PROJECT 1: ENTHUSIAST BLOG POST WRITE

1)What is the topic and title of your blog? Why did you choose this topic and title?
My blog is titled “Gift Catastrophe: Giftastrophe” and my topic is taking a look at bad gifts (that I’ve received or heard about from friends). I chose this topic because it’s something that could apply to anyone: we’ve all received a gift at some point in our lives that was strange, unusual or just a bad gift. I thought it would be fun to explore and kind of document things that people really shouldn’t give as gifts.

2)Describe the organization of information in your blog.
The description of my blog is right underneath my title. This way, any reader who may come across my blog will see my intentions right away, even if they don’t know what I mean by my title. Directly under that I have a generic picture of a baby opening a gift, so it sets the mood for my blog. Down the left side I have my about me profile and a picture and my blog posts are on the center/right down the page.

3)Describe the personality that you are putting forth in your blog and cite 3 places where this personality is at its strongest.
I used a comic/sarcastic personality in my blog, trying to portray the image of how we really feel when we get a strange gift but when we are forced to say “thank you” anyways. Three places where this really comes out are in my posts and in my about me:
“…growing up I have had the luxury of being bombarded with all sorts of gifts. I take pride in my own gift-giving abilities and know that unique feeling of getting a gift that you absolutely hate, makes you feel awkward or simply makes you wonder what the person was thinking when they picked it out.”

“Just to, uh, point out what seems to be obvious to me: the two glaring aspects of the cover that would set off alarm bells that this is probably not the best gift for a twelve-year-old...
1. The title includes "SEX" and "DRUGS"
2. The characters in the artwork are missing something rather important: some clothes”

“The horrifying part about these shirts is not that I have a few hiding in a corner... No, I have enough of them from over the years to open up my own store. Literally. Aside from all of the "normal" shirts that I simply didn't like wearing, one section of my closet was dedicated entirely to piles of Bonita Springs paraphernalia.”

4)How would you describe your blogging style? Why did you choose this style?
My blogging style is pretty laid back and made so that it’s accessible to most people. I chose this style because I didn’t want to have my topic be exclusive or crude.

5)How would you describe your design aesthetic? How does this aesthetic tie into your topic?
For each post, I will attempt to provide a visual accompaniment to the gift I’m describing (if I have a picture). I think this helps because many people like the instant gratification of a picture to let them know what is going on within an article, even if I give a description in words. This ties into my topic because the gifts themselves are the focus of my posts.

6)If you had more design knowledge, how might your aesthetic change? In other words, what would your ideal blog look like if you were more tech savvy and/or had more design tools to work with? What might you change and/or add?
I would really have liked to add a background behind my posts. If I had been able to create this I would have included a design that featured gift bags or a variety of wrapped presents. Also, I tried to adjust the size of the pictures I posted but had trouble sorting that out on Blogger. I also would have added some borders around the pictures to separate them from the post and give them a little more distinction.


7)What about your blog works best? What needs the most work? Please explain both answers.
I think the aspect that works best in my blog is the specific-themed posts. This gives focus to each post and provides something new each time and something for the readers to look forward to because it could be anything.
The aspect that I think needs most work is explaining more of why the gift is not a great gift, since in my posts I’m basically assuming that the reader is going to agree with me that whatever it is isn’t a good gift.

8)What was the best piece of feedback you got from your peers? Why was it helpful and how did you incorporate it (or not)?
The only peer feedback I received was from Maureen. I was glad to hear that she thought my blog was easy to follow and a topic relatable to a wide audience. I liked her idea of incorporating reader-participation by requesting readers to send in bad gifts that they’ve received. I think this would be a great way to really open it up in the future, but at the moment I’m sure my readership isn’t that widespread enough to do so!

9)If you had to describe blogging to someone who had never done it, how would you describe it? What sets writing in the electronic environment of a blog apart from other types of writing?
If I had to describe blogging to someone who had never done it, I would tell them both good and bad experiences that I’ve had throughout this project. First, I did have some technical difficulties with Blogger and I must admit, some disappointment because I don’t have the technical abilities to follow through with a lot of the ideas that I had in my mind about how I wanted to set up my blog. However, I think that even a blog with a simple set up can be a very productive and successful blog. Yes, the extra add-ons improve it, but if you can find a way to bring out your personality using words and pictures that you can create and do have access to, then it can be a great blog.

I think that writing in the blog environment is very different that other types of writing. At one point, I started to sketch through one of my posts on paper and it felt strange. For me, it’s definitely one of those things that you HAVE to write right on the computer. Also, it is a different atmosphere than if you’re writing a paper or a newspaper article.

10)Has this project changed your ideas on blogs and blogging? If so, how and why? If not, why not?
This project hasn’t really changed my ideas on blogging, but it has created an open window for me. Making a blog was something that I never really considered before this class simply because I had never been a part of that community and hadn’t taken the time to explore it on my own. Creating a blog here showed me that it really is a fun way to write, get your voice out there and be a small part of this internet community.

11.Remember, this incarnation of your blog is just the beginning. You’ll be working on it and improving it throughout the semester. With that in mind, is there a particular aspect of your blog that you want me to focus particularly closely on in terms of my feedback? If so, please expand.
Yes, I am a little worried about my “voice” in the blog overall and in my posts and how this comes off to a reader, especially a reader who doesn’t really know me very well. Could my sarcasm be misread? Also, do my posts seem complete or is there an aspect of them that seems missing? What could I improve on to make them better?