My project on blogging was fun even though at times, it took me forever to find sites. Sometimes I even wanted to pull my hair out. In the end I learned a lot and also learned how to use the computer and what a great tool it is. I learned that I can read my favorite magazine online and that I like the format. I realized first hand how much all Internet sites have impacted print journalism, though I don't necessarily think that most of it is true journalism. I also have also come to grips that I am not a true blogger and probably never will be one. :-)
The thrill of blogging occured to me today. When I signed on to do this last assignment (my thoughts on blogging) I had a comment! YEAH!!!! Even better it was a comment from Jason, the guy I did my Vanity blog on. It was pretty cool. I went to his website and read what he had to say about my assignment. He basically said that all blogs can be informational and he's right. I'll give him that. He also made mention that his site became a target of a class assignment for a student of COC. I must also say his blog site is much more than "I ate an orange today". He offers a lot of information on how and what to do with computers and other thing as well. He seems like a really smart guy. One other thing I forgot to mention about Jason's blog was the cool graphics, they were awesome. Anyways, the fact that Jason responded to my blog made this experience even more rewarding.
I still feel that my blogging research strongly supports my thesis.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Saturday, September 29, 2007
INFORMATION BLOGS ARE BETTER THAN VANITY BLOGS!
SUMMARIZE YOUR RESEARCH ON A VANITY BLOG AND A INFORMATION BLOG
The first blog I went to was a vanity blog about a guy named Jason. He lives in Canada with his wife. He had recently gone to an amusement park and had pictures of him and his friends in go-carts. They were cute! Ironically he is a technology geek so that was funny in the fact that I am just the opposite and know very little. He talked about what he installed on his computer lately, about burning CD's and his camera. Jason's blog site is http://www.jasondunn.com/.
The second site I went to was an informational blog about one of my favorite foods, candy. The blog site was called "Candy Addict". The site talks about how this is their two year anniversary and that they are going to give away, what else, candy. They talked about where you could order these delicious truffles (they looked awesome) from. They described how to make a friend who is a computer geek, a computer treat with graham crackers and other little candies. They talked about the search for the perfect smore and that they found it, so you could have it too. They'll tell you about the 10 grossest candies. You can also buy all kinds of candy from them, especially candy from the past that is hard to find. They also had the funniest story about SNEAKERS, that you'll have to read at http://candyaddict.com/blog/index.php.
Yes, I think both types of blogs are effective at what they are try to accomplish. The vanity blog is effective because it is all about the person who's writing the blog and what they have to say. The purpose is to bio the writer and it is the most common type of blog on the web. The information blogs are effective because they describe details on the particular interest of a site.
A good information blog will be a source that leads you to the information you're looking for. The Candy Addict site gave you an array of candies to order from, told you where you can find specialty candy and how to make your own. They told you about great chocolates and their history, as well as some awful candy that you'll want to avoid. The vanity blogs to me are less interesting, because I have no desire to read about someone else's life. I would say for someone who does, it would have to be funny, dramatic, freaky or give some sort of insight on a certain point of interest to the reader.
I would say that in this assignment that it somewhat supports my thesis. I would say that because I don't think that these blogging sites are real journalism. I would still rather pick up a People magazine and read about somebody famous, rather than John Doe on a blog. As for the information blog, I get magazines advertising things I'm interested in already and probably wouldn't use the computer to get them. I know I'm probably in the minority when it comes to using the computer, but that's just me. I will still go with my original thesis statement in the end.
The first blog I went to was a vanity blog about a guy named Jason. He lives in Canada with his wife. He had recently gone to an amusement park and had pictures of him and his friends in go-carts. They were cute! Ironically he is a technology geek so that was funny in the fact that I am just the opposite and know very little. He talked about what he installed on his computer lately, about burning CD's and his camera. Jason's blog site is http://www.jasondunn.com/.
The second site I went to was an informational blog about one of my favorite foods, candy. The blog site was called "Candy Addict". The site talks about how this is their two year anniversary and that they are going to give away, what else, candy. They talked about where you could order these delicious truffles (they looked awesome) from. They described how to make a friend who is a computer geek, a computer treat with graham crackers and other little candies. They talked about the search for the perfect smore and that they found it, so you could have it too. They'll tell you about the 10 grossest candies. You can also buy all kinds of candy from them, especially candy from the past that is hard to find. They also had the funniest story about SNEAKERS, that you'll have to read at http://candyaddict.com/blog/index.php.
Yes, I think both types of blogs are effective at what they are try to accomplish. The vanity blog is effective because it is all about the person who's writing the blog and what they have to say. The purpose is to bio the writer and it is the most common type of blog on the web. The information blogs are effective because they describe details on the particular interest of a site.
A good information blog will be a source that leads you to the information you're looking for. The Candy Addict site gave you an array of candies to order from, told you where you can find specialty candy and how to make your own. They told you about great chocolates and their history, as well as some awful candy that you'll want to avoid. The vanity blogs to me are less interesting, because I have no desire to read about someone else's life. I would say for someone who does, it would have to be funny, dramatic, freaky or give some sort of insight on a certain point of interest to the reader.
I would say that in this assignment that it somewhat supports my thesis. I would say that because I don't think that these blogging sites are real journalism. I would still rather pick up a People magazine and read about somebody famous, rather than John Doe on a blog. As for the information blog, I get magazines advertising things I'm interested in already and probably wouldn't use the computer to get them. I know I'm probably in the minority when it comes to using the computer, but that's just me. I will still go with my original thesis statement in the end.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
BLOG OR E-ZINE?
Find a news or current events ezine and blog and compare and contrast the two. Then summarize the two links you found.
My research is going a little better the more I do it. This time I went to a known source such as Time Magazine. I found my ezine rather quickly and it had one beautiful amazing picture and was about how for the first time in recorded history the Northwest Passage was ice free all the way from the Pacific to the Atlantic. How global warming has made the Artic more accessible and everyone is trying to claim control over the trade routes. Why you may ask? I found it interesting that the answer is because of the riches everyone believes is under the ice. You can read more at;
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1663445,00.html
For my blog I used Time once again, I had to for my sanity. I went to the clear politics blogs, I don't know why. I think I have had enough politics with the up coming election and all. Anyways The first blog was about the who else than Hillary Clinton and complaints from organized labor, about Mark Penn her chief strategist.... It went on to say Obama leads Clinton and Thompson surges at http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/. The blog was outdated as this article was dated June 5, 2007.
Compare and contrast the e-zine and the blog.
To me the two are similar in many ways. They're not too fancy, as each individual article has only a picture or two. The writing was the same, as it was easy to read. Both are just about the topic being discussed with not all the frills of pictures. They both had a lot of ads. I would say the blogs are easier to access because they are free. The e-zine are not usually free. They usually want your life history to view a free e-zine, so they can continue to bug you until you subscribe to one. Time actually gave you more information than the normal e-zine. I assume this is because they're a big corporation and can afford to do a better job. The e-zine and the blog both covered the elections and had some of the same articles. I trusted the Time e-zines and blogs a little more than other sites I have visited for the obvious reason of it's history of being around for a long time. I would trust the source from a newspaper or magazine much more than a blog because the people on the blog sites have nothing to loose. A newspaper is out to make money and has to be creditable and so do their employees, in order to keep their jobs. I would trust an e-zine magazine a little more than a blog because they already have some sort of business established.
The more assignments and the more research I do, the more I feel the material I've seen strongly supports my thesis. The computer is a good tool that so many use today. It seems that everybody has something to say and does so with the advantage of technology that we're so lucky to have. I still believe that media is the best source for information and the one most enjoyable for me.
My research is going a little better the more I do it. This time I went to a known source such as Time Magazine. I found my ezine rather quickly and it had one beautiful amazing picture and was about how for the first time in recorded history the Northwest Passage was ice free all the way from the Pacific to the Atlantic. How global warming has made the Artic more accessible and everyone is trying to claim control over the trade routes. Why you may ask? I found it interesting that the answer is because of the riches everyone believes is under the ice. You can read more at;
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1663445,00.html
For my blog I used Time once again, I had to for my sanity. I went to the clear politics blogs, I don't know why. I think I have had enough politics with the up coming election and all. Anyways The first blog was about the who else than Hillary Clinton and complaints from organized labor, about Mark Penn her chief strategist.... It went on to say Obama leads Clinton and Thompson surges at http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/. The blog was outdated as this article was dated June 5, 2007.
Compare and contrast the e-zine and the blog.
To me the two are similar in many ways. They're not too fancy, as each individual article has only a picture or two. The writing was the same, as it was easy to read. Both are just about the topic being discussed with not all the frills of pictures. They both had a lot of ads. I would say the blogs are easier to access because they are free. The e-zine are not usually free. They usually want your life history to view a free e-zine, so they can continue to bug you until you subscribe to one. Time actually gave you more information than the normal e-zine. I assume this is because they're a big corporation and can afford to do a better job. The e-zine and the blog both covered the elections and had some of the same articles. I trusted the Time e-zines and blogs a little more than other sites I have visited for the obvious reason of it's history of being around for a long time. I would trust the source from a newspaper or magazine much more than a blog because the people on the blog sites have nothing to loose. A newspaper is out to make money and has to be creditable and so do their employees, in order to keep their jobs. I would trust an e-zine magazine a little more than a blog because they already have some sort of business established.
The more assignments and the more research I do, the more I feel the material I've seen strongly supports my thesis. The computer is a good tool that so many use today. It seems that everybody has something to say and does so with the advantage of technology that we're so lucky to have. I still believe that media is the best source for information and the one most enjoyable for me.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
ENTREPRENEURIAL BLOG
Summarize each of the 3 research links you found above.
I went to an entrepreneur's web site named LuLu's Vintage. Her business is selling vinatage clothing and her blog offers additional information for the best selecton of vintage clothing and accessories on other websites. She writes how she conduts her daily business like this:
MANLY MONDAYS- Good men's vintage clothing is hard to come by. So, to help solve the conundrum of where to find great men's vintage, I scour the internet and find pieces to share with you. WEDNESDAYS- I find ten Collectibles & Housewares items to share with you. Three of them I post on my blog, the other seven are posted on my Squidoo lens. FASHION FRIDAYS- New clothing that has been influenced by old clothing. So much of what is being designed, shown in magazines and sold today is based on vintage clothing. WEEKENDS- I post Vintage Advertisements from my vintage magazine collection. You will find that some of the ads are works of art, many are amusing and often times they are great inspiration for retro makeup and hair styles.
This was a great website if your looking for vintage clothing. It included pictures, links and ebay auctioned items. http://www.lulusvintage.com/2005/11/about_lulus_vin.html
The next site I visited was http://supportblackbusiness.blogspot.com/. It was a blog page for small business support. She describes how blogging can be used to promote your own business and make money. One of the benefits of blogging is that you don't have to carry inventory and you can focus on the design of your product. She describes how blogs are being used for advertising to promote the sale of merchandise.
Blogs Will Change Your Business http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_18/b3931001_mz001.htm
This article discusses how prevelent blogging is today and what an importabt tool it is. If you don't use it you would be foolish and out of the loop. There are some 9 million blogs with 40 thousand new ones popping up each day. He talks about there being no laws for blogging and how everyone can become a potiental publisher. For example, in January of this year the Vice Chairman of GM, Bob Lutz, launched his own blog titled "Fastlane". This blog lead to GM canceling $10 million in adverstising from the LA Times; thus using blogging for direct advertising with the consumer as well as saving millions of dollars.
What other options would an entrepreneur have to market themselves to their audience? What things can a blog do for an entrepreneur that these other means of self-promotion can not? Do you feel blogs are an effective alternative to these methods? Why or why not?
Options for entrepreneur to market themselves are the old fashion ways of using the newspaper, magazines, television, billboards and radio.
Blogging can save the entrepreneur lots of money in advertising because IT'S FREE! It also helps to build a "grass roots" acceptance for their products quickly as links can be spread fast.
I feel that for saving money, they can be very effective for the business owner. But, they can also be harmful to a business with the ability to quickly spread negative information. With the vast number of blogs today, getting someone to "visit" your blog can be a challenge, but it can also be rewarding if it reaches millions of potential customers.
Did the research material you found support or not support your original thesis (posted in module 1)? To help you quantify your research, rate the preceding question on a scale of 1 to 5.
On a scale of 1 to 5 of my original thesis, my rating would be a 5 based upon my research. My thesis is supported by the popularity of blogging, especially in the business world.
I went to an entrepreneur's web site named LuLu's Vintage. Her business is selling vinatage clothing and her blog offers additional information for the best selecton of vintage clothing and accessories on other websites. She writes how she conduts her daily business like this:
MANLY MONDAYS- Good men's vintage clothing is hard to come by. So, to help solve the conundrum of where to find great men's vintage, I scour the internet and find pieces to share with you. WEDNESDAYS- I find ten Collectibles & Housewares items to share with you. Three of them I post on my blog, the other seven are posted on my Squidoo lens. FASHION FRIDAYS- New clothing that has been influenced by old clothing. So much of what is being designed, shown in magazines and sold today is based on vintage clothing. WEEKENDS- I post Vintage Advertisements from my vintage magazine collection. You will find that some of the ads are works of art, many are amusing and often times they are great inspiration for retro makeup and hair styles.
This was a great website if your looking for vintage clothing. It included pictures, links and ebay auctioned items. http://www.lulusvintage.com/2005/11/about_lulus_vin.html
The next site I visited was http://supportblackbusiness.blogspot.com/. It was a blog page for small business support. She describes how blogging can be used to promote your own business and make money. One of the benefits of blogging is that you don't have to carry inventory and you can focus on the design of your product. She describes how blogs are being used for advertising to promote the sale of merchandise.
Blogs Will Change Your Business http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_18/b3931001_mz001.htm
This article discusses how prevelent blogging is today and what an importabt tool it is. If you don't use it you would be foolish and out of the loop. There are some 9 million blogs with 40 thousand new ones popping up each day. He talks about there being no laws for blogging and how everyone can become a potiental publisher. For example, in January of this year the Vice Chairman of GM, Bob Lutz, launched his own blog titled "Fastlane". This blog lead to GM canceling $10 million in adverstising from the LA Times; thus using blogging for direct advertising with the consumer as well as saving millions of dollars.
What other options would an entrepreneur have to market themselves to their audience? What things can a blog do for an entrepreneur that these other means of self-promotion can not? Do you feel blogs are an effective alternative to these methods? Why or why not?
Options for entrepreneur to market themselves are the old fashion ways of using the newspaper, magazines, television, billboards and radio.
Blogging can save the entrepreneur lots of money in advertising because IT'S FREE! It also helps to build a "grass roots" acceptance for their products quickly as links can be spread fast.
I feel that for saving money, they can be very effective for the business owner. But, they can also be harmful to a business with the ability to quickly spread negative information. With the vast number of blogs today, getting someone to "visit" your blog can be a challenge, but it can also be rewarding if it reaches millions of potential customers.
Did the research material you found support or not support your original thesis (posted in module 1)? To help you quantify your research, rate the preceding question on a scale of 1 to 5.
On a scale of 1 to 5 of my original thesis, my rating would be a 5 based upon my research. My thesis is supported by the popularity of blogging, especially in the business world.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Blog or Bologna
I think blogging has significantly impacted the print journalism industry. In my research I found pros and cons like with anything else. One thing I did not find, was a site that would state information being read in blogs was factual. One site did how ever mention that you can't trust what they say on TV in the news.
I think there is an audience out there and to me it's geared towards a younger group. Kids are always on the computer and if there's a hot site then they'll at least check it out. So the key is to WOW people, be captivating or you'll just get lost out there with the many other bloggers. Is that true journalism?
The good thing about blogging is it gives some really talented people the chance to share their information without all the red tape or constantly being rejected. The bad thing is not all people are responsible or creditable. So you never know if the information you receive is true or it's someone just looking for attention. It's an easy way out, you by pass the gatekeeper and you don't need to get the quality education needed to be a good journalist.
I think there is an audience out there and to me it's geared towards a younger group. Kids are always on the computer and if there's a hot site then they'll at least check it out. So the key is to WOW people, be captivating or you'll just get lost out there with the many other bloggers. Is that true journalism?
The good thing about blogging is it gives some really talented people the chance to share their information without all the red tape or constantly being rejected. The bad thing is not all people are responsible or creditable. So you never know if the information you receive is true or it's someone just looking for attention. It's an easy way out, you by pass the gatekeeper and you don't need to get the quality education needed to be a good journalist.
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