Literary Kinds

"When I was in high school, I edited the school newspaper and wrote a biweekly column for it. In the inaugural column, I said something like I can't guarantee anyone that what I write will be interesting or useful to any particular reader. What I can and will guarantee is that I will write only about things that have proven interesting to me and that I think might prove interesting to others, and be as clear as I can about both why they are interesting to me and might be to others. That's the spirit intended here, with the addition of active exchange.

--Paul Grobstein’s blog touches on his notion of involving the reader, that he thinking about his readers and that they might find his blog engaging; he wants to start a conversation and is interested to hear what other people think.  As I see it, this is the ideal blogger mindset; someone who is conscientious and considers the reader rather than rambling on.

So today's conversation about blogs, audiences, and interactivity or lack thereof got me thinking.

A lot of us wanted to be more drawn in to a blog, to be more able to have a conversation with the writer. The questions asked by GeekyMom, once we'd identified them (read: once Anne had shown them to us) seemed to appeal to several members of the class.

 We began class with a short, yet involved, discussion on plagiarism and the values of originality and authenticity. Someone claimed that plagiarism is not a new issue, but that the Internet makes it more evident and possibly augments the problem. Some of us worried that plagiarism taken to its extreme will limit the flow of ideas, but this was countered with the argument that if everyone plagiarized, there would be no new ideas. We also debated the difference between authenticity and originality. It was suggested that authenticity requires effort and individual thought. Some of us suggested that a work is only authentic if it somehow reinterprets or builds upon others' ideas rather than directly taking them without further contribution.

I'm in agreement with the general opinion that "Geeky Mom"'s blog was harder to relate to than some other things that we've read, due to its content.  However, the references to WoW did grab my attention, because it reminded me of the video game obsessions of my brother and guy friends. It was odd to read about role playing online games and what to cook for dinner in the same blog, but I guess that reflects Geeky Mom's description of what a blog is..."The author's voice is more of the defining factor."

-I agree with your allegory of a blog as a benevolent dictatorship as opposed to the democracy of discussion boards.  The comment immediately following your post disagrees, and the author of that comment brings up good points which illustrate how blogs can foster discussion (threaded posts)

-WoW talk turned me off

The "Geeky Mom" blog presents a wide range of subjects, from parenting to university politics. The blog itself is not only a platform of thought, but also a daily diary. "Geeky Mom" regales us with stories of daily life, being a working mother, etc. The comments flow from the same river, not making discussion, but affirming or asking questions based on the post.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/world/europe/12germany.html?em

Great NY Times article about copyright, remixing, plagiarism, new genres and new media. 

Why is she selling her book? Has she copyrighted it? Isn’t that hypocritical considering her literary methods and ideology?

Will she get that literary prize? What is the committee considering? Who will lose to her if she wins?

Were there copyrights on her sources? Did she violate any copyright law or is she exploring a gray area?

How are the works that she used as sources fairing, are they popular? Have they benefited from her fame? From people connecting the their work to hers?
 

Like teal, I was amused that both Tim Burke and Geeky Mom talk a lot about video games.  Personally, I find video games hopelessly boring because I just don't care about fighting, completing tasks, or really doing anything in a game.  Then again, I also find card games and board games boring, so that may just be me.  Either way, the mentions of gaming in both blogs were endearing to me.  I remember Anne mentioning at the beginning of the semester that video games could be a "genre" to explore, and I wonder if maybe these blogs make it look like blogging and gaming go hand-in-hand or something.  Well, I do think games have a lot of imaginative potential; I just can't get into them.