When I think of a blogger, I think of someone in a fancy coffee shop. This person has a coffee steaming to their left. Perhaps it’s a half-cream, no fat, whipped topping, chocoltey, not so chocolately, blah, blah blah, that cost them fifteen dollars and their first born. The remnants of a scone sit on a fancy small plate beside them. The blogger’s company is a laptop perched on a very small, and not so practical size table. The person is staring at the computer screne, reading up on the latest news of the day. They ignore the people around them, who engage in laughter and conversation as they sip their drinks and talk about their days to their chosen company. The bloggers knows terms like “http” and “twitter”. They check their various accounts, they read what others have to say, and then they type away on their own keyboard until their own “gobbily gook” is expressed on their blog.
I’m not at a coffee shop. I’m actually in the kitchen of the student house I’m living in. To my left is an “Old El Paso Taco Kit” and a jar of salsa. A few feet away from me is a 1 lb. and a half of ground beef slowly browning in a “Breast Cancer Pink” frying pan. My roommate and I went “halfs” on supper tonight. I’m not dressed in a nice shirt and jeans. I’m wearing a black tank-top and a pair of sweatpants I don’t think I’ve washed in a week. My hair is up in an “anything BUT fabulous” style of ponytail and bobby pins, and I’m pretty sure my breath isn’t a bed of roses.
I’m not the stereotype that I thought bloggers were, and just like my views of bloggers, my opinions on Web 2.0 and all those sites filled with resources for bloggers…has changed. (Da da daaaaa!!!!).
I was exposed to blogging last year. My teacher of “Online Journalism”, Wayne, said I was a natural. He exposed me to a world where I could have a creative outlet. I enjoyed this. A few times through the summer, on my spare time, I crafted a couple entries and published them to my “Vox” account (http://lauramacduff.vox.com). I have paid attention to my account at Vox. I’ve written a few entries and read what was going on in my neighbourhood. Somewhere between the pass and the fail mark in that class, I found myself on sites such as del.ici.ous and flickr, and this year I have been exposed to Twitter.
Why do we need these? The blogging sites, I understand. But really…why must I have several different sites going at the same time for something I can all get done at my friendly, neighbourhood, Facbook account. I can post pictures on my Facbeook and all my friends can see. Why do I need to upload pics onto a site specifically for that? Why must I have a site completely devoted to updating me on the latest?
I just don’t see the point. I don’t understand the need. My practicle blogging self doesn’t see the joy in knowing that all the work that I do on Facebook I have to repeat using a million different websites that all do the same thing.
