Blogging Pros and Cons

I've just started my blogging adventure this year, first with my own attempts at creating a fitness motivator, and then I entered the lovely world of Creative Communications (CreComm) and I was fascinated to discover that blogging is mandatory in the program. As a new blogger, I've come up with some pros and cons of the blogging craft.

Pros – Reasons to love blogging

The first reason why I love the blog is because no matter who you are or what you do, you can still create your own voice and share your opinions with the world, at least the online world.

If you are an aspiring writer like me, blogging is a great way to practice your skills. The fact that I have to write a post every week for school keeps my blog up to date, and I also benefit from reading my classmates’ and instructors’ blogs by learning different techniques or finding out what interests everyone.

Blogging allows you to be creative. Aside from being in CreComm, I’ve always been a creative person, always writing something, no matter how menial and I’ve always admired the artistic world. You can write about whatever your heart desires (this can be a con in some cases) and hopefully you’ll have followers who will appreciate or agree with your point of view. You can create your own profile and layout on your blog site, and there are many blog sites to choose from. You can also add pictures and links to spice up your posts.

Blogs are the way of the future. I’ve been told in CreComm (so it must be true) that if you are looking for a job in a creative field, your employer will expect you to have an online portfolio. A blog is a good way for a potential employer to see what kind of person you are by reading about the things you’re interested in. It sure beats looking at your Facebook page, which can sometimes be a deal breaker.

Reading other people’s blogs is a good way to learn about things you might not have known, especially about local events. One of my classmates writes about cheap, entertaining activities to do within Winnipeg. Blogging is a never-ending source of information.

Cons- Reasons to hate blogging

You want to have a blog, but what should you write about? Sure, you’re interested in things but will anybody read it? It’s hard to decide what is significant enough to post about. Sometimes I feel like no one will care about my transit adventures.

Keeping up with a blog can be demanding for some people. I know when I first starting blogging in the summer, I didn’t have a fixed schedule of when I would blog. I just figured I’d try to write something every day, but that did not work out. A once or twice weekly post seems to be sufficient, and it allows time to come up with a good idea.

The fact that you can write about whatever you want, doesn’t mean you should. I’ve heard stories where people trash others in their blog posts, and that is just not classy. Treat the blogging world like the real world. There are real people online with feelings, and even though you might want to write about how much you hate one of your coworkers or classmates, please think twice. Remember the golden rule? Treat others the way you want to be treated. Same goes for blogging. Blog only the way you want others to blog. Nobody wants to read an offensive or distasteful post, unless it’s sarcastic and meant to be funny.

Once you have an idea, it can be difficult to determine how long each post can be. I know personally I have some that are only one paragraph and then longer ones like this that are meant to be assignment posts. I guess if you’re not blogging for class and you don’t have a mandatory word count, I would say write what is necessary for the topic. If you are blogging about the state of the environment and the threat of global warming vs. your favourite song of the day, melting icecaps might need more explanation than a Britney tune.

Is my idea original? Well, no, probably not, but that doesn’t mean you can’t blog about it. It’s true that you’ll have the same interests as someone else, like music for instance. But you can always write about a different aspect of music, like a top 5 list of the best local musicians. Your idea could be the only one being written about in your area, making you stand out amongst other music bloggers that pass by.

A Birthday Bus Ride

Today (actually yesterday) was my Birthday! I turned 21 at approximately 12:35 a.m. I still feel the same. Everything is relatively normal. No exciting changes, except that I am "legal" everywhere! Except maybe New Zealand? I roughly remember someone telling me that on the weekend... Anywho...

This morning I had to get on the bus a bit (actually a lot) earlier than any other day because of Broadcast Production's ungodly hour. It was still dark when I left. I do not approve! Anyway, So I was on the bus, I had to pay cash today because I was way too hung over and lazy to go out and buy a bus pass yesterday. So I paid, and then some random guy was sitting directly in the seat behind the one I sit in everyday...which is the second row on the left in the left seat. So, I sat on the right side instead. This is not normal. I almost felt I had to move to the other side, but I didn't want this guy breathing down my neck. I guess I like my space in public places. I thought this change in routine would throw me off for the whole day, but considering it was my birthday, I suppose it wasn't a "normal" day to begin with. Either way, I got to school unscathed and the day progressed pleasantly. Wooh, I'm 21!

Until next time,
Renee

Buyer Beware!

Yesterday, Class 2 CreComm presented the Buyer Beware projects in Ad class. Let me just say, I am glad to be done!

Personally, I felt my group was lacking on the entertainment side of things during presentation, but after all, it was a more serious topic. Kudos to all the other groups for your awesome presentations and interesting topics!

My group chose to research the pandemic preparedness plans of the 5 major post-secondary institutions in Manitoba. Since H1N1 is a reality we face, we thought this was a topical issue, and we hope to get covered by local news.

The main idea behind our project was to find out what kind of plan they had in place to deal with H1N1 in their institution. We found that 4 of the 5 had a plan in place, but we also discovered that a larger crisis communication plan exists in most institutions and other organizations to deal with potential crisis situations.

We consulted with two public relations professionals, Melanie Lee Lockhart, and Therese Mickelson, both of whom provided us with a wealth of knowlege on the issue, that we were unaware of until our interview. To check it out, click below.


I'm glad to have researched this issue, as it is very important to know about how organizations go about protecting their staff/customers/students. I've learned that it is a never-ending process, where the communications people in charge are always adding and editing the plan, even carrying it around on jump drive attached to a lanyard around their neck! Now that's what I call preparedness!

I hope that everyone learned a lot from our research, as we have learned a lot from you! H1N1 updates are constantly in the news. Yesterday before our presentation, I read in the Winnipeg Free Press that according to a St. Boniface doctor who conducted research, the average age for H1N1 victims is 15-55, and it is more common in women than men.

Unique Bus Stops

A friend of mine posted this link on Facebook, and I thought how fitting it would be for my blog! If only Winnipeg could adopt some of these creative 'places of wait' for us! Then maybe when winter finally shows up we won't dread standing at the bus stop...


The World's Coolest Bus Stops