True or False? There is a difference between academic and non academic Blogs.The answer is True. Now going off of that answer, what exactly is the difference? Well what I have come to understand is that Academic blogs are made up of both design and content. On behalf of the content they are normally written by experts of the topic who create an extremely serious atmosphere. The dry voices accompanied with the heavy text causes only someone who is deeply interested in the subject to want to continue reading. Non Academic Blogs on the other hand do not specify in one subject matter. Instead they cover all different areas of a subject in a way that is less in depth with a more informal tone.
True or False? Some Academic Blogs are less interactive than non academic blogs? Once again the answer is True. Academic Blogs are more for a small focused group whereas non academic blogs are open to public opinion.
Now that I spelled out the major aspects of what makes these two blog types different, let's focus on a few non academic blogs that have their own specific traits.
For instance, the blog "I don't know, what do YOU want to eat?" already has a friendlier approach. The background is much more colorful and vibrant compared to an academic blog post about political science. Quotes like, "I'm running out the door to fulfill my civic duty at the court house downtown, but I wanted to quickly post our simple, but absolutely delicious dinner from last night " show that the author is extremely open and literally says whatever is on his mind.
True or False? A Science Blog is always academic. Surprisingly the answer to this question is false. The Geekdad blog is categorized under science and technology but the quirky pictures and comics make the blog comical rather than serious. What also grabbed my attention was the fact that each post was not written by the same person. Several different people were posting stories about the newest technological discoveries within their lives making this site extremely personal and interactive and therefore non academic.
Basically what I just unintentionally did was place all negative characteristics under academic blogging and all positive characteristics under non - academic blogging but that is not the case. Yes, they are both extremely different but it does not mean one is better than the other. I personally love entertainment and interactivity but that does not mean that I am not interested in the serious stuff such as a blog discussing a topic I choose to major in or a blog simply informing me about a historical viewpoint. Overall the blogosphere would not exist if it did not contain these different kinds of blogs. I'll leave you with one open - minded question. Knowing the difference between the two blogs, if you were outside of this classroom blogging on your own which blog would appeal more to you? Based on your personality and your interests I will be interested to see what kind of blog you would want to create. I'll start off by saying, my personal interests are humor, and entertainment with many pictures and graphics as oppose to an overflow of text. Therefore, Chelsea Handler's blog would definitely be something I would try to replicate (in my own way of course).
Here's another link that shows a list of about 43 humorous non academic blog sites that you might be interested in...http://www.squidoo.com/funnyblogs
Enjoy!
(Picture: http://www.nolandgrab.org/archives/2007/09/it_came_from_th_123.html)
Rian,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I really like the picture you added into this. I thought it was really funny and even laughed out loud. Is there any specific blog or idea it linked to?
On your idea of an academic blog: I agree that academic blogs are different than regular blogs in that they are written by experts on a subject and teach you something. I too feel that they are dryer in their tone, more formal, and usually more text heavy. However, I disagree that regular blogs aren't about specific topics. True, many do talk about a variety of things, but there are also regular blogs out there that have a specific focus, like the "I don't know, what do YOU want to eat?" blog you mentioned. This blog, for instance, has a focus of food and recipes.
Additionally, after examining the blogs you mentioned, I noticed that we had very similar thought. I, too was surprised that "Geekdad" and "Scholars and Rogues" weren't serious, rather funny and interactive, blogs. I also definitely don't think any blog could be less academic than Perez Hilton's, and I liked the way you put it.
In response to your question, non academic blogs appeal more to me, at least for now. This is because I have not yet found something academic that I am truly passionate about (a reason for why I have an undecided major here at U-Mich). Thus, I wouldn't be able to read a text-heavy, bland, blog about something that doesn't truly interest me, and instead I would rather read something entertaining and non academic, like Perez Hilton.
Rian,
ReplyDeleteI love the way you posed questions in order to divide the topics discussed in your blog entry. The true or false nature of each question and response provided me with a very clear understanding of your opinions on each blog. That being said, however, I find that some of these blogs sort of fall in some in-between area of academic and non-academic blogs. For example, I definitely agree that “Scholars and Drogues” was surprisingly less academic than insinuated by the title. However, could we consider this blog academic in terms of the topics that it is discussing despite the less serious and satirical tone of the bloggers? Perhaps this isn’t the best example given the nature of this particular blog, but the question in general is one to think about. In other words, if Perez Hilton continued to blog about the same things, but began using a more academic tone, would we consider his blog academic?
In response to your question, I’d have to agree with you that non-academic blogs appeal to me, more so than academic blogs for the most part. Perhaps this is because I have not yet found an academic blog that discusses my interests in a manner that is still light. This is a great question to explore, and as I continue to investigate the blogosphere I’m interested to see how my response may change.
Rian,
ReplyDeleteYour post was extremely well written and filled with great insight. For the most part, I agreed with your points but there are a few things I would like to add. In your first response you talk about how academic blogs tend to be “text heavy” while non-academic blogs are more interactive. I definitely agree with this, however I think it’s possible for non-academic blogs to be text heavy too. For example, blogs such as Hot Air provided me with a ton of information, it just isn’t as dry cut as say an academic blog about Political Science. I think that part of the reason for this is that non-academic topics are easier to blog about in interactive ways, while academic thoughts are easier to explain in words.
In response to your second question, I definitely agree with what you’re saying. The purpose of an academic blog is to provide the readers with information on a concentrated topic. Although as I said before, you can always communicate through interactive means, such as a video or image, it’s sometimes easier to do it through language. Because of this, I think academic blogs are wordier and less user friendly than say a news blog like the Huffington Post, which is filled with pictures, videos and other fun links. I also agree with you that non-academic blogs are much more informal. The quote you use from “I don’t know, what do YOU want to eat?” is something that you would never find on Crooked Timber, and shows how laid back some blogs can be.
I also happen to agree with the last part of your post, just because a blog is categorized as science and technology, definitely does not mean it has to be only about those two things. I think it’s really interesting that you noticed that multiple writers contribute to the blog. To me, it’s a breath of fresh air to read different people’s writing because after a while the same style gets old. However, I think it’s important to realize sites, such as Perez Hilton, which many people think is solely run by Perez Hilton himself (it used to be) is actually updated by other people. Another example of this is Andrew Sullivan’s blog. Most people only associate Sullivan with the blog because he is a well know name, when in fact there are a handful of other people who are also valuable contributors. I think you also do a great job of bringing to light the importance of having all different types of blogs out there to read, because without variety, the blogosphere would cease to exist.