Friday, December 01, 2006

Blogging: A Reflection

Creating and maintaining a blog has been a unique experience that personally signals the future forum of scholarly analysis and discussion. From the Third Row Center allowed the chance to engage in conversation regarding current events and persons in entertainment media, my academic study and possible future professional field. I was able to investigate with greater interactivity due to the wealth of information available online. With the integration of hypertextuality and visual evidence, the blog virtually connects readers to the post as well as the wider web community. One specific example, I discussed technological film changes within my online posts. Significantly, the internet itself is arguably the most important medium affecting cinema today. These essays are topically significant and supported by contemporary sources from numerous sites across the web.

With no prior blogging experience, there was some hesitancy and doubt as to the benefits of posting work versus turning in the usual stapled computer printouts. Much like any new activity, my blogging confidence grew as I explored the technical methods and quirks of Blogger. Initially, it was difficult to venture beyond the normality of endnotes and bibliographies to the hypertexual approach to reference. However, this prompted a sharpening of my investigative skills searching for credible online sources. My work was not only available to fellow classmates, but the entire internet population. This fact motivated my desire to examine media issues with a strong academic tone, but remain relevant for the common film or television viewer and online reader. The essay topics reflect the opinions of a Cinema-Television student and a dedicated observer of the industry.

I hope to continually shape a cleaner, more sophisticated prose to create seamless arguments. Though I have made improvement, there is still opportunity for growth, especially for a clear academic tone. Additionally, the unpredictable temperament of Blogger plagued my experience with the system. These problems may have been avoided if my HTML knowledge was up-to-date. Overall, the experience has given me a great opportunity to immerse into web culture while making substantial arguments in the media field. I plan to continue blogging as a method to examine and reflect media changes for the future.