The internet brings the whole world to people as long as they have a computer and an internet connection which nowadays is very rare for people not to have in the United States. The information age and the internet have allowed for people to access all the information they could ever need or want easily and efficiently. However, many people are wary of this change and wonder if the internet and everything it offers are really helping us as much as it seems. Or is the reverse happening to us? By having access to anything and everything are we losing the ability to read and write as effectively as we once did? Are we using the internet in a way where we are slowly becoming less literate or are we just changing the way we read and write? The internet is changing us and the way we do things.
There are many naysayers against the use of the internet and the technology we have available to us. Many people can speak of personal experience from where they have noticed a change in their reading and writing habits since the internet started getting popular. Since the
Guelda 2
internet has shown up people like Nicholas Carr mention on how their concentration lasts a fraction of the time that it used to. Because everything on the internet is so fast paced and action packed, some people’s reading skills have taken such a toll that long essays and novels have become bothersome to read. Everyone from the average person to literature majors is having difficulty. The internet is not just affecting those who are on the lower end of the spectrum. Some people like Chris Hedge’s will even go so far as to say that our society is taking a turn for the worse because he believes our literacy problem is getting so bad that we are becoming an illiterate mob of unintelligent zombies that can be controlled by those in power. He mentions also how the internet is affecting things such as newspapers as the internet writers are taking their place. He criticizes all the changes that are happening to our society and is blaming the internet as one of the many causes of this. However, much of the support he uses is not supported by scientific studies or proof at all. He makes some good points, but those points alone are not enough to prove anything about technology affecting our literacy.
While Hedges makes some good points in his article, he has little proof of anything. However, Nicholas Carr provides many examples as to possibly how and why we are changing. He mentions studies from University College London that show people hardly ever read full articles or entries on the internet. He points out that we may read more today than we ever have, but the type of reading and writing that we are doing is changing from the time before the internet was around. Carr also quotes other scholars who say that we aren’t just changing the way we read and write, but also we are changing the way we think. Our mind is literally changing with the internet constantly bombarding us with information and ads and everything else. One scholar Carr quotes, Maryanne Wolf, explains that writing and reading are not natural
Guelda 3
processes for people, so if we do not practice them or practice them in a different way or mind will actually shift to accommodate the changes. While this is not necessarily going to turn us illiterate, these critics point out that there are going to be some massive changes besides the ones that have already been popping up because of this new information age. Some of them are against it completely while others are just suggesting we be careful since we are going into a new age.
However, there are some people who think that the critics are just being a little bit too paranoid. Even Carr who is wary of the changes of the internet says that he might be acting a little paranoid. He says that like many changes in the world that are extremely changing, the internet may change some things but will ultimately help us in the long run. Clive Thompson explains in an article how we are not becoming illiterate; we are in the midst of a literary revolution. Things are changing completely. Ideals and opinions are being turned upside down as the world is changing. His article goes on to explain how people are writing so much more now than they ever did. Not only that, the arena in which we are writing is completely different. People used to always write to teachers for assignments and that was pretty much it. Nowadays people write for classes, but also they write a significant amount for things other than classes with things such as social networking through Facebook and MySpace. Also because of this his article explains how we have a much better sense of the audience we are writing for than the generations before us. We can write a lot of different styles from completely formal academic texts to the other end of the spectrum where we exclude half the letters in chatting and texting. Also many people think that texting is degrading to academic writing. Thompson cites research by Andrea Lunsford to disprove many myths about new technology hurting young writers and
Guelda 4
readers. She studied thousands of pieces of work from students at Stanford University and in all the academic writings she studied she did not find any text language in them. Students today can know when they need to write formally and when it is acceptable to use informal things such as texting abbreviations and emoticons. Also in an article by Tara Brabazon, Brabazon explains how technology is treated as something new to the classroom when at one time every technique and tool was new. She says that we have to fully integrate the technology into our school and other systems and make sure that we are using it right.
Anything can be detrimental to peoples or societies if they are overused or used wrongly. The internet is no exception to this rule. It brings to mind when people use the saying, “everything in moderation.” We need to find a balance between the use of our technology and the limiting of all the new technologies; we can not become mindless addicts to the web. So I think the question is not whether there are going to be change because it is pretty obvious that there are going to be many changes, but rather what are we going to do with all these changes. If we are able to find ways to integrate all the technology into our society in a useful manner that limits the amount of detrimental side effects we will be able to realize new things and explore uncharted waters to unlock many new technologies, ideals, and other positive things. Technology is not something that will inherently cripple our abilities. It is only if we let it control and degrade us that it will destroy what we value as literacy today. Technology can be used either as a tool to further what we already have or to replace what we have. Of course everything is not perfect and has its advantages and disadvantages and this is no different. The internet is changing the way we do things significantly in all aspects of our life.
Stephen Guelda
ENGL 105-07
Mr. Leake
27 September 2009
Literacy and the Internet
Once there was a time where people had to walk ten miles to a library, search through rows upon rows of note cards in a card catalogue, and then drudge through page after page of a book just so they could get a little bit on information for a research paper. Things have definitely changed since those days. Now people just have to walk out of his or her room, walk down the hall, and sit down in their more often than not comfy computer chair and double click on a little button. The internet brings the whole world to people as long as they have a computer and an internet connection which nowadays is very rare for people not to have in the United States. The information age and the internet have allowed for people to access all the information they could ever need or want easily and efficiently. However, many people are wary of this change and wonder if the internet and everything it offers are really helping us as much as it seems. Or is the reverse happening to us? By having access to anything and everything are we losing the ability to read and write as effectively as we once did? Are we using the internet in a way where we are slowly becoming less literate or are we just changing the way we read and write? The internet is changing us and the way we do things.
There are many naysayers against the use of the internet and the technology we have available to us. Many people can speak of personal experience from where they have noticed a change in their reading and writing habits since the internet started getting popular. Since the
Guelda 2
internet has shown up people like Nicholas Carr mention on how their concentration lasts a fraction of the time that it used to. Because everything on the internet is so fast paced and action packed, some people’s reading skills have taken such a toll that long essays and novels have become bothersome to read. Everyone from the average person to literature majors is having difficulty. The internet is not just affecting those who are on the lower end of the spectrum. Some people like Chris Hedge’s will even go so far as to say that our society is taking a turn for the worse because he believes our literacy problem is getting so bad that we are becoming an illiterate mob of unintelligent zombies that can be controlled by those in power. He mentions also how the internet is affecting things such as newspapers as the internet writers are taking their place. He criticizes all the changes that are happening to our society and is blaming the internet as one of the many causes of this. However, much of the support he uses is not supported by scientific studies or proof at all. He makes some good points, but those points alone are not enough to prove anything about technology affecting our literacy.
While Hedges makes some good points in his article, he has little proof of anything. However, Nicholas Carr provides many examples as to possibly how and why we are changing. He mentions studies from University College London that show people hardly ever read full articles or entries on the internet. He points out that we may read more today than we ever have, but the type of reading and writing that we are doing is changing from the time before the internet was around. Carr also quotes other scholars who say that we aren’t just changing the way we read and write, but also we are changing the way we think. Our mind is literally changing with the internet constantly bombarding us with information and ads and everything else. One scholar Carr quotes, Maryanne Wolf, explains that writing and reading are not natural
Guelda 3
processes for people, so if we do not practice them or practice them in a different way or mind will actually shift to accommodate the changes. While this is not necessarily going to turn us illiterate, these critics point out that there are going to be some massive changes besides the ones that have already been popping up because of this new information age. Some of them are against it completely while others are just suggesting we be careful since we are going into a new age.
However, there are some people who think that the critics are just being a little bit too paranoid. Even Carr who is wary of the changes of the internet says that he might be acting a little paranoid. He says that like many changes in the world that are extremely changing, the internet may change some things but will ultimately help us in the long run. Clive Thompson explains in an article how we are not becoming illiterate; we are in the midst of a literary revolution. Things are changing completely. Ideals and opinions are being turned upside down as the world is changing. His article goes on to explain how people are writing so much more now than they ever did. Not only that, the arena in which we are writing is completely different. People used to always write to teachers for assignments and that was pretty much it. Nowadays people write for classes, but also they write a significant amount for things other than classes with things such as social networking through Facebook and MySpace. Also because of this his article explains how we have a much better sense of the audience we are writing for than the generations before us. We can write a lot of different styles from completely formal academic texts to the other end of the spectrum where we exclude half the letters in chatting and texting. Also many people think that texting is degrading to academic writing. Thompson cites research by Andrea Lunsford to disprove many myths about new technology hurting young writers and
Guelda 4
readers. She studied thousands of pieces of work from students at Stanford University and in all the academic writings she studied she did not find any text language in them. Students today can know when they need to write formally and when it is acceptable to use informal things such as texting abbreviations and emoticons. Also in an article by Tara Brabazon, Brabazon explains how technology is treated as something new to the classroom when at one time every technique and tool was new. She says that we have to fully integrate the technology into our school and other systems and make sure that we are using it right.
Anything can be detrimental to peoples or societies if they are overused or used wrongly. The internet is no exception to this rule. It brings to mind when people use the saying, “everything in moderation.” We need to find a balance between the use of our technology and the limiting of all the new technologies; we can not become mindless addicts to the web. So I think the question is not whether there are going to be change because it is pretty obvious that there are going to be many changes, but rather what are we going to do with all these changes. If we are able to find ways to integrate all the technology into our society in a useful manner that limits the amount of detrimental side effects we will be able to realize new things and explore uncharted waters to unlock many new technologies, ideals, and other positive things. Technology is not something that will inherently cripple our abilities. It is only if we let it control and degrade us that it will destroy what we value as literacy today. Technology can be used either as a tool to further what we already have or to replace what we have. Of course everything is not perfect and has its advantages and disadvantages and this is no different. The internet is changing the way we do things significantly in all aspects of our life.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
The New View
This is the last of our first nine posts. It is crazy to think that we are already this far in the class. It does not feel like we have been through half a class, but when I stop and think back I can really start to see how much we have really done. As I look back to the many blog posts and readings we have done for class I start to think about the experience. Writing the blog posts was definitely different than the typical English writing assignment that I am used to. I can see where Sullivan comes from when he says it is a more free form of writing. It was still for a class, but I felt like it was more personal than a regular writing assignment. I was writing for my very own personal blog who no one else has. Everyone saw my work too. It was not just for the teacher with the evil red pen. Everyone in the class saw what I thought and felt about the different topics. I agree with Sullivan on a lot of his points now. I also liked the topics that we covered and found them interesting. The whole experience was very different but very cool at the same time.
As far as changing my internet habits, I don't know if I will be maintaining my own blog after the class, but it definitely has caused me to look at my internet habits more. I do not really think I will change that much. However, I think I understand why I do things more and the whole experience could possibly help me later with different things.
As far as changing my internet habits, I don't know if I will be maintaining my own blog after the class, but it definitely has caused me to look at my internet habits more. I do not really think I will change that much. However, I think I understand why I do things more and the whole experience could possibly help me later with different things.
Friday, September 25, 2009
More Hyperlink Practice
Here is another article talking about how the internet is destroying our literacy. I think this will help with my paper where I am planning on getting into more depth on the subject.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Bad Days for Newsrooms.....Maybe??
Hedge's once again comes out fighting in his article as he tries to explain how democracy is failing and that news is being turned into entertainment by corporations. He starts out by saying how the journalism industry is failing, and he states the facts that the stocks of many newspapers are falling. He does have links this time, but Hedges does not put the links to these facts unfortunately. What is the point? I don't know either. Also the economic recession was during the time frame that he wrote, so it was not only the newspapers that were having trouble. They may have been one of the first ones to get hit, but many stocks dropped as everyone well knows. Hedges believes that no one cares about the real facts anymore and says that the internet along with massive corporations are slowly destroying traditional media such as newspapers. Once again Hedges sounds like someone who is a little too afraid of change.
Now on to the second piece. Clive Thompson has a radically different opinion compared to Hedges. Thompson somehow believes that the internet is actually making us more literate. Hedges might blow a gasket if he saw this one. He uses scientific studies from Stanford university to go against the numerous amount of people who think that our new internet habits are destroying are reading and writing habits. The study shows that in the world today people are writing extensively outside of school and job related writing. We are definitely a different generation and will have some differences, but Thompson and Lunsford(the person who conducted Stanford's study) believe that it will benefit us in the long run. Thompson's article is much less assertive than Hedge's and makes you feel like if you do not agree with his view you still might live. People are afraid of the unknown. While the writing and reading habits of our new generations are changing, it does not necessarily have to be for the worse. We are sailing uncharted waters and may come up with new discoveries comparable to the discovering of the Americas. Just think of all the people that were criticized for challenging current ideas, and then look at where we are today because of them. This new age may be the same way.
Now on to the second piece. Clive Thompson has a radically different opinion compared to Hedges. Thompson somehow believes that the internet is actually making us more literate. Hedges might blow a gasket if he saw this one. He uses scientific studies from Stanford university to go against the numerous amount of people who think that our new internet habits are destroying are reading and writing habits. The study shows that in the world today people are writing extensively outside of school and job related writing. We are definitely a different generation and will have some differences, but Thompson and Lunsford(the person who conducted Stanford's study) believe that it will benefit us in the long run. Thompson's article is much less assertive than Hedge's and makes you feel like if you do not agree with his view you still might live. People are afraid of the unknown. While the writing and reading habits of our new generations are changing, it does not necessarily have to be for the worse. We are sailing uncharted waters and may come up with new discoveries comparable to the discovering of the Americas. Just think of all the people that were criticized for challenging current ideas, and then look at where we are today because of them. This new age may be the same way.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
American Illiterate: The Reason for Every Problem in the Nation
Chris Hedge takes a horrid approach at illiteracy in America. He puts himself on a pedestal for having more of an education than others and puts down the people who may not have the best education. He throws out many facts that to me seem unbelievable at best, and when I looked for some links to where this info might have come from, I found nothing. SO I did a little research for myself and found multiple places with a lot of different facts. One site said America had a 99% literacy rate while another said the functional literacy was somewhere around 80%. Definitely different than what Hedge had to say in his essay.
Carr and Hedge's articles have some similarities as they both try to approach the way American's are changing in the new Information Age. They both mention how American's need constant stimulus from the environment around them as the world around us changes. Americans have been trying to find the most convenient way to do things, and I agree there are certain habits that American citizens are acquiring that are detrimental. The main difference I found is that Carr writes in a way that makes you want to trust him. He gets his point across, but he admits that he is open to human fallacy as much as the rest of us and may be wrong. Hedge to me seems very unprofessional and uses his article to assert his belief that America is not much better than the monkeys that swing around in zoos. I believe he may have some good points, but his essay has no benefits and just puts down everyone instead of trying to be constructive.
Carr and Hedge's articles have some similarities as they both try to approach the way American's are changing in the new Information Age. They both mention how American's need constant stimulus from the environment around them as the world around us changes. Americans have been trying to find the most convenient way to do things, and I agree there are certain habits that American citizens are acquiring that are detrimental. The main difference I found is that Carr writes in a way that makes you want to trust him. He gets his point across, but he admits that he is open to human fallacy as much as the rest of us and may be wrong. Hedge to me seems very unprofessional and uses his article to assert his belief that America is not much better than the monkeys that swing around in zoos. I believe he may have some good points, but his essay has no benefits and just puts down everyone instead of trying to be constructive.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Google: Changing the Mind of America
Carr's article reveals many things that I had never thought about or known. In his article "Is Google Making Us Stupid," he explores how the internet and sites such as Google are changing not just our habits, but also how they are actually changing our thought processes utterly and completely. I completely agree with him when he says it is harder to read long and in depth texts because I also feel that I have fallen victim to the same constant deterioration caused by our internet habits. He also proves it scientifically with research to show how it is changing and how it has been changing ever since the internet popped up.
To respond to the question his article poses, I believe he kind of is neutral to the subject. He does not give a solid yes or no answer. He tells us about how he thinks we will change, but he also acknowledges that many benefits could come from these possible transformations that could be coming in the near future. He goes on to explain other examples that he feels are similar such as the invention of writing and the printing press. He is wary of the changes that are happening because of our changing world, but all people are wary of changes when they have been doing things one way for their entire life. Everyone has a slight fear of the unknown that can not be quelled until you let the events unfold for themselves. So I believe Carr is disagreeing with the question that is the title. I think he takes a very positive view on it and is hoping for the best.
Lastly, our internet habits prove this quite well. I know when I was on the internet something was always going on. I would fly between pages every so often and never looked at the same page for too long. All the internet sites are setup to be this way. Even if you are on the same site for a while there are usually endless combinations of pages on every website you go to. I agree completely with what Carr is stating in his article, and when he expresses his views, it can be quite startling to realize the changes that may or may not be occurring without even the slightest hint sometimes.
To respond to the question his article poses, I believe he kind of is neutral to the subject. He does not give a solid yes or no answer. He tells us about how he thinks we will change, but he also acknowledges that many benefits could come from these possible transformations that could be coming in the near future. He goes on to explain other examples that he feels are similar such as the invention of writing and the printing press. He is wary of the changes that are happening because of our changing world, but all people are wary of changes when they have been doing things one way for their entire life. Everyone has a slight fear of the unknown that can not be quelled until you let the events unfold for themselves. So I believe Carr is disagreeing with the question that is the title. I think he takes a very positive view on it and is hoping for the best.
Lastly, our internet habits prove this quite well. I know when I was on the internet something was always going on. I would fly between pages every so often and never looked at the same page for too long. All the internet sites are setup to be this way. Even if you are on the same site for a while there are usually endless combinations of pages on every website you go to. I agree completely with what Carr is stating in his article, and when he expresses his views, it can be quite startling to realize the changes that may or may not be occurring without even the slightest hint sometimes.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Harris' Views
First off I'd like to say that for a book that is talking about writing and improving it, it isn't that bad a read. Now on to the real stuff. Harris has a view of reading and writing that poses them as very intertwined with each other. He liked to use the word rewriting instead of just writing. He did this because he sees writing as a response to some text that you have read or are reading and that you are responding, commenting, etc. on the text that you read when you write. He says, "imagine yourself as rewriting-- as drawing from, commenting on, adding to-- the work of others." His view of reading is that you have to understand what the author is saying in your own words. Then when you write you have to use that to build some sort of argument or thesis of your own if you are using that piece. Pretty much his whole purpose of reading is to use it later in some form of writing.
The main difference between Sullivan's approach to blogging and Harris' view of writing is the freedom aspect of blogging. Harris looks at revising more and looking a lot at your text before you publish it. This is kind of the opposite of the high feeling you get from the freedom of blogging. However, they have the similarity in that they both think blogging/writing are forms of commenting, adding to, and drawing from other people's works. Blogging is just a little less formal than the process that Harris described in his first two chapters. Pretty much we can start to establish that blogging is definitely a form of writing.
The main difference between Sullivan's approach to blogging and Harris' view of writing is the freedom aspect of blogging. Harris looks at revising more and looking a lot at your text before you publish it. This is kind of the opposite of the high feeling you get from the freedom of blogging. However, they have the similarity in that they both think blogging/writing are forms of commenting, adding to, and drawing from other people's works. Blogging is just a little less formal than the process that Harris described in his first two chapters. Pretty much we can start to establish that blogging is definitely a form of writing.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
everyone surfs the web
Everyone in our generation surfs the web. I would even say it is one the most significant changes that our generation has grown up with. As I looked throughout our classmate's blogs as they talked about their various internet habits, I realized that the internet has become the habit that everyone turns to when they are bored. When people are at home with nothing to do, they always have facebook to turn to. Among everyone's blogs that I looked at facebook was the common website that prevailed everyone's browsing history. Many of the sights were ones that were predictable such as blackboard and various other things such as email and facebook. Others however were ones I had never even heard of such as crucial.com and the World of O.
Looking at all these blogs really shows you how versatile the internet is, and why it is used so much throughout the world. You can do practically anything, and while our list shows a decent amount of things that people can do, it doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. One thing we did not explore as much was sending info. Most of the things that people used were places where you read info and picked it up on the site such as news and other such things. The internet has become a tool of our generation that will only grow in its capabilities. I believe the places you visit and don't visit also tell a lot about who you are. If there is someone that doesn'y have a facebook that might tell you he is a loner or that he doesn't like to use computers. While looking through all these blogs there is only one question I want answered, What did they do without the internet??
Looking at all these blogs really shows you how versatile the internet is, and why it is used so much throughout the world. You can do practically anything, and while our list shows a decent amount of things that people can do, it doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. One thing we did not explore as much was sending info. Most of the things that people used were places where you read info and picked it up on the site such as news and other such things. The internet has become a tool of our generation that will only grow in its capabilities. I believe the places you visit and don't visit also tell a lot about who you are. If there is someone that doesn'y have a facebook that might tell you he is a loner or that he doesn't like to use computers. While looking through all these blogs there is only one question I want answered, What did they do without the internet??
Monday, September 7, 2009
Post 3
Time (9/4/09) Description
12-1230 Blogger. com – checking classmates blogs and comment
130-2 Youtube.com – listening to music on youtube
130-3 Addictinggames.com – played stick war
5-510 Ulink – checked my ul email
510-520 Insightbb.com – checked my personal email
7-9 Facebook.com – chatted with friends online and played mafia wars
- Checked my inbox and replied to a message in my inbox
- Found some friends from my friend’s friend list
9-915 Blackboard – checked blackboard for announcements and grades
Time (9/5/09) Description
700-720 Facebook.com – checked facebook messages and responded to them
1140-1230 Youtube.com – checked out various videos on youtube with some friends
1230-1240 Insightbb.com – checked my personal email, nothing important was there
1240-115 Failblog.org – browsed around the site
2-3 Facebook.com – chatted with my cousin and looked up some friends
3-5 Blackboard.com – looked up class announcements and did 3 STOMP modules
7-8 Addictinggames.com – played stick wars
12-1230 Blogger. com – checking classmates blogs and comment
130-2 Youtube.com – listening to music on youtube
130-3 Addictinggames.com – played stick war
5-510 Ulink – checked my ul email
510-520 Insightbb.com – checked my personal email
7-9 Facebook.com – chatted with friends online and played mafia wars
- Checked my inbox and replied to a message in my inbox
- Found some friends from my friend’s friend list
9-915 Blackboard – checked blackboard for announcements and grades
Time (9/5/09) Description
700-720 Facebook.com – checked facebook messages and responded to them
1140-1230 Youtube.com – checked out various videos on youtube with some friends
1230-1240 Insightbb.com – checked my personal email, nothing important was there
1240-115 Failblog.org – browsed around the site
2-3 Facebook.com – chatted with my cousin and looked up some friends
3-5 Blackboard.com – looked up class announcements and did 3 STOMP modules
7-8 Addictinggames.com – played stick wars
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Post 2
Andrew Sullivan is an acclaimed bloggist on the web as well as journalist for a newspaper. In his essay, Why I Blog, he explores all the different opportunities of blogging and analyzes why he believes blogging is an important form of writing. He has a list of many reasons to answer the question set forth in his essay.
One of the main reasons he listed in his article was the fact that blogging comes with a freedom unequal to writing for say a newspaper or magazine. Instead of being faced with editors and their array of techniques at holding writing from being published, you are open to publish what you want to say without any say from anyone. You have the freedom to be your own publisher and for many writers including Mr. Sullivan that is a very exhilarating experience. Blogging is writing without bounds or limitations. Blogging is one of the openest forms of writing there is.
With great freedom comes great responsibility though. While you have the freedom to write whatever you want to whomever you want, you can also be criticized by all kinds of people. Immediately as people get your post it is open to the scrutiny of millions of people all over the world. You can be bashed harshly, but even this can be beneficial. Andrew Sullivan states that blogging is like writing out loud. Blogging and all the criticism that comes with it sometimes allows you to bounce ideas around and formulate opinions based on lots of info that may not have been available to you if you had not made the original post to start everything rolling.
While blogs can be somewhat inaccurate sometimes because they do not have the intense battery of people poring over the words and editing that physical works such as novels and newspapers have, blogs are a way to bounce around ideas and formulate opinions in a free environment. You won't always be right, but you will always be learning through your mistakes and the opinions of others.
One of the main reasons he listed in his article was the fact that blogging comes with a freedom unequal to writing for say a newspaper or magazine. Instead of being faced with editors and their array of techniques at holding writing from being published, you are open to publish what you want to say without any say from anyone. You have the freedom to be your own publisher and for many writers including Mr. Sullivan that is a very exhilarating experience. Blogging is writing without bounds or limitations. Blogging is one of the openest forms of writing there is.
With great freedom comes great responsibility though. While you have the freedom to write whatever you want to whomever you want, you can also be criticized by all kinds of people. Immediately as people get your post it is open to the scrutiny of millions of people all over the world. You can be bashed harshly, but even this can be beneficial. Andrew Sullivan states that blogging is like writing out loud. Blogging and all the criticism that comes with it sometimes allows you to bounce ideas around and formulate opinions based on lots of info that may not have been available to you if you had not made the original post to start everything rolling.
While blogs can be somewhat inaccurate sometimes because they do not have the intense battery of people poring over the words and editing that physical works such as novels and newspapers have, blogs are a way to bounce around ideas and formulate opinions in a free environment. You won't always be right, but you will always be learning through your mistakes and the opinions of others.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
my very first blogging experience
Here it goes. My adventure into the uncharted waters of blogging. I guess you could say I'm losing my blogging virginity if you want to put it that way. The task was amazingly simple for what I thought might be a half hour journey through many screens of filling out info and accepting terms of various agreements. On the contrary, there was only a few screens with easy to follow instructions, and I was done. Of course I have just barely scraped the surface of what blogging.com has to offer. I hope I continue to be satisfied with all that it has to offer.
In my short blogging history it seems that blogging has many things in common with facebook and myspace, but it also seems to have a lot of different options and opportunities as well. Aesthetically they look a little bit different of course, but the main difference that I think they have is that facebook and myspace are more oriented to connecting people so that they can have informal conversations with each other or talk about what they are doing this weekend. Blogging in my opinion is used by people for many different things. Many opinions are transferred between people who have little or no relations to each other. Blogging is a place where one can spread his ideas to multiple people around the internet. Depending which blog and what you are talking about, I have a feeling that many arguments go on over the web in this way.
So far the experience of creating a blog has been interesting, and I hope to further explore the opportunities of what blogger.com has to offer as well as blogging in general. I can see where blogging can be very fun and will open up a lot of doors on the internet as I further use blogging. These are my first thoughts on my new experience with blogging.
In my short blogging history it seems that blogging has many things in common with facebook and myspace, but it also seems to have a lot of different options and opportunities as well. Aesthetically they look a little bit different of course, but the main difference that I think they have is that facebook and myspace are more oriented to connecting people so that they can have informal conversations with each other or talk about what they are doing this weekend. Blogging in my opinion is used by people for many different things. Many opinions are transferred between people who have little or no relations to each other. Blogging is a place where one can spread his ideas to multiple people around the internet. Depending which blog and what you are talking about, I have a feeling that many arguments go on over the web in this way.
So far the experience of creating a blog has been interesting, and I hope to further explore the opportunities of what blogger.com has to offer as well as blogging in general. I can see where blogging can be very fun and will open up a lot of doors on the internet as I further use blogging. These are my first thoughts on my new experience with blogging.
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