Blog Reflection

Before this class, blogging seemed like a very foreign aspect of the entertainment culture. I felt that blogging was reserved for people wanting to rant their opinions, or a place to tear apart the smallest details of productions. Now, after spending five weeks reading and writing in this field, I have gained a strong respect for those bloggers with a strong developed voice, those that create compelling and engaging commentaries, and blogs that have an overall aesthetic appeal.

For me, the hardest part of the blogging process was keeping my writing focused in a certain direction. I feel like my original attempts were a little scattered, and seemed to be writing just to write. Over the course of the term though, I felt my style become more streamlined. I remember one moment when I was writing my second blog on Glee, and I likened the process to acting, and achieving an objective. Once I was able to create a specific goal for the blog, I was able to focus my writing and achieve that objective.

I found most of my revisions focused on making my blogs more visually appealing. I changed the lengths of some paragraphs, and added additional videos and images to keep the reader engaged. This was also the aspect of blogging that I began having the most fun with. I found that my searches for the right videos and links would take twice as long as the actual writing because I would become so engrossed in researching. I feel like this is where a lot of my strength as a blogger came from as well. For my blog on Breaking Bad I spent several hours during rehearsal one night searching for the right clips that would highlight the brilliant blend of humor and tragedy that the show mixes together. It is a show that I care deeply about, and I wanted to convert other readers into viewers for the program. By finding clips that I believed would be engaging to readers, such as the recap of episode 1 and the two main actors jokingly performing on The Soup, I think readers were able to get a clear picture about the caliber of show Breaking Bad is.

Also, I believe that it’s this use of multi-media that separates blogging from the usual styles of writing that I do. For scholastic papers, my writing is typically broken up into paragraphs that tend to be fairly long in length to prove an example. With blogging, I format my writing in a similar fashion, however they are much shorter in length and broken up by media objects. I found that the shorter and more direct a blogging paragraph is, the more effect it has. For any additional explanation that is needed, I can use an image or video to achieve that example more effectively.

I really appreciated the strong sense of voice that can be developed in blogging. For scholastic writing, I often feel constrained by editing myself to keep my writing formal. Over the course of the term, I believe I grew into my own voice as a writer for this style of writing. I was able to you terms like “clusterfuck” and references of the Flavor of Love girls in the same piece, which I would argue is a success for a paper.

Besides shaping my writing style, blogging has also altered the way that I view television entertainment. I already watched shows with an analytical eye, but I usually kept my evaluation focused on the actors’ performances. Now when I view programs, I watch for the overall arc of the show, whether it is culturally relevant, and if the show is engaging. Watching TV has become an interactive process. I now feel more compelled to search Internet forums, or read blogging reviews of programs. I even feel more compelled to begin writing blogs of my own.
I think this is an incredibly valuable skill to develop for the field I have chosen to enter in as a profession. Many actors use sites like Twitter to remain in the public eye and promote themselves. I believe that blogging can be a very excellent outlet for my own voice in this crazy industry.