Always Learning!!

At first I was a bit intimidated and skeptical about critiquing my fellow classmate’s blogs. I am just now understanding it more thoroughly myself so how could I possibly have anything to say? Well, I definitely surprised myself. I found that it was fairly simple to differentiate between what I liked and what I disliked. In the “real world” I highly doubt that someone would stumble across a blog and refuse to read through it because the color of the background is not to their liking. As long as it is aesthetically appealing, easy to understand, and well- written it can draw you in. This is something I have really enjoyed about making my own blog. There is creative freedom to a large degree which can be an extension of who you are and your own creativity and professionalism.

In my dissection of a few blogs these are the components that stood out to me as good ideas to incorporate. Jodi Rama’s introduction immediately sucked me in. Her introduction is, “Getting caught up in the hustle and bustle has become a natural part of life. We all have amazingly busy lives, so who has the time to 'stop and smell the roses'? You do. Follow me on little Pieces in Time and you will realize the urgency on the time crunch to make the most of those little moments” (Rama, 2010). Are you serious?? I love this introduction! All I wanted to do was continue reading and I was not disappointed because she consistently incorporated the concept behind her introduction throughout her posts. A good introduction is so important because we are so used to instant gratification that something less than catchy may cause someone to turn away from the blog immediately. It made me realize that my posts do not really reflect my blog title. I plan on changing it to something more appropriate before it is due to be completed.

Another aspect I found to be important was that the presentation needed to come across as professional since this is supposed to be a “professional blog”. Jason Knapp’s blog just screams professionalism. The background consists of different shades of blue which for some reason I associate with being proficient. His introduction is, “Discussions On Communication And How It Influences Our Lives” (Knapp, 2010). Immediately I knew that this was a professional blog geared towards communications. His font is simple and easy to read which causes you to feel compelled to continue exploring what he has to say. His blog made me realize that I have a lot of work to do on my blog. I like mine but it is not quite as professional as I would like for it to be.

Lori Klosterman’s blog is just lovely. She uses a brown and peach background that is visually appealing and is not too distracting. She discusses personal aspects of her life saying, “This has been a whirlwind weekend. It started off Friday night, the last day of school for my daughter, Grace, and she was excited! A local church was having its annual festival, and a number of her friends were going to be there. Of course, she had to go” (Klosterman, 2010). She also incorporates professional and well-written posts saying, “Having a clear plan, meeting with the difficult employee, and outlining your expectations of that employee will help to give a realistic, achievable goal to work toward in bettering his or her behavior. With the oversight of a manager who has demonstrated care and concern for all of his employees, positive results can be attained” (Klosterman, 2010). I like the fact that she incorporates personal and professional information and thoughts. The personal posts show her personality and individuality while her professional posts exude a qualified and skilled understanding about communication. It definitely inspired me to make my blog more interesting.

My praises are a bit more extensive than my criticisms. Maybe this is because I have a difficult time criticizing people or maybe it is because these blogs were very good in my opinion. That being said, the only faults I saw are as follows. Lori might need to incorporate subheadings as to make it easier to read her posts. I had the same critique and I agree with it. Subheadings break up the posts so they do not seem quite as daunting. Jodi’s main picture takes away from the idea of professionalism because it is of family members but I still love the picture! Jason also incorporates pictures which may take away from the “professionalism” but I like that he added them because it gives us a glimpse into his life.

At first I was a bit intimidated and skeptical about critiquing my fellow classmate’s blogs. Even so, I am realizing that our blogs have to balance professionalism as well as creativity. They must be simple but well-written as to draw the reader in and also be understandable. There are a LOT of blogs out there and yours has to stand out and show individuality. It also has to be aesthetically interesting without overwhelming the reader. Creating blogs is fairly simple but they really are an art unto themselves. It is about promoting yourself and doing it in a way that you are proud of. You are displaying your work and your skills in a public arena. I just hope to live up to these expectations.

References
Klosterman, L. (2010). Lori’s Libratory Life. Blogspot.
http://lorislibratorylife.blogspot.com/.
Knapp, J. (2010). Musings With JFK. Blogspot. http://musingswithjfk.blogspot.com/.
Rama, J. (2010). Pieces in Time. Blogspot. http://piecesintimewithjr.blogspot.com/.