Before I head off to create a picture show of our new house for my in-laws, I want to post these two questions about blogging (I'd point out how "blog" rhymes with "nog," but I want to be serious, so I won't.)
1. Has anyone done any research on how blogs are used in other disciplines -- like math, science, theatre, dance, etc......?
2. Has anyone done any research on non-academic uses of blogs--like fundraisers, informational blogs, shop blogs, travel blogs, etc........?
I'm very curious about this since I have been keeping a personal blog and also have used blogs in workshops on blogging, on genealogical research, on fundraising for Katrina clean-up. I'm thinking about expanding "Sister Dysthemia Suggests" into her own blog about "living with depression when you're the landlord." And I'd love to see what people are doing in and outside of academe.
I haven't done any research, but I'm sure there are blogs associated with every discipline. I just convinced a biologist friend that he should start a blog.
One of the things I find interesting about blogs is how they allow for a hybrid of academic and non-academic interests. There are a handful of excellent blogs, for example, that address teaching and motherhood (including, of course, esperanza). I think blogs have allowed academics to bridge more effectively the personal and professional.
One thing I like about my own blog is that it allows to write about my academic interests in a less formal mode. I would argue that blogs encourage intellectual risk because it is a lower stakes form of writing. I also have the benefit with my personal blog of having a handful of colleagues at SLCC who regularly read and respond to my posts. Many of us in my dept. blog, and I think over the past two years it has created greater cohesion in our department.
As to other non academic uses of blogs, I have a good friend who used to write a Belgian Beer Blog. I seem to have come across a fair number of knitting blogs as well.
Posted by: middlebrow | January 08, 2007 at 10:15 PM