Literary Kinds

 For the first few minutes of class we discussed the impact of Hannah's visit as well as how we can handle future visits. The class had little input as to what could be changed for future guest speakers because it seemed as though many of us believed the first visit had been rather enlightening and interesting. Hannah's visit to the class not only allowed for our questions to be answered, but also made some of the students remember trips of their own.

We started our class today with afterthoughts about the visit from Hannah last week. Sweetp commented that she was able to relive her trip to New Zealand when reading Hannah's blog, and xhan liked how the images made the descriptions come alive and inspired her to perhaps write a blog when she next travels.

 how do I access the remix movie Anne said she'd like us to watch?

"Valpo Vida" was a blog that really captured my interest.  The use of images was done very well--there were just enough to give the reader a better sense of what they were reading about without it becoming a tumblr-style blog that consists only of photos.  Also, I thought the style of writing was great.  Each entry was a great summary of obviously extensive activities.

Reading Hannah's blog, I was most struck by the contrast between nature and technology.  She was exploring many exotic places and doing lots of interesting outdoors activities, like climbing sand dunes and volcanoes.  In general, she was very actively involved with the world around her.  However, she was sharing her experiences online.  I think this blog exemplifies anything that is good about the internet, and that it does not have to isolate you from interacting with the outside world and the people in it.  Also, the use of pictures was excellent.

Class began with a question brought up by aybala50 about whether or not a blog can be classified. Are there any guidelines or categories that could help us determine a sorting system? Is a blog more of a community of people working together, like how our class functions, or is it more of a tool for the individual? This led to the discussion of last week's readings, and how Jo(e) poses a similar question; Is a blog a free exchange of ideas?

When I first considered the idea of creating a anthology of blogs I have to admit I completely agreed with the Boxer that the idea was dreadful. In fact, I did not even think it was possible. Blogs have their own unique style which differs greatly from that of a book and trying to coerce the two concepts together would not result smoothly. After reading “Valpo Vida” my opinion did not change. In Hannah's blogs there were so many different elements that came together to form a cohesive and enjoyable experience for the reader following the blog. Her blog contained humor, cultural history, art, personal anecdotes and much more in a way that although it was not formally organized, it still flowed and made sense.

First, some questions that arose as I read "Valpo Vida" : 1) I noticed that you apologized to your readers/noted that this was your personal log. Did you feel this was a duty? An unconscious decision, or was there reasoning? 2) Your blog was very much a log, and you did not mention personal details as much as events. Was this conscious? How do you feel about bloggers who do put feelings and more 'intimate' details on their sites? 3) Your blog was a travel journal, and I assumed that you began it as a way to keep in touch/keep your family and friends up to date on your time abroad. Is this true? If so (and please correct me if I am wrong), how do you feel about our class reading it?

In her "Blogs," Sarah Boxer seems to love the 'foul mouths and tough hides' of the bloggers she reads, citing sarcastic apologies and new Internet words as reasons blogs are superior to print media. To me, these traits embody the worst of blogging-- surely a refusal to admit other points of view is exactly the failing of print media that the Internet is most prepared to rectify? The discussion we started in class on Thursday about writing academically in public seemed to me to suggest that the open conversation and expanded audience that the Internet makes possible would push authors to write for a response, and to open their ideas up to comment from readers.