Blogs are internet based, simply they are renditions of a persons thoughts, findings, feelings or whatever they choose to write about published on a webpage. There are different reasons for having blogs, including entertainment, insight and academic. Content can vary depending on the topic of blog, however they can include text, pictures, videos, audio and more. An official definition of 'blog' can be found: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/blog.
''A web site containing the writer's or group of writers' own experiences, observations, opinions, etc., and often having images and links to other Web sites.''
There are debates about whether blogging should be encouraged or stopped. Academic blogging in particular falls strongly under this debate. It is up to the individual which type of medium they prefer to compose and publish their work on. Blogging for academics, on the lines of showing research and findings can be a big advantage as the simple notion of being able to delete parts of work and re-write and edit when needed without having to physically re-write or go through any stress. Being able to access your work from anywhere as long as you have the internet is also a massive advantage as there is no physical possession of the work, which means there is no chance of loss or damage. Being on the internet, it can also be accessed by anyone anywhere in the world. It can even appear on Google if the right trick words are searched. This obviously has it's own advantages and disadvantages of copyright and plagiarism, depending on the importance and content of your work.
''Why not force yourself to articulate your points in such a way that strangers could come to know your thoughts as intimately as your friends from grad school do?'' - Scott Eric Kaufman, a PhD candidate in English literature -http://organizationsandmarkets.com/2007/12/03/pros-and-cons-of-academic-blogging/
Blogging is obviously a lot more informal than classic types of academic workings, you have the opportunity to write more freely and intimately as the internet. In 2012, blogging is culturally relevant to society. There have never been more people on the internet, with an estimated 52 million users. ''http://www.newmediatrendwatch.com/markets-by-country/18-uk/148-usage-patterns-and-demographics''.
The word 'academic' is often associated with old fat men with dirty beards and wrongly buttoned shirts. An association with this stereotype is also a passion of hatred for the changing cultures of today's young people, as well as bathing. It goes without saying that 'blogging' would be an entirely new concept for them and would most probably be intimidated by this new medium of working.
''I have concerns about the notion that blogging will soon become the choice method of academic communication, or, worse yet, the notion that blogging ought to replace traditional forms of academic publishing.'' - University of Alberta law blog, Barbara Billingsley - http://thoughtcapital.wordpress.com/2007/06/27/reluctant-academic-bloggers/
What makes a good blog?
For this first assignment, we have been asked to think, research and write about what a blog is and what makes a good or a bad blog. There are masses of websites which enable you to have your own blog, whatever the content. From Academic scientific blogs to Tumblr blogs about cats, the possibilities are literally endless.
Being a free resource, you yourself are free to write whatever you want and publish whatever you want to the world. Blogs usually aren't private and can be accessed by almost anyone. The website 'blogger' however have their own policy to sustain decency and keep away from anyone being offended.
http://www.blogger.com/content.g
For this cause of showing our work, research and findings from seminars, personal research and general work on the matter, blogging is an incredibly useful tool to use. Going back and reading through and editing previous work is a big advantage to anyone as you are able to follow up and keep consistency flowing throughout the entire piece, or perhaps correct something that wasn't exactly right.
On the terms of a 'good' blog, the content must be thorough and relevant, as well as presented in a way that's easy for your audience to read. Being on the internet, the audience could literally be anyone, however your target audience ought to be thought about, with the vocabulary you choose and the tone of your writing among other things. Remedial as it seems, blogs can become boring or monotonous with just pages and pages of text. Pictures, video and audio are great tools to use to help you demonstrate your points and just to entertain and create a rapport with the audience.
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