on blog-like blogs

At the request of my Blogging in Theory and Practice teacher, Donna, here's some posts of my classmates and my own that I consider particularly "blog-ish":

Blog-like posts of my classmates:
1) My Mixtape Experiment - I love this post of Tanner's. First of all, I think he nailed our "do something different" assignment. Secondly, he really took in all the elements of a blog that we've been talking about: pictures, sound, links. I also felt his commentary about each song was particularly blogish. One's taste in music can be an incredibly personal thing, thus music discussions can be heated and/or defensive. Tanner did an excellent job of giving his recommendations maturely and in a way that didn't turn readers off. And, lastly, I like his post because he lists some great songs and artists.

2) And a Liberal was born - I realize that this post of KR's isn't laden with links or pictures or sound bytes like Tanner's, but I think it embodies a different element of blogging. KR was able to tell us a personal story to communicate world news. Just like music, political opinions are incredibly personal. KR's organization of thought perfect: we got hooked on the childhood tale, so we were more likely to click the informational link at the bottom. Plus, KR gave the attentive reader insight about the author.

Blog-like posts of my own:
1) stick a pitchfork in mom-and-pop, they may be done - In terms of true blogging as discussed in class, this is the closest post to that I have. This was the result of my "do something different" assignment - I was inspired by the New York TimesSelect blog The Opinionator, which describes itself as a guide to newspaper, magazine and Internet opinion articles. I wanted to take an issue in the news and then list blogs that discuss it without giving my own take on the issue. That way, I figured, people who read can come up with their own ideas without being constrained by my own. Whether I was successful or not, well, I don't know... but I did think it was kind of cool to get a comment from one of the bloggers to whom I linked.

2) all around the limbo world - This post doesn't necessarily coincide with all aspects of the definition of a blog, but I think this is a good example of what I set out to do with my blog. In my initial post, I said I wanted to synthesize quotations and daily occurrences, which this post does. My voice is very clear in this post as well, which I think is essential to good blogging. I was inspired to write at that moment, and I clearly wrote what I felt. And, on a trivial note, I liked the title I came up with, too.

3) it's golden - Again, I suppose this post isn't considered real blogging. But I think that's kind of the reason I like it. We are assigned to blog at least three times a week, and its kind of assumed or implied that we'll write about something semi-substantial. When I sat down to write that day, though, I simply wasn't feeling it. I had a lot on my mind but didn't want to talk or write it out. I think the way in which I flipped the assignment around - that I wrote about not having anything to say - echoes an aspect of blogging. Bloggers often write from unconventional and unique angles; they take vantage points that wouldn't necessarily be accepted in standard publications. I think this post kind of exemplifies that.

So there you have it. Please check out my classmates' and friends' blogs on the Blogroll - there are some great entries among them. And I'm open to comments or criticism of this blog, too. Cheers all.