Blogs: A Communicative Tool

Blogs are a relatively new tool used to communicate news, ideas, personal experiences, and many other things. They allow information to be provided to the public quickly, thus making them a powerful and influential tool.

Blogging is a great way to reach out to many people quickly. This is great for news; people can be updated on the most recent of events just as they happen. But, television and radio seems to do this well enough. People can see or hear the news on the television or radio and can spread by word of mouth to those who have not yet watched or listened. Besides, to learn about the most recent events through a blog, one must access that blog multiple times a day to learn about the event before they would anyway by television, radio, or word of mouth.

Because anyone can write a blog, they can show extreme bias. News can be inaccurate, or in some cases, untrue.

Amanda Gehres has a blog post where she talks about how an author of a blog uses his blog to share with the world what it is like in Iraq. He talks about the Iraq and its citizens giving information that one can discover only through visiting Iraq. This is a great use for blogs. It allows someone to share what something is like that few have experienced in a way that other media will never cover it.

Another use for blogs is to talk about your life. Tabby wrote a blog about all the things in her life that were creating stress. While she shared what was stressful about her life, she was able to vent by writing about it. People were also able to make comments in support of her.

Blogs allow the less outgoing, such as myself, to become slightly more extroverted. This is due to a sort of sense of anonymity. Readers of my blog may know my name, but they may not know exactly who I am.

A blog can be an incredibly powerful tool. A particular view of something that other media would ignore can be shared. People can share their lives and get the support they need while others can relate to them and realize they're not alone. Blogs also allow some to be more outgoing, which could shape their personality. Writers must know that what they post can be accessed by anyone. Readers must be aware that some blogs could be biased and present misleading information. Blogging has good and bad uses. When used correctly, they can be very beneficial.

Reflection on the Guest Blogging Experiment

Last week, I wrote a blog post for someone else in class and someone wrote a post for my blog. This was the guest blogging Experiment. I don't have many thoughts on it but here goes...

It does feel sort of intrusive because someone is expressing their thoughts or views as you on your blog. But, it was fun trying to guess who wrote what blog. Some people made it obvious while some spent the time to try to speak as the person they were writing for.

Like I said, not many thoughts. I just look at it as another assignment.

The Guest Blogging Experiment

life at OSU has been fun and experimental. She is a freshman at one of the best college in Ohio. She has had some fun times and has had some times that she does not want to ever remember that had happen in her life her at OSU. The times she had that was fun was, like when she would attend the home Basketball games love to cheer on the boys. She also love all the free time that she has. She don’t have to worry about getting told what to do. Meeting allthese new people and making lifelong friends too has also had been fun to her.

The time that she do not want to remember were when she was put on Academic warning. This is because she did not take charge of her life as a college student and she took average of all the free time that she had on her hands did basically did not study at all. Now she see that there is a different from high school and college. High you had people tell you what to do now that you get in college you have to tell yourself that you need to get things together for yourself. She is a freshman at THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY NEWARK. This college is so much different from the main campus because it’s much smaller than the main. The classes here are smaller. Meeting different people from all over has been by far the most fun and experimental thing that she has experienced yet. GO BUCKS!!!!!

Time

It's Friday again, which brings us to the end of the eighth week of the winter quarter. This quarter is really going by fast. Once you get into the rythm of your daily schedule, time just takes off. You do the same thing every day and then you reach the point where you look back and ask yourself "where has the time gone?"

With the end of the quarter comes finals. With two weeks left, it's the perfect time to begin studying. Whether or not one begins to study is a different story.

Of course, after finals week is spring break. A time to reflect on what we've learned and... who am I kidding? It's the time to party!

So anyway, happy friday everyone.

A Response

This week, I will be responding to Britteny's blog.

In her blog, she talks about how she hasn't been stressed with school, but rather with life in general. Her car is always breaking down and she has to pay for it. She is working hard, and doesn't mind it, until she is always paying to fix her car. She remains optimistic about the future, but knows she is in the real world now.

The moment you come out of high school and begin college, you're in the real world. You have many more responsibilities and are more independent. I have also had car troubles. I slid off the road in November and had to replace two old tires in January. I'm not too stressed about school either. I might be finding myself low on cash soon. It can be tough working a minimun wage summer job.

Making the transition to the real world can be difficult. I hope things get better for you soon Brittney.

Three Reasons This Week Was Great

I have had a great week. Here's why:

1. I finished the audio part to my recording I mentioned in an ealier post. For the next project, I will have to make a music video out of it. I got lucky though; I didn't have to do a whole lot of editing to get the final product.

2. Spring is coming. The warmer weather feels great. It also means I will have a job soon. I work at the Granville Golf Course and there is obviously not much to do during winter. The only bad thing about it is ski season is about over. However, I have been up a lot so I am ready for spring.

3. It's Friday. I think that by itself can make a week great. I always feel good on Friday. The weekend ahead is a break from classes. It is time to lay back and hang out, unless you have a big project due the next week. Even then, I would still be happy that it is Friday. TGIF!

Achieving goals

In high school, I had a hard time getting motivated to do my work. I received terrible grades which led to me barely passing high school. In college, I did not want to have the same thing, or something worse, happen. This could be because I am paying for half of my tuition, or I have finally realized the importance of an education, or both. An education is very important and, with a little bit of work, it is not too hard to get.

My freshman English teacher was, as I heard from other classmates, from a girls private school, thus explaining her harsh grading. I had quickly lost all motivation to do work in that class because I would do the assignments and get a bad grade. Later on in the class, she assigned a research paper. I had decided that this paper could really help my grade and that I would try, and hope for a miracle, to get a good grade.

I worked harder on that paper than any other assignment I had done in as long as I can remember. I spent the majority of my weekends on it and had my parents look it over. After all that work, I got the paper back and with it came a C. I about dropped dead. I was proud of how hard I had worked on it and was thinking for sure I would have an A. At that point, I had completely given up and failed the class. If I had worked on everything else, I probably would have passed. My sophomore and junior year I had teachers that I liked. My grades had improved and I passed both classes.

My senior year was stressful, more for my parents than for myself. At this point, I still did not really realize the value of an education. I had an English teacher that I did not like. I almost put as little effort into this year as my freshman year. I happened to have a study hall with my English teacher. I was forced to work with her to improve my grades. If this had not happened, I would have failed. She helped me study for the tests and made sure I was completing the homework. I still some how managed not to get good grades.

My mom was stressed with my lack of effort to work to my potential. She was already stressed with work. We knew my dad, who my mom divorced and now lives in Grove City, would lecture me for hours about my grades before actually doing anything to help, so we did not tell him until my mom had had enough. To my surprise, he did not talk about it very long. He would now, better late than never, keep me doing work.

By the end of the year, my grade for the class and my graduation was resting on my research paper. I was forced to work on it by my teacher during study hall and my parents at home. My dad would see to it that I would complete the paper. He was always making sure I was working on it. I finished the paper and got an A on it. It was a happy, relieving day for all of us.

Also during this year was the college application process. At my high school, pretty much everyone was expected to go to college and I was highly pressured by my parents to go. I wanted to stay close to home and my dad wanted me to go somewhere cheap. He was hoping I would go to Columbus State, but I found the Newark Branch of the Ohio State University to be a better fit. I applied and was accepted.

When I went to college, I decided I wanted to work harder and get good grades. My first college paper was a simple one page descriptive essay. I finished it and turned it in early. With this being my first college paper, I had no idea what to expect. When I got it back, I was very pleasantly surprised when I saw an A on the paper. Nothing could take that smile off my face. I could not wait to tell my parents. This was when I realized that if I work at it, I can do well in school. Of the entire class, I only missed two reading assignments. I ended up with an A- in the class and a GPA of 3.4, qualifying me for honors.

I plan to keep working hard at my school work. My goal is to graduate with a GPA of at least 3.3. If I can keep my focus and continue to put forth the effort I have so far, I will easily achieve my goal. Anyone can achieve their goals. If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.

Ski Club

No, this is not me.

My brother has been into skiing for a few years now. Last year, I went with him a couple times and enjoyed it.

Last October, I joined the ski club at OSU and bought some new skis . We go up to Snow Trails. I'm picking it up pretty quickly. I have gone off a jump a couple of times. I've only landed it the first time I tried it.

Snow Trails isn't that big. Of course, nothing really is in Ohio. I want to go to Colorado or Canada sometime when I get better and do some real skiing.

It's the beginning of February and it is already heating up. Ski season is almost over for this year. Now I will have more time during the weekend to study!!!

Winter Wonderland

In high school, you always wish for snow so you can get as many snow days as possible, without going over the limit of course. But now that I am in college, school cancellations are few and far between. This week we got a lot of snow and one day off. My brother, a junior in high school, is on his third.

Fortunately, I live close to school, so driving isn't too bad for me. This week has gone by without incident so far. I had one accident in november. I was going to school one morning. It was raining so I wasn't expecting any trouble, but I had hit a spot of black ice and slid off the road. I don't go that way anymore.

My driveway is probably the worst surface I drive on. It's a sheet of ice. The road I live on is also pretty bad. Other than that, It's just downtown Granville and 16.

Recording Music

As I mentioned in my first post, I am taking a music recording class where I learn the history of the music business and how to record music. I had my first experience with recording today. I learned that it takes more than one take to get the recording the way I want it. I spent at least 15 to 20 minutes recording just the intro for the bass part. But, until then, I had never played with a metronome and I had played with my brother, who is a drummer, only for about five minutes. When I would play without a metronome or a drummer, everything sounds and feels right, but when I went to play with one, I realized how far off I was.

Later in the quarter, I will record my brother on drums, maybe a friend of mine and/or myself on guitar, and maybe I will add some synth sounds. I also will have to make it a music video. I still don't know for sure what I am going to do for that. I am thinking I might just film whoever ends up in the song playing whatever instrument, but if I play guitar and bass, that might pose a problem. As you can see, I still have much to work out.

My Schedule

Last quarter I took 14 credit hours. I had all kinds of breaks throughout the day. I had class Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and I worked 8 hours Tuesday and Thursday. My Wednesdays were horrible. I would be at school for 12 hours minus McDonald's runs and going home (which is about 10-15 minutes away depending on how fast you drive) to get my bass. Monday and Wednesday, a few of my friends and I had a break for a couple of hours at lunch time. We were lifting weights early in the quarter but stopped after a few weeks and began playing poker with condiment cups, pens, and McDonald's apple pie boxes substituting chips.

This quarter is very different. Since I work at a golf course, I am not needed year round and am not working during this quarter. My boss also told me to learn a lot, so I am taking 20 credit hours. I was fortunate to be able to schedule my classes blocked together in the middle of the day. Only later did I realize that I am not hungry enough to eat in the mornings of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and that when I am done, it is too close to dinnertime to eat (I still live at home). I actually tried it once. I made a stop at McDonald's, got two big macs and ate Chinese for dinner. I got sick the next day. So that's not happening again. Despite the fact that I am not working, I feel that I have less time on my hands. So far, it hasn't bothered me too much. I still spend some time with my friends after school. That's about all I have for now. I have no idea what I will get into next week so stay tuned.

My first blog

My name is Christian Kelley and this is my first blog. I will be keeping up with this blog for at least the next ten weeks. My blog will be about my life as a student at the Ohio State University. In my next post, I will compare and contrast my schedule from last quarter and this quarter and talk about what I did and do in my free time. Future posts could be about skiing or my music class. I am in the ski club at Ohio State. I have been skiing before but this is my first year in a ski club. I am in a music recording class where I am composing and recording music. For the final project, I will make a music video.