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January 26, 2008

Why I Blog…

This is an introduction to why and how this blog came into existence!

I am on a journey of inquiry and discovery. I want to immerse myself in the blog culture and squeeze information from the community about WHY YOU BLOG and WHAT BLOGGING MEANS TO YOU.

This exploration is the culmination of four years of communication studies at George Washington University. As senior, we are required to conduct research and prepare a thesis surrounding any communication event of theory. Blogging is a part of my life with my brother’s blog and my mother’s blog. The journey their blogs have taken them on, and the journeys of all the other bloggers in the blogosphere fascinate me and have brought me here.

This blog is created for the sole purpose of creating a dialogue with and about bloggers and their blogs. Your help is imperative to my journey and any participation will be greatly appreciated. Feel free to comment on the blog, on your own blogs, or to email me privately with questions, comments, ideas or thoughts. As I said earlier, soaking up information is my goal and only you can tell me what blogging contributes to your lives.

Enjoy! I hope we can start a conversation we can all enjoy and learn from. Here are a couple of questions to think about:
1. Why do you blog?
2. What does your blogging mean to you?

Let’s talk about it!

If you’re interested, here’s the prospectus I created as a framework for my overall thesis.

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 26th, 2008 at 11:20 am and is filed under Blogs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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COMMENTS

February 5th, 2008

Alison

I guess I blog because I need some sort of way to express myself. I simply thought typing is easier than writing it in a diary that you can misplace/lost. I made my blog public so my friends can know what I am up to even when they are not around. Not to mention the fact that they can look at photos without me having to send them thru IM/email one by one. Also I think blogs allow me to show my true self,I can say and post whatever I want and do not have to care about things like whether people are interested or not. However I do know that some people think differently, instead they want to create this persona that they are not in real life to fulfill their dreams.

February 6th, 2008

leah

I think your thought about being yourself completely, and fulfilling dreams through a created persona is incredibly interesting. I know for me, most of the blogs I like reading the most are the ones where people are ‘themselves’, but who is to say that really is who they are! Maybe there is a part of everyone’s blog that is a bit of a figment of their imagined persona…? My blog is completely who I am, but the idea of having an oasis from myself and from my life, in the written form, is quite compelling. Do you think your friends know you are blogging for yourself or could they think it’s for them? How has your opportunity to express yourself in such a public forum changed and influenced you and your friends?

PS: THANK YOU FOR BEING ONE OF THE FIRST TO POST, THIS IS WHY I STARTED THIS BLOG!

February 20th, 2008

Bonnie

I blog because it gives me the opportunity to participate in dialogue that I may not have been able to due to time constraints at work in searching out “groups” or not having the proper network to meet these people. I am a PhD student and work for an organizational development consultant so I need to bounce ideas off people and see what is new in the areas of my interest. Blogs are instant information, instant networking, and instant feedback. You can see if people have similar ideas or you can gain new insights. Blogging to me is just another form of communication that does not limit itself to geographical, Socio-Economic, or racial structures. Anyone can participate and anyone can have a voice. I can’t imagine doing research or going about my day without the visits to my favorite blogs.

February 20th, 2008

leah

Bonnie, thank you for your input, it’s so exciting to get new perspectives! I couldn’t agree more that the instant gratification of blogging is incredible. Do you feel you get the same feel of instant feedback, networking and information when you check in with your favorite blogs as well as when you blog yourself? Do you think that the instant nature of the internet brings you closer to your favorite bloggers and with the readers of your blog?

February 20th, 2008

J-Rod

Leah,

I will be following your blog, just as I will be following your life as you begin your career. You and your family are my very good friends. I am very fortunate to know all of you.

February 22nd, 2008

Aaron

Leah,

Somehow you doing a thesis on blogging seems very appropriate. I just can’t believe you’re about to graduate from college - I don’t think I’ve seen you since you started school! I’m so glad to see how well you are doing.

As for blogging…

For me it all began last summer during my oenophilic “walkabout.”A tool to keep in touch with my old friends and help me network and make new ones, it was a way to share my thoughts on wine and help teach my friends about my passion while also keeping them apprised of my adventures.

Soon, however, it became even more important to me personally - a way of processing the experiences I was having, to put my thoughts in order, stay focused, and make sense of what I myself was (am) learning.

For me, the blogging community is the truest manifestation of the internet being a web. It brings people together who may otherwise never have a chance to communicate, and who may never meet in person.

Unless, of course, they’re your brother, who somehow seems to eventually meet almost everybody. I wonder if there is a closet full of Noah clones that none of us are aware of.

Cheers, and love,
-AA

March 9th, 2008

Benton

Why I blog: Latley I have been catching up on Tolstoy and was struck by the obvious answer for me to this question. He is correct in stating; “the only certain happiness in life is to live for others….” he goes on to pose the questions “am I to blame for being happy? And how can I share my happiness? How and to whom can I surrender all myself and all my happiness?” I feel that we (bloggers) have answered these questions with efficiency and grace. We have found our own happiness and can share our happiness, our lives, and our friends with far more people by using this new format of communication.

Best wishes,
Benton

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