EDU 585-Week 2 Reflecting on What a Blog is

To be honest, I really have never put much thought into blogging, blogs, what a blog is, etc. I never really cared. I always thought a blog was just another form of social media. Something where people can talk about their thoughts, what they've been doing, where they have been, etc. on a platform that can handle much more text and characters. Just another outlet for people to talk about themselves, and show the world how unique they are. If I heard the phrase "I write a blog", I would immediately assume it was something among the lines of a young mother blogging about all of the "amazing" gluten-free, soy-free, sugar-free, taste-free foods she was feeding to her unvaccinated children. Or some young tech guy that posts all about the newest tech gadgets he has been able to get his hands on first, before anyone else. I guess you could say I have always thought of blogging as just another form of boasting or bragging. I think I am starting to scrape the top of the iceberg in learning that blogging is more than just yet another form of boastful social media. 

In the first article by Susan Oxnevad, Blogging to Learn, she starts out by saying she actually learns more from blogging than any other professional activity. I had to stop there and think about that. How could she learn more from something she wrote and thought of than from some other professional development??? In what context? Was she only talking about learning more about herself and her methods through deep, thoughtful reflections? Was she just talking about learning and growing from reflecting, or was she talking about actually learning and gaining new information about the world and methods around her?

Reading on, she does mention how blogging does in fact involve engaging in research. Maybe I already knew this, or maybe I didn't really think of blogging as involving research. I still think I assumed blogs were all based solely around the writer's own thoughts and opinions, not anything researched-based. 

So now my wheels are turning and I am thinking about how blogs might be more of a form of one's personal thoughts/opinions, but can be backed by research.

One thing the author mentioned that really stuck with me, is that a blog is to be used as a tool for yourself, however, you want to write it as if it is for an audience. Some people may use journals for themselves, but the writing may not be of good quality since it was only intended for them. We can kind of think of a blog as a public journal, so to say. 

In the next article by George Couros, The Principle of Change, I must say that it was reassuring when he said that blog posts do not need to be long, intricate college essays. A blog means writing. Writing can be intimidating for some. If every blog post was required to be like a college essay, blogging could feel much more burdensome, and possibly more like a forced assignment of sorts. 

I have never really gotten into reading blogs, but a cousin of mine had one where she wrote about her life in NYC. The author of the article mentions focusing on a consistency of posting blogs, as opposed to trying to blog all of the time. This had made me think of my cousin's blog. She started out posting a couple of times a week, and I had found her posts to be entertaining. Then she must have used up all of her resources or fun thoughts too soon, then started to post just once or twice a month. I lost interest in her blog. Even though the content was still interesting, her inconsistencies in posting turned me off and made me lose interest. 

The article's author always stresses for blog posters to not overthink their blog, and to do it for themselves!

After reading these two articles, I can say that I do look forward to learning from blogging. I have always thought that people blog what they have already learned, but to learn from blogging takes a different perspective that I look forward to experiencing. I think another key is to not get stressed about it. Yes, a blog is a form of writing, but it does not have to be scary or intimidating. It seems blogging comes from thoughts and ideas from within, reflective, as to which then prompt research and clarification. Blogs do not have to be long papers, however we may not want to post a blog that is only a sentence or two. And lastly, a blog is for OURSELF, but we want to write as if it were for an audience!