Finally putting procrastination aside, I also read the article about Megan Reardon. Her story appealed to me because she blogs things that she's interested in, which to me is the most appealing part of blogging. I find it makes blogging more fun and a whole lot easier when it's what I want to do versus something I have to do. (Sorry!)
I was rather surprised, and slightly disappointed, to find that Reardon doesn't have comments enabled on her blog. While she stated in the interview that the competitive, antagonistic comments were the driving factor for that decision, I feel like it's just an excuse. Although there are people that are jerks, it strikes me as unfair to block those who are considerate and want to give constructive criticism or other positive thoughts on blog entries. It would be simple enough to just ignore those who are acting inappropriately, or alternatively, block them from commenting.
However, I found it funny that she felt ashamed about using Blogger. It's only human to want to do what's easy. Not all of us enjoy web design or shelling out cash for a service we could get for free, so there are plenty of people that can't judge. I can especially relate to the lazy part though. But I also relate to her statement of finding writing papers for school unpleasant. I don't enjoy the rigid style of academic papers. Blogging is definitely a less stressful activity to me as well.
I may even follow her example in how she finds interesting links! Hope you guys don't mind. :)
Katie, I'm glad you finally climbed on the blogging horse.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that it is a little odd that Reardon doesn't allow comments on her blog. It would seem to deprive her blog of the "dialogic" and "interactive" dimension shared by the most popular blogs. (Of course, I don't allow comments on the course blog, mainly because I want students writing in their blogs and commenting on each other's entries).