I kind of enjoy this feeling of "newness" that entering the blogging world has afforded me. I feel like I'm risking something with each posting -- risking in the sense that I'm not sure if I'm following conventions or not. From the first posting, I recognized in myself a lack of confidence more pronounced that typical writing assignments in a graduate class. With this posting, I am beginning to understand why -- it's because I'm not familiar with the rules; I'm a novice. There, I've said it.
What I'm beginning to understand is that the over-riding rhetorical convention of a blog is its connectedness to other media/sites/blogs. I initially understood it to be a stand-alone journal type document, but different terms from the bloggers glossary site makes clear that a blog without embedded links is no kind of blog at all.
Because of this connectedness, another guiding principle or rhetorical convention has to do with playing fairly -- being "cooperative" -- as stated by Brad Hill in Blogging for Dummies. This means telling the truth, accepting responsibility, making things "right" (or fixing mistakes), giving credit where credit is due, etc.
I also get the idea that blogs should be shorter rather than longer. This means linking to sources rather than quoting them; getting to the point quickly and with as few words a possible; linking to explanations or illustrations rather than providing them within the blog itself.
Finally, there is something about RSS strategies -- which looses me, but which I'm certain is important. I'm hoping for some clarification in class or comments to this blog...
I'm also wondering if these are conventions for all blogs or just more public kinds? I'm thinking about my sister and sister-in-law who use blogs a little differently. Are they breaking conventions or the is the "family" blog another animal altogether?
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4 comments:
The RSS thing seemed a little to techy to me too, especially when discusing conventions and blogging practices.
I too, still sometimes feel like a foreigner when it comes to blogging and am unsure of the exact conventions. I didn't even really think about all the things the authers mentioned before.
Also, I know lots of people who are using these as informal family blogs as well.
As for the RSS thing - I got the feeling that it ment being able to edit the code/format of the blogs to give people a little more flexibility than what the templates provide, but I also wasn't sure...very techy...
I agree with you that there is something different or new about the practice of actually blogging and that it takes awhile to get adjusted. I hope that our readings and discussion about blog conventions helps you to feel more comfortable with these practices.
Your point about the essential nature of links in a blog is a good one (and one that I am happy you implemented in your own post). The ability to be so interconnected with other sites/blogs/media and with commentators does allow for different kind of reading and writing experience.
Here are a couple of links to help address the questions you and others had about RSS technology:
- Video: RSS in Plain English
What is RSS
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