Commenting and Tagging: Organizational and Motivational Necessities

I think commenting on blogs and having an active reader community for your own blog is incredibly important.  Without readers and their comments, their input, an online writer may as well by scribbling away in a journal that he hides under his mattress at night.  No one will ever read it, and no one will ever care.  If online writers do not get regular comments, they will lose motivation, and will likely not keep their blogs continually updated.  With commenting readers, PR people also know whether their articles are having the desired effect or not.

I think that some of my fellow students are doing some really interesting things.  I love the photo-a-day project that Angelea is starting (she's got some really interesting snapshots on her Flickr account already), and Jason's Raw Fitness blog is very well-researched and informative in regards to losing weight and staying healthy.  It's also been fun reading Cia's blog about her experiences as a foreign student on Coe's campus, and the interesting presentation and links that she has posted on the blog to give it a personal flair.

For the most part, on my Stoner at the Movies blog I have used tags to differentiate between articles.  I have two main categories in my tags so far: Reviews and Overanalyze That.  I also tag any entertainment IP I mention in a post, such as the movie I'm reviewing or the actors that star in it.  This will help my viewers seek out what articles interest them as the blog grows in its content and scope.

Mind-Mapping

I really enjoyed this activity.  Not only was it a good way to get my plans for my blog down in a visual format... It also showed me which segments might get a little overwhelming if I focused on them too much or too often, and which could use more consideration and expansion in the future.  It's great for brainstorming writing topics or planning order of events, and making connections between topics that might come in handy.  It definitely applies to different subjects than Mashups do.  This seems more writing, thought, and conceptual based, while Mashup seems to be more about actually conveying information visually, textually, and audibly. 

I think I liked this better than making a bubble-graph on paper- it's quick, it's easy, it makes sense, and you can rearrange at will without the drawing getting all confused-looking.  This seems like a really handy tool for someone who needs a lot of reminders and notes about ideas they come up with, like me.

Interests in Web 2.0

What I find most interesting about Web 2.0 applications (blogs, specifically) is the way that they give writers an instant outlet to the readers, and are capable of receiving instantaneous feedback as well.  Our parents had "Letters to the Editor"... we have Facebook and blogs.  There is perhaps no more accessible and socially relevant way for a writer to get his or her material out there and affecting the world.  Blogs are also an ideal way for individuals with similar interests to follow each other and grow in their appreciation for common enthusiasms.  With this blog, I hope to learn the basic functions of the blogger website- mess around with the tools so that I become proficient in using blogger.  As a result, my other blog will look all the more professional with these experiences.

My mission with my other blog, Stoner at the Movies, is to provide reviews for and commentary upon the new movies that hit theaters every week.  These discussions will come in a variety of formats, including journalistic reviews, in-depth film analysis entries, and video podcast quick-reviews.

I hope that by providing this content, I can advise my readers what movies are worth their skyrocketing ticket prices during these tough economic times.  I also hope to foster the cinematic enthusiasms of my readers by interesting them in films that they may otherwise not have considered, or movies that passed them by without their knowledge.

Jumping into Web 2.0

So.  I've been given this assignment in my Advanced Writing Workshop class to dive headfirst into Web 2.0.  I suppose my experience with Web 2.0 started in high school with a Xanga profile, which I used to prove to people I didn't know how emotionally deep and whiny I was.

Since then, my only other foray into the medium has been a Facebook account that I fail to check more than once or twice a week.  I post on someone else's wall maybe once a month.

Suffice it to say that I'm not a major proponent of social networking.  I have, however, been curious about starting up a blog, and this is as good an opportunity as any to get one up and running.  In addition to this one (which will be a "test blog", a repository of random entries made on a whim or for class assignments), I will also be frequently updating a film review blog, Stoner at the Movies.