Yay or Nay for Anonymity?

For me personally, if someone writes on a type of media anonymously, it does not really affect me but if I had to choose between reading something and knowing who wrote it or not, I would prefer reading something by someone who is writing anonymously. I feel this way because for me, with my personal experience of reading things that are written by someone anonymously, usually the material they write about is more relate-able, and therefore I like reading it more. I do not follow any blogs on a consistent basis so I will use a Twitter example. On Twitter, I follow a “sorry not sorry” account. Now this person posts anonymously, I have no idea who made this account or who puts out these tweets. What I like about this account is that this person puts out tweets that have the tone of “everybody is thinking it, but no one wants to say it out loud”. The tweets are also usually funny as well, so I also read it for that aspect. Anyway, for example, one tweet this account put out recently was ” Kinda wanna look good in a bikini kinda wanna eat three burritos from chipotle kinda pissed I have to pick one”. Now this tweet is not that embarrassing but it is still relate-able. This tweet was relate-able for me when I read it because I work out and want to look good for when summer rolls around, but at the same time I am Italian and I really like Italian food haha. This is a thought I might not say out loud in front of my girlfriends because I do not want to be looked at as the girl who does not care about her figure and just cares about food lol What is nice about this account and these tweets is that I can read them and think to myself “aw it’s nice to know someone feels the same way as I do”. I do not have know who they are, it is almost better not knowing. It’s just kind of a silent communication type thing that is reassuring at times. That is how I feel about anonymous writing. People will write about things that everyone is too afraid to talk about out loud, and that is reassuring for people to read because it is helpful to know there are other people out there who might be going through the same thing as you.

I do not like anonymous writing when it comes to people bashing other people through a media. That just is not nice and I think if someone has something to say to someone else, they should have the courage to say it to their face. Other than that, I am all for anonymous writing!

Hyperlocal Blog Project

Group: Kim, John, Angie and Nicole

Where is the community: small community in Kansas

Who lives there: blue collared, suburban people

How many people live there: 1,200 people

Name of town: Little Falls, Kansas

What is the community like: It is filled with blue collar factory workers. They are also a very religious group of people.

Hyperlocal Blog Details:

– Tabs would include: Local Businesses, Emergencies, Religion, News, Local Activities, Job Openings, Classifieds, School Announcements/Education, Kids, Live Chat with the Mayor, Food, Ask Questions Tab

– Calendar – We would include a calendar so people can see when events are an also see new visibly as it comes in, we would post that in the calendar as well.

– Tag cloud – We would include this so people in the community can see what is popular and trending.

– We would have ads to promote local businesses

– We would post as current information comes in, so that can range from daily to weekly.

 

 

 

Live Blogging

For me, live blogging can definitely change my opinion on TV shows. For example, I love Game of Thrones and in last night’s episode something big occurred. Luckily, I was able to watch the show and see the event unfold as it occurred, but if I had been unable to watch it, there is chance it could of been spoiled for me on Twitter. I look at the #GoT hashtag sometimes, and people definitely used it last night to talk about this big event. If I had missed the show, I would of purposely not looked at that hashtag to make sure I did not spoil anything for myself. I looked at today and even one GOT fan tweeted about not looking at Twitter on Sunday nights if you do not want to read spoilers lol. I think the live blogging is good, in this specific example for after the show, because you can talk with people about the episode and view other peoples’ reactions to huge events. So on a positive note, live blogging can make you perhaps more passionate about something, like a TV show like GOT, because you can connect with others who are also passionate about it through live blogging, and you can learn more about it through live blogging. On the negative side, in this example, you can easily spoil things for yourself, especially in GOT. A lot of people read the books so there are already spoilers out there, but if you miss an episode, there is even more because everyone talks about it, especially on Twitter.

Overall some positives and negatives for live blogging in general for me would be the following.

Positives:

– They can keep you updated in a quick and simple fashion.

– Live blog forums like Twitter, can keep you up to date on the most trending topics. You can be aware of the most current news or events.

– Live blogs that incorporate Twitter comments instead of regular comments at the bottom of an article can be more interactive. A lot of people use Twitter nowadays, so incorporating that into blogs can make it more fun and interactive for people. I know I find live blogs more fun when I can Tweet something about it or through it.

– Live blogs have the potential to be more objective. This can be nice because then you can receive a more accurate straight account of an event, rather than a opinionated one.

 

Negatives:

– They can give people an obsession, whether it’s with live blogging or whatever they are passionate about that is showcased on a live blog.

– They can distract people from their work. People can really play with that work and leisure line when it comes to watching live blogs in a work environment.

– Live blog info may not be as detailed and thorough. Therefore, they can potentially misinform a reader.

– They can be a spoiler for readers, if you are reading a live blog that is about movies, tv or books.

 

Critical Response

This first thing I noticed and found interesting, is that this article about live blogging, takes place in a live blog. You can see there is a header with the title “Greenslade Blog” above the beginning of the article. This blog is written by and updated by Roy Greenslade, a professor at City University in London. He teaches journalism there and was an editor for the Daily Mirror from 1990-1991. His blog is a live news blog. I found this interesting because it’s cool we are receiving the inside scoop on live blogging from a live blogger. Just a side note 🙂

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The Positives and Negatives of Live Blogging

What are the positives of live blogging?

– For starters, live blogs are getting 300% more views and 233% more visitors than conventional online articles on the same subject. They are getting more attention and are more popular for internet users and news lovers.

– Greenslade also points out, that based on the study, live blogs provide commentary and analysis alongside breaking news rather than summarizing the event after it is over. Live blogs make news more interesting. People do not want just the straight facts of an event, that is boring. Adding in some commentary and analysis makes news articles more interesting for people to read.

– This study also points out that readers prefer live blogs because they are more objective. It’s more conversational, and feels more real, not like a script people are reading off.

– It is convenient! People are following a news story from beginning to end, on a single page without having to leave their computer screen.

-Live updates are quick! The study found that publishing updates take every 20 minutes for six hours straight.

– They are likely to include readers’ tweets  as opposed to comments at the bottom. I think this is really smart. Social media is really popular, so to incorporate that into live blogging probably helps make live blogs more popular and like-able for readers.

What are the negatives of live blogging?

– One of the study conductors from City University, Dr. Neil Thurman, is quoted making the following  statement on live blogging: “Live blogs provide this ‘news-at-work’ audience with what they’re looking for: regular follow-up information on breaking news in ‘bite-sized nuggets’ which they can read – as several readers told us – while they are supposed to be working.” The bit that made a point of live blogging being potentially negative was in the end of this statement, “while they are supposed to be working”. Since live blogs are more popular, are they distracting workers more than usual? Are live blogs blurring the lines between work and leisure? Potentially!

– The fact that there are such quick updates leaves the chance for hasty, and not as thorough or detailed information.

– Being on a computer screen can be bounding. You might not be reporting all the value you could be receiving from reporting on the spot.

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Based on this article and study, positives seem to out-weigh the negatives for live blogging! To me, personally, if I were a journalist I would invest my time in creating a live news blog. It seems like a great and fun way to report information, and to get your writing out there in a popular form of media. Or if I was someone who was super interested in live news, I would definitely follow a live blog. Live blogging looks to be great advancement in media, so if you intend to participate make sure to keep up and blog on!

Blog Networks

I would consider joining a blog network. Blogging networks are great for getting your own blog more attention and just giving you some credentials when it comes to blogging. You can also learn from other bloggers by being in a blog network and become a better blogger yourself. You are open to different styles and techniques and can apply things you learn to your own writing and blogging. You can also build relationships by joining a  blog network. You can meet other bloggers and share their blogs through your social networks and they could return the favor and do the same for you to help promote your blog. Through promotion like that, you can also build your blog’s SEO. So blog networks not only provide relationship building but also SEO building. I would definitely consider joining a blog network because there are a lot of benefits that help make you a better blogger and that help make your own personal blog more popular.

A blog network I could see myself fitting in would be the POPSUGAR blog we looked at in class. I can see myself writing for this blog and being apart of their blog network because they cover many topics that I am interested in, especially fitness. I can see myself being a collaborative fitness blogger for POPSUGAR. I could also see myself in this blog network because they allow guest bloggers to have direct links back to their own blogs. I really like that because not only do you get to guest blog for POPSUGAR and get your writing out on a popular blogging site, but you get to promote your own blog at the same time and really establish yourself as an experienced blogger. I also could see myself being apart of the POPSUGAR blogging network because it is has content more geared towards women. When I write/blog, it is easier for me to write to a women focused audience being that I am woman, so that is another reason I can see myself being apart of this network in particular.

The bloggers within the POPSUGAR blogging network can support each other by sharing each others’ posts. Each post has a share option at the bottom, so they can support one another in that way. They can also write positive comments on each others’ posts and promote one another through their own social links or on their own personal blogs. There are many options for these collaborative bloggers to help one another and get their content and sites out there and exposed!

What is Social Media?

Social media is media that consists of websites and phone applications that people can use to network and connect socially with other people. Are blogs a form of social media? I would say yes! Blogs are on the internet and allow people to network and connect socially. Blogs allow the networking and connection through the comments people are allowed to make on blog posts. If a blog does not have comment capabilities then I would say it is not a form of social media. If people cannot interact with the blog through commenting and offering opinions, then it is not a form of social media. If blogs do contain commenting features and allow people to interact with the blog, then it is a form of social media. People can post all types of content on blogs and have others respond and comment, thus creating social networking and connecting. I think blogs are also connected to social media because blogs use social media to promote their posts. I write for the HerCampus – Rutgers club, it’s an online blog for college students that gives advice and news. The way we promote our posts is through social media. We have a Facebook account and a Twitter account which we use to give our readers notifications of when the newest posts are up. This helps get our blog more hits. So blogs are not just a form of social media. Blogs also use social media to even further their own social networking and connecting. Some blogs will even contain social links right on their page. I think when blogs contain their own social networks, that also makes them a form of social media. If blogs use social media sites to have people connect with their blogs, they are using social networking to create social networking and connecting on their own blogs. Blogs are clearly a form of social media in more ways then one!

6th Annotated Bibliography

http://thenextweb.com/apps/2013/08/16/best-blogging-services/1/

“The 15 Best Blogging and Publishing Platforms on the Internet Today. Which One Is for You?” TNW Network All Stories RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2014.

This website I have listed gives an account of the 15 best blogging platforms and it is dated in 2013. The first one on the list is WordPress. This site gives a description of each blogging platform along with a list of pros and cons. This site will be useful to me because now I will have a sources like this from 2012, 2013 and 2014. They all list WordPress as first, so this will be good evidence to my theory that WordPress is the best and most popular blogging platform. It also helps show that WordPress has been popular multiple years. Like the other sites, it lists other blogging platforms and gives reasons why people like them as well. This site will be very useful for my research.

5th Annotated Bibliography

http://lifehacker.com/5878847/which-blogging-platform-should-i-use/all

“Which Blogging Platform Should I Use?” Lifehacker. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2014.

This website I have listed here is a site where they have a reader asking which blog platform they should use, and the site, Lifehacker, responds with which blog platforms are the best, why they are good, and what makes them different from one another. This site also gives questions bloggers should answer to help them pick a blogging platform. This will be useful for my research because it tells me what bloggers ask themselves to help pick a blogging platform, what goes into a good blogging platform. From there the site gives descriptions on different blogging platforms, listing pros and what makes them different from other blogging platforms. The only thing I will need to take into consideration when using this source is that is dated in the year 2012. Even though 2012 is still relatively recent, I will have to make sure I use it properly. I can use this to back up my argument that WordPress was popular in 2012 and that it is still currently popular in 2014.

4th Annotated Bibliography

What’s the Best Platform to Start a Blog On? (Our List of Best Blogging Sites for 2024)

“THE Best Places to Blog (Updated 2014 Edition).” Dear Blogger RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2014.

My topic for my research paper is why WordPress has made blogs more popular in general. Part of my research is going to be looking into information on websites that host blogs, other than WordPress. This website I have listed here helps me with that. It is an updated 2014 list of websites that are great for holding blogs. Along with that, this site provides an “About” for each blog and a set of statistics that include things like “recommended for,” “founded,” “founder,” “total users,” “total employees,” “pros,” “cons,” “costs,” and a personally opinion on the blog by the author of this site. This website will be very useful to me. It gives information on multiple blog hosting sites. This will make it very easy for me to compare other sites to WordPress and prove my theory that WordPress is currently the most popular blog hosting site.

3rd Annotated Biblography

Website Link: http://www.make-a-web-site.com/wordpress-best-choice-website-2014/

Zaborszky, Pete. “Why WordPress Is the Best Choice for a Website in 2014.” RSS. Webmaster Resources, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. My topic for my research paper is again, why WordPress has made blogs more popular. In order to make that argument I am going to need to conduct research on WordPress. The website I have listed above is a website using WordPress and this particular post gives reasons why WordPress is the best choice for a website platform. I think this is a useful source because I am receiving insight from a site that uses WordPress and getting an inside perspective on why current WordPress users like using WordPress. It also lists specific features and reasons that I can do more research on. I can take those and see if other blog platforms have those same features and make some comparisons to other blog platforms. This will definitely be a useful source for my paper!