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 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.