HW 13: The Impact of Business Blogging

I believe that the impact of blogging on business is more important than the impact of blogging on communication that is not business or profit-related. Many people benefit from business blogging such as the customers, the organization and the manufactures. Many customers are able to look at blogs to get information about products they are thinking about buying. Customers are also able to make blogs saying why they like certain products or businesses. As Kline states on page 223, business blogs allow customers to “sniff around for deals and partners.” Businesses are able to benefit by posting blogs about the products they sell, which can include what the products do and the price of a product compared to other business‘s products. Blogging for business actually impacts our society, where as blogging for communication, is just another form of communication. I think that our society is benefiting from business blogs and will continue to make the business world stronger.

HW 11: Applying Graff, Chapter 6 to "Making Global Voices Heard"

In an interview with Rebecca Mackinnon, “Making Global Voices Heard,” Rebecca talks about Ory Okolloh’s blog, the Kenyan Pundit blog. Ory attended Harvard Law School and is know for becoming the figure of the blogosphere in Kenyan Pundit. At http://www.kenyanpundit.com/, Ory tries to keep up with her blog daily. She resently updated today, September 25, 2007, after spending some time in Nairobi. Her post today included a link to jobs in Africa. In this blog, Ory writes about some political matters, the internet, and big brother (the show she just started watching). Ory also keeps you updated on her new daughter, by posting pictures of her and writing about her. The layout of Ory’s blog consists of a gray background on a white background with gray and red text. At the top of the page, there is a picture of a street that could be in Kenyan Pundit. Ory writes in a way that sounds like her normal speaking voice.

In Rebecca Mackinnon’s interview she says, “These young the-savvy professional Kenyans are using blogs to criticize the mainstream press…” This is not completely true now. In Ory’s blog she does criticize some political statements, but other things as well. For the most part Ory’s blog is up beat, not critical and not bias.

Of course, many will probably disagree with this assertion that Ory’s blog is not bias, but when I read through her blog it seemed that she was presenting conflicts with an open mind.

HW 9: Applying Graff, Chapter 4 to Waldman

In Ayelet Waldman’s interview “A Weblog Saved My Life Last Night, Waldman talks about her experience with blogs. She says that blogs saved her life because when she posted a suicide note, people responded and helped her through a rough time. In this interview, the interviewer states,” She says that writing so openly about her personal life was draining both her and her husband of story ideas. Plus it was taking up too much spare time--usually two or three hours a day.” By focusing on blogs, Waldman overlooks the deeper problems of family. She was so consumed with writing blogs, she overlooked the important aspects of her life, her children and husband. By spending so much time on the computer, it probably did not help with her bipolar disorder.
On the other hand I do admire when she visited the infertility and miscarriage weblogs because she sympathized with these woman and helped them through a rough time. Even though the interviewer asked “Shouldn’t you have been visiting mommy blogs or parenting blogs?” I think that her visiting these blogs, instead of the parenting blogs, does not make her a bad mother. It actually makes her a better person because she is able to help these women by relating to her own experience with her miscarriage. I think Waldman could still blog if she managed her time more efficiently. That way she could spend more time with her family and work.

HW 7: Applying Graff, Chapter 3 to "My So-Called Blog"

I think parents should monitor the things their middle-school children write online. Middle-school children range from age 11 to 14. These children should be limited to what they say on the internet for their own safety. There are creepy people in the world that prey on children these ages. These children can be tricked into giving their full name, address and phone number to strangers. Even if the child’s parents tell their child not to give out their personal information, they can still be tricked into giving it to strangers on the internet. Parents should also monitor what their children write on the internet because they should make sure they are not getting involved with drugs, alcohol and sex at such a young age. Even using fowl language should be monitored. In Emily Nussbaum’s “My So-Called Blog,” she asks a group of girls about a blog they have just read. Emily Nussbaum questions:

What kinds of things did she write about? I asked. Eating disorders? Sex? “All
of it,” they said in unison. “All of it.” (Kline and Burstein 357)

If a child is struggling with an eating disorder or hurting themselves, the parents should be aware of that so the child can get the proper care of a physician. Children do need their privacy though. I’m not saying parents should read every single thing their children write online, just enough to protect their children. That way the child still has some freedom with their writing, but they will also be protected by their parrents eyes.

HW 6: Interest Statement for Semester-Long Project

I am interested in various social computing technologies and the three I am most interested in right now are bulletin board and forums, instant messaging and email and email lists. I email every single day to catch up with my family mostly and I use instant messaging to talk to my friends. Bulletin boards and forums are also helpfully because they allow me to look at products I am interested in buying. For example I’ll look at forums for certain face washes to see if they actually work.
Three kinds of empowerment of marginalized groups that I am interested in are overcoming homophobia, issues of disabilities or learning differences and rights and empowerment of people with HIV/AIDs. I think that all three of these issues are looked over and need to be solved.
For my semester paper, I want to study a country that is not my own. I am interested in learning other countries cultures. I would like to learn more about empowerment of marginalized groups in either Africa or the Middle East.

HW 5b: Applyint Graff Chapter 2 to "I Blog, Therefore I Am"

In David Kline’s essay “I Blog, Therefore I Am,” Kline claims that blogs are going to take over the media world. On pages 242 and 243 Kline brings up a few topics that I question. Kline makes the argument that other media will have trouble succeeding in the near future because more people will be interested in blogs. He also hints at the idea that number of people reading books will decline and not many books will be around in many years to come. Kline says on page 243 “Of course, whether or not print media will survive in anything like its present form for 250 more years is anyone’s guess.” Print media, such as books, has been around for thousands of years and it doesn’t feel like it is going anywhere. People use print media everyday, such as newspapers, books, pamphlets, and magazines. Kline also continues to emphasize not just on these pages but throughout the essay, that television, newspapers and the radio will have a difficult time surviving through the new world of blogs. I don’t agree with this statement. Many people after work love to come home and relax in front of the television watching the news. Kline writes mostly in this essay of how blogs are good for the American society and how it affects the media, but some of the things he mentions in his essay I do not agree with.

HW4: Option 2, Response to "The Voice of the Customer"

In David Kline’s essay “The Voice of the Customer,” Greg Thomas is mentioned saying that “Great brands are always built on promise.” Kline then continues to state that the promise will help the product succeed. While looking around my dorm, I spotted a box of Wonka rainbow flavored nerds. The design of the nerds's box explains everything that nerds promise. The box is a bright blue with a rainbow located in the middle of the box and has colorful nerd characters jumping and parachuting on the box. By just looking at the nerds's box, I can tell that nerds promises a fun, colorful candy eating experience. My best friend and I have been eating nerds for years and ever since the fifth grade whenever we eat them together we always have “nerds fights.” Nerds not only create fun, but they also create memories. On the Wonka website, Nerds promises everything I just stated and more. Wonka promises that “The Rainbow Nerds Theatre Box packs a big flavor-filled taste sensation with the tiny, tangy, crunchy candy you can eat in your own way. Assorted Nerds flavors.” I do believe that Wonka does deliver its promise to Nerds.

HW 3: Summary of "Toward a More Participatory Democracy"

When reading “Toward a More Participatory Democracy,” written by David Kline, I felt as though blogs were more than just thoughts and ideas. Blogs were also the source of important debates, such as the media and presidential elections. It is often said that information from the media is not completely accurate. Kline stated that almost half of the American population does not fully believe everything they hear from the media, such as the news. Blogs have opened up many doors for the media world. Americans today tend to believe that most blogs have accurate information, but also present an argument. In the 2004 elections, blogs were especially big. More people visited blogs for presidential information in one month than people visited Fox News Online. Some individuals believe that blogs have no importance. One of these individuals is Frank Barnako of CBS.MarketWatch.com who stated, “Political blogging is like Ralph Nader. Nobody pays attention.” People do pay attention and trust the information of blogs. I think that blogs are still in the early stages of development. Blogs have already shown the massive impact they have on our society. It’s only a matter of time before blogs truly hit it big. I wonder though how this will affect our society in years to come. In this segment, I learned that more people trust blogs over the news. Since this is true, what will happen in the future for major news broadcasting companies? Will I guess only time will tell.

HW 2: Blogs are going Corporate

In Kline and Burstein’s, “From Cavemen to Wonkette,” the two mention twelve predictions for the future of blogs. I found the prediction that blogs will be going corporate is accurate. People use blogs to talk about almost everything including businesses. This is essentially great for the future of blogs and the customers of the businesses. Customers will be able to know what other customers think about the business’s products, services and everything else you would like to know. This could make or break a business. It only takes one bad review on a blog for the business to lose customers. I know if I saw a comment saying a certain restaurant had horrible service and awful food I would choose to go to a different restaurant. If I saw a good review on a blog I would probably take my business there. I believe that blogs have an extremely high potential for success in the near future with corporate businesses.