Reflections on Blogging

Hello all,

I think it is only fair that I share that this is my first experience with blogging.  This first week or so has made me think a lot more about blogging, following, and so forth.  I had to put a lot of thought in before creating this blog.  I had to spend a lot of time on what I wanted my blog's name to be, if I wanted my blog to be private, and the pros and cons of blogging in general.  This is what I came up with.

My blog’s name was one of the first considerations I had to make.  I had to decide on a name that would bring in an audience and also state the purpose of the blog.  I first tried to understand exactly what it was I wanted my blog to do.  I needed to understand what kind of posts I would make.  I came to the conclusion that my blog would be concerning my current life, that of a student.  My blog would deal with my classes and my interests.  My interests align with those of many college students.  That is why I decided to give my blog the name “The Student’s Blog.”  I hoped that other students would read it in order to find advice on college life or relatable experiences.

Privacy settings were my second choice to make.  Did I want to open it to the public, or only allow my friends to view it?  I weighed the positives and negatives of both.  To open it to the public would give me all the benefits that a blog comes with, which I will discuss later in this paper.  However, closing my blog off would give me more power to control it and ensure that my blog met its goals and I would not need to fear “others.”    I decided to make my blog public so that I could get the full blog experience.  After the semester, I will determine whether or not I want to keep the blog alive.

This unit also made me question what are the pros and cons of blogs.  The pros I came to were professionally-motivated.  Blogs are a way for me to get my name out there as an aspiring writer.  I have read many interviews with writers that suggest blogs as a good step into becoming a writer.  Blogs also seem to be therapeutic.  It is a place someone can record their thoughts and opinions and share them with others.  It can be a digital journal.  There are cons to blogs as well.  They serve as a digital record and if something unsavory is put on it, it can come back to hurt the author in the professional world.  One must always review what they are posting onto their blog and consider the consequences it may create.

These are just some of the things I looked at while making my blog.  I now have a firmer grasp on this internet phenomenon and I am glad for it.  I am excited to continue using it and look forward to making the decision of whether or not it is something I want to keep up with in the future.