HW: 42

Hello, this is Kelly, and we are the Beta Pod from Keene State College ITW 101. We are using Baghdad Burning as a reference for this podcast.Hi, this is Sarah. The passage that left the biggest impression on us from this weeks reading was found on page 262. Riverbend basically says that Bush gives repulsive speeches and is sheepish-however he makes an attempt to sound sincere. The people of Iraq are not big fans of President Bush.Hi, this is
Lori. Student next semester can expect to learn first hand what it was like living in Iraq during the war.
Hey, this is Hayley. The students can also learn from the book that what is shown on Television is not half as bad as it really is.
Hi, this is Emily. Thank you for listening to us, have an enjoyable evening! Peace out.

HW 36: Beta Pods podcast 1

http://www.gabcast.com/index.php?a=episodes&query=&b=play&id=8538&cast=49707&castPage=&autoplay=true

HW 35: Dear Readers

During the past 13 weeks in my ITW A Blog Of One's Own I had to keep a blog to reflect upon the different types of reading we did and how they each made an impact on my everyday lives. I honestly had no idea what a blog really was and what else I could use it for besides keeping a journal to fill my friends in with what i have been doing in my life and whats interesting to me. If someone outside this class were to read my blog I feel they would just gain knowledge about the different books I read and how I felt about them and the different interruptions i got out of the books. After this call I don't think i will use my blog again and I don't feel that it will come in use again. Although I wont even use my blog again this class did open my eyes and make me see that blogs could also be used for other things such as communication and seeing what the best product is.

HW 34: Respond to Riverbend

Gold plays a big role in Iraq with their families and it shows how much a family has saved up and has right now as status concern. People pulled their money out of banks before the war, and bought gold instead (Riverbend, 100). When there is a rumor going around that a house will be invaded women often hide all their gold and valuables so it is not taken. Riverbend also stated that "Gold can be shown off and worn, but in times of economical trouble, a few pieces can be sold to tide the family over. Tea is also important and valuable in an Iraqi's life. The tea they drink isn't like in the US from a teabag, and if you serve them a teabag you risk scorn and disdain. It is an important time durning the day for them all to sit down together and catch up. "In the evening, most Iraqi families gather together for "evening tea. Its hardly as formal as it sounds...No matter how busy the day, everyone sits around in the living room, waiting for tea" (Riverbend 108). The time they spend together drinking tea is like a way for them to escape from the war and be in their own little world with the people they love just for a little while where there is no harm to them.

HW 33: Iraqi Teens work to help their families

The podcast i chose to watch was, "Iraqi Teens Work To Help Their Families," which the main issue was that in Iraq most teens are having to take time out of their schedule to learn and get an education so they can work for their families. In the podcast children are also stating their direct experiences with having to work with their families. Some such jobs they had were helping their uncle around the house or even having their fathers with carpentry or painting chairs. One child on the podcast was attending college and he was born with a birth defect although his habitat has led him sitting on the computer all day. This video made me open my eyes to also see what it is like to work all day instead of going to school and getting an education. With terrorism in the world i believe that the kids would be able to go to school where they should be every day rather then working to raise money for their families.

HW 32: Shopping For School Supplies

On Saturday October 1st Riverbend went out with her cousion, his wife and her brother to go school shopping for his two daughters. Since the conditions in Iraq were so drastic and the war started her kids werent able to set outside the house unless it was to visit a relative. In Iraq there arent huge shopping plaza's or malls so they has to travel to the middle of Baghdad to find a shopping area. They went to a stationary shop that sold everything from toys to desk sets. Riverbend and S. had to search all over the store for just the right designed notebooks for the kids. When the children go to school they now have to ba guarded by other kids fathers and bring their own chairs to sit in durning the school day. I feel so bad to be put in that situation and dont know how the children are able to preform in those conditions.

HW 31: Responding to Riverbend

After reading August 31-September 16 one thing that caught my eye and made me want to do more research on and find out what it was really about was SCIRI (Riverbend, page 43) I never heard of this term and it attracted me to find out what it was really all about. When i typed SCIRI in on wikipedia.com the results of the definition was Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.

(http://209.85.165.104/searchq=cache:LXx3WB05rIgJ:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sciri+sciri&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us) The SCIRI is one of Iraq's largest political parties. In May 2007 the name of the political party has been changed to Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council; they removed the word "Revolution" from it because " they thought it was seen as a reference to overthrowing the secular Ba'athist government. The political party was found in 1982 after the Iran-Iraq war. The political party finally joined the United Iraqi Alliance list for the general election on January 30, 2005.

HW 30: Citizenship Symposium

I also attended a third citizenship symposium and it was on Tuesday November 6 at 7:00-10:00. It was the documentary and discussion of June Cross and film called Secret Daughter. June Cross was a filmmaker and journalist. She grew up her whole life living with a close friend to his mothers who took her under their wings. Junes mother was ashamed that her daughter was going to be a different race then her and she got everyone to believe that June was not her daughter and she was adopted. Junes life was very hard because she had to grow up in the world in which she wasn't able to live with her real mother and she had no idea to whom her biological father was until she was in her early 20's when she went out on her own to find her father. June's film and speaker was a very touching topic that really grabbed my attention and it was also one that i really enjoyed and it made me want to follow the film and what she had to say.

HW 30: Symposium 2

The second citizenship symposium I attended was Who are The Citizen Journalists? The main speaker was Tom Lantos who is the only surivor of Holocaust who served in the US congress. Tom came to the US when he was at the age 19 and it was right after WWII. And in 2006 he became the head chair memeber of the foregin committee. In Lanots' speech a main topic was, 'American did not teach men the idea of freedom she taught them how to practice it." Another main issue he focused on was why reputation is so much less important now then it was just a few years ago. Tom has so much hope for the US to grow and become better every day.He mentationed having two rules for the upcoming president of the United States, First they must bring our country together domestically, and also they must rebuild the statue, respect, and prestige for the United States internationally. I thought his speech was very intersting and one that i gained knowledge from.

HW 30: Citizenship Symposium

The Symposium I attended on Tuesday was titled 'What Kind of DemocracyDo We Want?' The introduction speaker was Keene States Provost Emile Netzhammer in which he talked about citizenship and he strives for everyone to get to the polls and participate in their elections to get their voice heard. The first main speaker was Nancy Tobi and she talked about Citizens Gone Wild. Taking control of our democracy. The two parts of our democracy are Citizen oversight and free and open elections. In New Hampshire there are two approved means of counting votes and they are Hand counting and debold. Debold being the more popular at 81 % and hand counting with 18%, we are striving for more votes to be hand counted. Nacny stated that we people have the rights to abolish or change the government elections or revolutions. And one quote that i found very interesting was, "The people who cast the votes don't decide the election, the people who count the votes do."

HW 28: Open letters to Riverbend

Dear Riverbend,

For my ITW A Blog Of One's Own writing class we are required to read your book Baghdad Burning. Although I don't really follow the war and everything that happends day by day but the book made me open my eyes and really see what is going with the war. With your book and blog is makes it easier for everyone in the US to actually to see what is going on there and how in Iraq everyone deals with this issue. After reading Baghdad Burning and seeing how many people have lost their lives because of their serious tradegdy I cannot express my sadness for the world you live in and expereinces you must encounter on a daily basis. I can't get over the fact like Americana troops just enter houses to raid them kills me because its almost like you have to watch every move and techniqually cant be living free. The war has caused such a dilemma between us when there really shouldn't be a problem and I hope that very soon this war will be at an end and we will finally be living the free life again.

From,

Lori

HW 27: First two blogs

After reading the book Baghdad burning i realized actually how hard it really must be to live in a world and undergoing those circumstances on a daily basis. I think it will be interesting to actually see how it will feel to be a girl just like me and my friends living in a totally different world surrounded by the war. Riverbend made an online blog to share her experiences about the war with everyone which shows how brave she is for telling first hand what it is like for her to go outside her house. The book ties in with this class because it is about a young women who is living in Iraq where the media isn't big and she is starting a digital revolution with her blog and in this class we are required to create and keep our blogs up to date.

HW 25: Baghad Burning

In the first chapter of Baghad Burning talks about the war we are currenty fighting in Iraq and also the history behind it and why we are there right now. Riverbend is a girl who is living in Iraq during the war and she tells us her side of the story about what it is like to see this actually going on. In the introduction it talks about the actually war in Iraq and its more history rather then how its effecting people. I feel as if they did a great job in both parts and the war is a big part of our everylives and it effects everyone in a differnt way and I know that my effects and concerns are some of the same ones that she mentations in her text.

HW 24: A Room of My Own

In my room compared to a room of a man, it would be very different. Sexism is still trying to be progressed everyday and let men and women be equal for once. For some issues it’s ok for men to do one thing but the second a women does it we will be judged because it is inappropriate for us and not lady like. It has increased greatly in the effort that women are allowed to do more things and can take a more serious and political role in the society. I know that the world is different and for women we are often looked down on things for the same things that men do on a daily basis. An example is at my house my brother is allowed to have girls in his room with the door closed but my parents tell me that if were in my room the door has to be open which isn’t fair just because he is a guy and it’s ok for him because he is a boy. The quote, “there is no precise height of women” (Woolf, 85) is saying that women are capable of doing anything and should have the right to be just as great as men in their lives. Another quote “that is to say men are only writing with the male side of their brains” (Woolf 101) which is saying that men are only writing towards them and they don’t think that women were in actuality know what they are talking about and understand the full effects of the information.

Apologies to Virginia Woold. HW 23

With Apologized to Virginia Woolf

In the blog titled singing with the enemy on the Feministe blog (http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2007/10/22/singing-with-the-enemy/) Lethal Fixx didn’t have anything good to say about women and being able to take on a stand by their own. It even stated that one said women don’t make good rock music and they are just shaggy themselves. I don’t feel that this is right because we should all be treated equally and be able to participate in the same events and have the same values no matter our gender. Such as when I got in trouble for walking on the pathway because I was a women and only the men were allowed to. She said that women wouldn’t be able to survive and make money in the rap field which is totally not true because we really are as great as men and the same.
I think it shouldn’t matter who we are to decide what we are good at and where our lives will bring us one day. We all need the same opportunity and have the same chances to succeed in what we feel we will enjoy for the rest of our lives.

HW 22:Patriarchy in our Society

In chapter two of Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own is talking about how England has a Patriarchy and is under the control of one person. The term Patriarchy is a social system in which mean are regaurded as the authority within the family and society, and in which power and possessions are passes on from father to son. I belibe this because in england they do have a king and queen who are in charge and sort of overlook everything else that is going on at the time and basically rule the country.
On page 33 in chapter two bottom half of the page it talks about how the professor is the power and the money of the influence. He was the foregin secretary, and the judge, he owned the racehorses and yacht; and it continued going on about everything else that he owned and was in charge of. and she also staed that, ‘with the exceptin of the fog he basically controled everything else.’ To me that sentence right there shows how much power one man can hold on his own.
After looking at the New York Times I feel that yes if someone was looking at that it would give the united states the image that we are a Patriarchy because in most articles it talks about one person dealing with an issue and never a group of people or even the normal indivdiulas who are walking on the street next to you.

HW 21: Dear Jenn

Hi Jenn,
In chapter one of Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own Virginia has been asked to speak on the topic of women and fiction. She talks about her main thesis statement and reflects on it in which the statement was "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction." She talks about how she and other women are not allowed to do many of the things that males are allowed to do. An example of this is that when she was walking on the grass a university security guard came over to her and told her that women are not allowed to walk on the grass and she must move to the gravel. And also another is when she recalls and essay that she once read in which the author stated in her own person experience "ladies are only admitted to the library if accompanied by a Fellow of the College or furnished with a letter of introduction." The narrator of the book talks about the start of a women’s college and how there was little political support and not to many followers.
As I read this chapter it really hit me to see how this actually was really happening and I couldn’t believe it. This might be an important reading in an English class because it talks about real events that made an impact on our lives today and it also gets you thinking outside of the box about the situations in which women just like us went through not too long ago.
Good luck with the reading and let me know if you need more help,
Lori

HW 19: Drenzer & Farrell's Influence on the Web

In the foreign policy article called, “Web of Influence” by Daniel Drenzer and Henry Farrell it talked about the importance between international blogs and media coverage. I feel that the important paragraph in the article was on page 84 the last paragraphs starting with blogs (are short for ‘weblogs,’) In the article they talked about how blogs are increasing enormously each year. Drenzer and Farrell stated that in 1999 there were about 50 blogs and in 2004 between 2.4 million and 4.1 million. In other words blogs are being used everywhere and more and more kids are using blogs to express themselves and say things they are unable to say to their friends, also adults are using them to gain more information on certain issues from other peoples experiences and feelings. It stated what the definition of a blog really was and I feel that was important because many people have a misconception of what a blog actually is and it helps them to see what they might be participating in. the definition they used is a periodically updated journal, providing online commentary with minimal or no external editing. My point is that blogs are a big part of our generation. I believe that blogs in which peers have their own experiences stated will help the most and have a great influence on the way we believe and act.

Jones for Drugs, HW18

One article that was my least favorite in the past seven days was an article on the Jezebels blog website titled Jones for Drugs. The link is http://jezebel.com/gossip/jones-for-drugs/-307514.php. The article talks about how Marion Jones has been on steroids for the past three years without knowing it. This article makes me sad because for an athlete who is as good and well known as her is having to be in drugs in order to get the body and look that she wanted to be in Maxim, I feel as if that is taking your whole life and flushing it down the toilet because you are ruining your body that is so capable for the best achievement you can have and soon you will be no longer to receive that. One person responded to the blog by saying, “Her story is that her trainer dosed her, telling her it was flaxseed oil,” that statement really hit me because if someone is going to do that to you they honestly don’t care enough about that person and the condition that you body may end up in.

Sex, Lies and Political Scrapes, HW 17B

Ana Marie Cox’s blog Wonkette and interview, ‘Sex, Lies, and Political Scrapes’ would most likely influence the way I would vote in an upcoming election because I feel as if her writing is easier to understand on the same level in which that young teens are at. The setup of her blog is very eye catching and I like that it her videos and pictures because that tends to catch my attention and drag me into an article that without seeing a picture I probably wouldn’t of read. Ana Marie is not very self conscious because she speaks how she feels on issues when in the past she got fired from all her other jobs because of her actions on duty. Most of her articles are student centered with topics and issues that we can relate to and ones that we enjoy reading about. In the interview she said that she likes to be able to comment on things and say exactly what I think which shows that she is a bold person and will go beyond the rules and ‘normal’ standards to get her point across. When I was reading the interview it was easier to connect with her words and responses which let me enjoy the interview more rather than the interview with Markos Moulitas Zuniga.

HW 17: Femenisitng Blog

I thought the article on the Femenisting blog called wal-mart thinks stalking is a joke by Jessica on Products (http://feministing.com/archives/007832.html). The blog is talking about how wal mart put out a shirt with the saying, “some call it stalking, I call it ‘Love.’” The shirts are giving off a false idea about how stalking is just another way to show love. Many women got offended about this issue and didn’t believe it was right to be selling or even promoting these types of shirts. The article stated a quote that I felt was very true and made an impact while I was reading was, "People don't realize how serious stalking is," she said. "You constantly live in fear, look over your shoulder and suffer from psychological and physical symptoms due to the stress of the stalker." That quote is so true because if someone loved you they would allow you to have your own life and have some sort of freedom allowing you to do certain things without your significant other knowing your step by step moves. This post made an impact on me and really opened my eyes and think that stalking is serious and you should never be stalked by someone who loves you.

HW 16: Jezebel follows most of Scobles' Rules

In Jezebels blog she is following many of Scobles’ rules of engagement. In her blogs she is telling the truth and she is also using a human voice she is talking in her own words as if she was telling us each the story which tends to grab our attention more and is an easier way for us to understand what she is exactly trying to get across. As looking over her blogs it tends to seem that she is very fast and posting and updating new topics on her blogs daily. You can see this because when you search updates in the past 24 hours many come up which shows you that she is always updating and posting new information.
I feel that these 20 principles of the Corporate Weblog are applicable to bloggers because they are telling you how to achieve the best blogs and it is also stating how to gain a better reputation of others who will read your blogs daily. Its almost as if they standards that Scoble states are like the rules of blogging and if you follow these you will be happy with your results and be very successful. He is someone who has been in the field before and knows firsthand what will make it successful and what will cause you or fall behind and now get as many readers as you wish.

HW 14:Take an Obsession then feed it

In the article ‘Take An Obsession, Then Fed It!’ an interview with Nick Denton. For example Nick founded what is to be called the ‘empire of fledgling weblog industry.’ According to his interview he stated that he would rather look at editors rather than writers when it comes to hiring because he wants someone who can take the garage and make it funny. As a result of blogs being used in everywhere in the world around us on a daily basis the sites are growing at 20 percent per month. For example some sites are now brining in an average of $5,000 a month in ad revenue. Likewise blogs allow you to say how you feel about the situation in your own way regardless of what other people feel or say towards the same issue. In conclusion blogs will allow individual users to make their own “newspapers,” which will show their own personal creativity and issues on the popular topics.

HW 13: Saying Why Business Matters

In “Blogs will change your Business,: by Stephen Baker and Heather Green it talked about how blogs affect businesses and the impact on communication that is not business- or profit related. I think that blogging on communication that is not business- or profit- related is more important in my view because it is about yourself and it is a way that allows you to express your own feelings and make your own statements on certain topics or issues. With blogs that express your own communication you can be shy and keep to yourself during school and then once you are in your own comfortable world you can be outgoing and wanting to share the truth about how you feel. Blogs overall allow you to express who you are and gives other people a sense of understanding the true person insides you. An example of this is you are getting very aggravated and brought down about an issue that is emotional to you, but there is no one you are comfortable talking about the topic faced to face with, so instead you can go on your blog and make a post about the issue and get your true feelings out and let other comment and give you advice on the way you should be feeling.

HW 11: Applying Chapter 6m to "Making Global Voices Heard"

In Kline and Bursteins ‘Making Global Voices Heard’ an interview with Rebecca Mackinnon I chose to view and read the blog The Kenyan Pundit (http://kenyanpundit.com/.) The blog is based in Kenya and talks about the growth of blogs there and how more and more people are coming to read them daily. Other mothers who relate to her are commenting on her blog. It is typically being followed by older women who can share stories and tips to make Ory’s life a little easier. In the interview it gives you a good description about what the blog will in tale and what to expect when you first visit the site. It stated that they are using the blogs to criticize mainstream press which is true because in the blog they do and other people are commenting the way they feel about it too.
Not everyone will agree with me on how I feel that giving advice to others will help enormously even through the internet and not knowing them any better I believe that it is amazing how people are so open to try and make other people’s lives better. Of course, many will probably disagree with this assertion that not everyone is always open to help each other and making fun of the mainstream media isn’t always good and may start trouble with other bloggers, I feel that it is very helpful and even if you disagree everyone has their own say in how they feel and what they want to get across.

HW 9: Applying Graff Chapt 4 to Huffington

I chose to write and reflect about Arianna Huffington Interview, “Punching Holes in Faded Mirrors” from Kline and Burstein’s Blog! The article talked about why the blogosphere is such a vital part of the media industry and how she hopes that the Huffington Post will aide to many different issues. There were many different statements she made that I agreed with and also a few that I disagreed with. I agree that with blogs enormous amounts of people have become their own reports because my experience when writing these blogs is kind of like you have your own say and you are able to write and say what you feel in the way you want it to come across to for other readers confirms it. Another thing I agreed with was that she said blogs are like open nature of forums being connected because on one blog it could have four or five links to other peoples blogs with the same topics or even websites which have more information on the topic and sometimes even pictures to make it more clearer and grab you attention in.
Although I agreed a lot, there was a few I disagreed. I disagreed with Huffington’s view that the mainstream media put the topic off to the side and ignored it while bloggers kept going until the issue was over, because as recent research has shown, the media will always follow a topic for months even if it only appears on a two second clip, there are hundreds of reports for new channels designated to a certain topic. Another thing I disagree with when she said that mass media can only focus on one story at a time, because on the news there are a few top headlines and they spend a certain amount of time on each and have the other news on after. There are always different top headlines and the important ones appear for weeks at a time.

HW7: Applying Graff, Chapter 3 to "My So-Called Blog"

I feel that kids should be able to talk online and post what they want to without having their parents monitor everything they said. If their parents are watching every word that their children say they might not state everything they want to because they don’t want to get in trouble or be judged differently by their parents. If you don't have your own say on what you feel you really aren't fully being yourself and your holding some of you back. Even if you are shy or don’t have a close friend you feel comfortable with your journal is somewhere you can go to and just say how you feel and express your opinion. It is somewhere you can go and vent about how you feel towards a certain situation and it just feels good sometimes to get it all out and see what other people will respond to what you said. In Emily Nussbaum’s article, “My So-called Blog,” Nussbaum stated how this is true by saying:
She called the journals a boon for shy students and admired the way they encourage kids to express themselves in writing.
(Kline and Burstein 359)
Although some people might express a little too much on their journals it’s a good way for the ones who don’t have anyone to talk to get their opinions out there or even vent when they are having a troublesome day.

HW 6: Interest statement for semester long project

My interests in social computing technologies I am most interested in email and email lists, instant messaging, and social networking services. I’m interested in email and email lists because so many people rely on email to keep them connect with family and friend who live so far away but what to keep up to date on everything. Instant messaging because all my friends are always on it all the time and I really would like to know what is behind the whole makeup. And social networking services because basically without facebook and being at college it would be pretty impossible to keep in touch with all my friends who went away to other states for school.

The kinds of empowerment that I am most interested in are overcoming sexism because I feel that gender still plays a huge role in our everyday lives and I personally don’t feel that it is 100% fair. Overcoming ageism because I feel that the older generations seem to look down on us as a group and stereotype that we are all like that without actually getting to know us on a first hand basis. And also religious intolerance/barriers between people or different religions because I feel as if people judge you on the beliefs you have and if you believe something different they have to think differently about you also.

The geographical areas I am most interested in are the US because that is where we live every day. And another one is North America because it is us and we are surrounded by it all the time.

HW 5b "I Blog, Therefore I Am"

In David Kline’s “I Blog, Therefore I Am” on the first page the third paragraph there is a quote between two people talking about what a newspaper actually was and he insists that the newspaper was killed by decades of mediocrity, in which the younger generations now have no reason to even open the newspaper. I believe that this is not true because there are many teenagers out there who open the newspaper on a daily basis to see what is going around in the world and keep up to date with the current events. There are even some kids out there who just open the newspaper to read the comic strip and nothing else.

I reject this statement because once a week my hometown comes out with a newspaper about everything that went on in the town and also the most important national events, every week I read the paper when we receive it and I almost look forward to it, to find out what went on in the world I live in everyday and see what the upcoming events are. To my I believe that the newspaper is still out there for the new generations and if it is in front of us we tend to pick it up and read what on the cover attracted our attention.

HW4: "The Voice of the Customer"

In this blog i am responding to Kline and Burstein's "The Voice of the Customer."

The other night I was in my friend’s room and happened to come across a magnet of the Hummer logo. To me the Hummer is an inferior car for a big man with a lot of money and is pretty intimidating. The car shows that you are adventurous and ready to take on anything that comes your way. In order to drive a hummer you have to have enough money to pay for the amount of gas needed. I feel that a hummer is a serious car and not anyone can drive a hummer. The typical stereotype for that car is a built man with muscles who is very into himself and usually works in the construction field.
On the Hummer blog it shows the cars climbing mountains and a pack load of people all smiling and having a great time. The blog shows that if you drive or own a Hummer you will go on crazy trips and always be having fun no matter where you go. The cars have some sort of outdoor equipment attached to the top of the roof which shows that you are very athletic. If you drive a Hummer you will never be bored and always have a great time. Everyone in the pictures seems to be so happy and enjoying themselves.
I feel that Hummer does a very good job with delivering that promise because one of my friend’s drives a Hummer and he is always on the go with his kayak. No matter where we are he is always will to park on an incline or huge hill and he is the one that will take us driving off roading after it rains all day. His personality fits the Hummer driver because he is always smiling and always ready to do something crazy and spontaneous. So, I feel Hummer’s promise is shown very well in their customers.

http://www.hummer.com/hummerjsp/home.jsp

HW 3: Toward a More Participatory Democracy

This blog I am responding to chapter 1 in Blog! Toward a More Participatory Democracy by David Kline. The chapter was based on how the media has a critical effect on politics today. The media we face every day is controlling the world and it manipulates the mass media. I’ve always believed that blogging was a way to gain more information and give you reasons to believe that something should be the way it was besides the feelings you felt. Bloggers today have such a dramatic impact on the American political scene. Frank Barnako stated that he felt no one really reads blogs and he felt as if they wouldn’t have an effect on the political elections. Political bogs were the most popular in the 2004 presidential election and the top 10 bogs had over 28 million visits from readers on average. Blogs were known as, “A genuine alternative to mainstream news outlets, a shadow media empire that is rivaling networks and newspapers in power and influence.”
I feel that what Kline states in this chapter is very true. At the same time I believe that blogs have a positive outcome and give you other ideas about a certain topic, I also believe that there might be some negative side effects meaning that they may change your mind and the way you actually feel and have you believe what they think because to you it sounds better regardless if you believe it’s true. Political blogs are coming up all over and they inform us about the society we live in and what we each feel is going to happen when a certain figure takes the stands.
Political bloggers have given us thrilling and new opportunities for more engaged voters to restructure this country’s political outlook for the better. It is proven that political blogs are on the uprise and more people are reading them every day to improve their knowledge and see how their peers are also feeling about the topic. In 2004 there was a total average of 33 million blogs readers in the US.

HW 2: Burstein's 12 key ideas

I'm responding to David Kline and Bursteins's Blog! How the Newest Media Revolution is changing politics, Business, and Culture.

Burstein stated 12 key ideas about blogging and I feel that I most connect and interest with the second one which was that ‘Blogs are particularity interesting because they marry so much personality and attitude with this complex mix of software technology.’ I think it is amazing how a blog can contain so much information and you can gain an enormous amount of information on one topic from just a single page. A blog enables you to show your creativity and lets you stress the exact way you feel towards a certain topic. With all the options you have on your blog to change the background, layout and have it any way you want lets you show who you are and gives the readers a sense of understanding who you are and what your personality is like.

To me I think that is enabling us to keep in touch with long lost friends and holds together the bond of friendship no matter the distance apart. Blogs allow you yourself to post a certain topic and state how you feel and allows other readers with the same interests to comment the way they address the topics giving you others ways to look at the same situation outside the box.

Blogs are changing the world around us. Everyday more and more people make a blog about their everyday life such as a journal or even about a topic in society that is on their mind at a certain time wishing to gain more information. Before we know it we will be getting all our needed information from a certain blog.