Summary: In this piece, Why Blog? Searching for Writing on the Web by Alex Reid, it begins with writing—writing for the sake of it and writing for fun. Writing may take hours and hours of your life that you may not be able to take back. However, by blogging you could still practice consistently on your writing and still have an element of fun. Blogging started nearly two decades ago. Though many were on political beliefs, especially after 9/11, others were revolved around certain interests of theirs like gaming or engineering. As time past, the number of blogs sky rocketed, and a vast variety of topics could be found on the web. It has connected different countries and people together. The author moves on into giving us the basics of starting our very own blog. For example, finding a target audience, knowing what to write about, picking out our designs, and etc. Reid encourages to give blogging s try in hopes to share ideas and interests, but also build strength into writing.
Main Idea: Blogging not only continues to build your writing capacity, but also lets you customize your very own “world.” It enables you to communicate your interests and thoughts to several other people.
Key Terms:
- Blogosphere: personal websites and blogs collectively
- Extrinsic Motivation: behavior that is driven by external rewards such as money, fame, grades, and praise
- Intrinsic Motivation: motivation to engage in a behavior arises from within the individual because it is naturally satisfying to you
- Blog: a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style
- Belligerent: hostile and aggressive
Commentary: At the beginning of the article, Reid states that “students [who] confronted with a syllabus or an assignment can find it difficult to get beyond the mindset of “what do I need to do to get an A?.” With this, I agree with his saying. I have always been the student that strives to get an A in every class (many of you included). It doesn’t take more than a second to think about how I am going to get the A. I do find it difficult to go beyond that mindset and capacity. Instead of being eager to get an A, I should be more eager to learn and grow as an individual. For example, discussions in class. Naturally, I am a shy person, and when the teacher claims that discussions are going to be graded, I need to talk. I speak not in spite of communicating with others or sharing ideas/concepts, but to get an A. I need to think beyond of getting a grade. I need to learn from my environment and through others around me. If you do not understand the concept, you will not pass. Along those lines, I hear that saying from several teachers. What’s the point of getting A’s from the assignments that you copied off answers from online or friends? When the test comes along, the understanding of the concept is lost. Though I am like most students that strive to earn A’s, I want to expand from that mindset and flourish in my studies.
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