The Art of Blogging About Blogging

For years, I have been a frequent, almost daily visitor to a variety of blogs on a number of varying topics.  The site that I visit most frequently is a hockey blog called, emptynetters.  From there I launch into the blogosphere and catch up on what is going on with my favorite videogame series, The Legend of Zelda, through zeldauniverse.  Lastly, as I reach for my first cup of morning coffee, I click on to dailyshotofcoffee to see various reviews, interesting tidbits and insights into new brewing methods for my morning pick-me-up. 

What draws me to this format can be expressed in a number of variations of one word, ease.  Blogging allows anyone who has an interest in something to easily put their thoughts out there and likeminded people can read and discuss the information.  In his discussion on Distributed Knowledge, Dave Marvett marveled at how easy it has become for us to share information as a culture, in particular through technology.  It seems that there is a blog about anything and everything.

However, this format of information sharing does come with its flaws.  Unfortunately, the ease which with anyone can publish their thoughts, there is also a chance that false, or misinformation can be construed as fact.  This is the biggest challenge that educators face when turning their students loose on the internet to gather information is distinguishing fact from fiction on blogs and wikis.  As Eric Raymond stated in his Linus’ Law, “given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow” (with enough people looking at something the flaws can be identified and fixed).  I believe that the opposite can be considered as well.  That if enough people read something, it just may become truth.  As educators we must model for our students how to determine what is “accurate information” and what isn’t, as well as the ability to recognize when something might not “sound right”.

As I mentioned earlier, I have been a long time reader of blogs, but this is my first foray into this medium.  My own personal history of writing has mainly been limited to university assignments and newsletters for my first grade class.  Even rarer than my writing has become of late, is the fact that I have hardly ever composed anything to be read by fellow students.  It may take a few attempts, but I believe that with some practice, I can provide an in-depth look at my chosen book as it pertains to this course.

I have chosen Maryanne Wolf’s look into the human brain and how over time it has changed to become the reading, or non-reading, brain that it is today.  The book is entitled Proust and the Squid and reads a lot easier than I expected.  I went into this endeavor expecting a plethora of science terms and information that I would have to sift through to gain an understanding of the material.  However, much to my surprise I am grateful for the fact that this book is written in such a way that my non-scientific reading brain can grasp what Wolf is trying to convey.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and please leave comments regarding questions, clarifications or if something just doesn’t “sound right”.

Until next time…