Entry #1: How my Blogging has Changed

My first experiences with blogging began several months ago. I was unwillingly thrust into a blogging assignment that I regarded with much apprehension. Butterflies churned in my stomach as I thought about an assignment I have never encountered; I had to write about things I didn't have a prompt for. This meant generating original content of my choosing. My mind screamed "academic heresy!"

Despite my initial reactions, I soon found blogging to be a very entertaining and enjoyable medium. Writing about things I am interested in is less boring than droning on about a set topic.

My initial post on my blogging experiences can be found at this link. ENG 101 Entry #1

Along the way I found some blogs that I thought were helpful in developing my own style.

The first blog I looked at this time was Kotaku Blog. Its a video gaming blog and because I am a total nerd, I really enjoyed the articles they featured. The post I looked at recently was titled "Zelda Player Beats Guardian in Underpants on a Horse." The title itself generated profound giggles. The post was a video of a character in their underpants fighting a Guardian in the new Legend of Zelda game. This blog is entertaining but there is little written content involved. The majority of posts are linked to videos and other media content. While this is effective for the purpose of their blog it does not really fit into the purpose of my blog. One thing I can take away is learning to incorporate different elements into my blog.

My next guilty pleasure blogging site is more academic in nature. Being a scientist I love learning new things and seeing the new advance being made. That is why I frequently browse the American Society for Microbiology's blog. The article I read recently dealt with intrinsic resistances naturally found in different types of bacteria. It then went on to to say research is being conducted to identify combination drugs that can greatly assist the effects of an antibiotic based on the pathogens intrinsic resistance. In normal everyday language this would be similar to saying 'you can cut down a tree with a hand saw but if you attach a gas powered motor it becomes much easier and takes less time.' The article can be found here. While I enjoy reading this blog, it is very academic and general audiences would not be interested in it. I like to model some of posts off science blogs that way these cool discoveries can be easily translated into every day language.

The final blog I looked at was called Cal Newport's Study Hacks blog. I really enjoyed most of the content on this blog. It was professional and not too academic. However, most of it was un-interesting or it no longer pertained to the authors original stated purpose of the blog which made it slightly misleading.

The adventure of blogging continues to fascinate me and I am always excited to see more blogs, whether they are professional or from my own classmates.