This definition revision is saddening, though. I know (read live with) many students who study nothing more than our premium cable package. Yes, Dexter is a phenomenal meditation on the psyche of a homicidal detective and artful display of suspense, but where is the intellectual pretension in Spike TV's Ultimate Fighting Championship?
I believe academia should be held to a higher standard. Not only does consideration for such a title require advanced knowledge in the field of study, but continued pursuit of new information. Academics should have a constant desire to expand their understanding of a subject they find fascinating. And through teaching, this energy, this joy of learning will be passed on to eager and interested students.
So, with an incredibly high brow, I will look down upon other blogs and judge. What I am really doing is using specific criteria to gauge their supposedly academic presentation of thought to better tailor my efforts here. And the criteria are... [drum roll please]...
The Visual: Or Do I Know your Purpose at First Glance
Credibility and Voice AKA By whose authority?
Depth of Ideas and "Whatchu talkin bout, blogger?"
and finally... Who is your Readership and what do they do?
Credibility and Voice AKA By whose authority?
Depth of Ideas and "Whatchu talkin bout, blogger?"
and finally... Who is your Readership and what do they do?
This guy was in luck. I know Bordwell, as I have read his articles on film theory time and again. If you don't know who he is, though, a quick glance to the upper right corner of his home page lays out the credentials: Jacques Ledoux Professor of Film Studies, Department of Communication Arts, University of Wisconsin-Madison. He provides a personal email, as well as a link to curriculum vitae, listing more instances of publication than I can count. And with this credibility comes intense understanding and scrutiny of a plethora of cinema-related subjects. History. Theory. Form. Movements. Aesthetics. And it is all displayed in black text over a clean, white background. Links are used sparingly, mostly on the left and right wings for site navigation to different pages, highlighted articles, and his work in print. As in his "old media" writings, the use of images is directly related to textual subject, usually complimenting a scene description or exemplifying an aesthetic quality (mise-en-scene, etc.).
All academic-esque visual layout and clear sense of authority on the fairly specified subject aside, Bordwell's posts are incredibly long, often without a single comment. So, the last question remains: who is he writing for? Are his students his audience or other professors in the field?
Yep. You guessed it. That's Josep Colomer on the left and a quick look to the upper right corner of his blog lets you know that:"I am a Professor in Political Science, elected member of the Academia Europaea and life-member of the American Political Science Association. I use this blog to interact with colleagues, former students and other people interested in the science of politics and political economy. All are welcome to use this resource."
As Professor Colomer states, his blog sticks to the subject of political science, in a fairly dry, yet knowledgeable way. What worked for Bordwell's visual (black text over white) makes Colomer's blog appear uninteresting. One feature of note is the use of keywords (similarly noted in bold and blue), which allows for fruitful page scanning. Unfortunately, the keywords are easily confused with links, thereby serving as a means of distraction.
Speaking of links... not much in that category. For a political blog with such poignant stances of hot issues, there are few sources. It is as if these ideas are generated just behind the eyes of that fellow pictured above. Any academic would know that no thought stands without the influence of historical and social experiences. Surely, Professor Colomer could have lead his readers to sources for more information.
Again, I say readers rather presumptively. The greatest number of comments was for a Christmas card, mostly taking the form of "Merry Christmas to you too. Best wishes, Some other Political Science Professor." Is it the black and white text that pushes readers away? Or do political scientists not comment on each other's blogs, but retort on their own blog instead?
Out of the Crooked Timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made.
So is titled the blog which I cannot copy the banner image from. Hmmm, maybe this one has a bit more knowledge of the inter-workings of the web. It should, with upwards of seventeen contributors, but in this wider array of voices lies the task of establishing credibility.
First, the visual: do I know your purpose at first glance. No, but it looks good. Again, the black text on white background, but Crooked Timber (CT) utilizes a black border and red links, making for a strong color pallet. So what is being discussed here? Well, everything.
Not everything, exactly, but a multitude of timely subjects (from economics to social issues) through a 'hip' academic eye. With a quick click on the contributor's names, a reader is taken to their personal blog. From there credentials can be hunted down. The short of the long is that these people all work at Universities and are well-informed enough to be spouting off their own opinions.
Lacking in Colomer's blog, CT links to additional information and references source material when need be. Another differentiating factor is readership, which appears to be high for CT. With dozens of meaningful comments for each post, this site exemplifies a point made by Andrew Sullivan: Readers are truly editors and contributors themselves, shedding light on new viewpoints and correcting mistakes.
As far as these three academic blogs, the choice is clear; CT takes the crown. Its aesthetically appealing, limiting the length of posts. I trust the voice of collective academics more than the limited opinion of a single professor. What they say has merit and people are listening and feeding back.
While these sites exemplify (to differing degrees) the sphere in which I want Blog-a-Blog to operate, there is no doubt that originality will prove most important to retaining readership. So, what should I take away from these academic evaluations and what is best kept separate?
Speaking of links... not much in that category. For a political blog with such poignant stances of hot issues, there are few sources. It is as if these ideas are generated just behind the eyes of that fellow pictured above. Any academic would know that no thought stands without the influence of historical and social experiences. Surely, Professor Colomer could have lead his readers to sources for more information.
Again, I say readers rather presumptively. The greatest number of comments was for a Christmas card, mostly taking the form of "Merry Christmas to you too. Best wishes, Some other Political Science Professor." Is it the black and white text that pushes readers away? Or do political scientists not comment on each other's blogs, but retort on their own blog instead?
Out of the Crooked Timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made.
So is titled the blog which I cannot copy the banner image from. Hmmm, maybe this one has a bit more knowledge of the inter-workings of the web. It should, with upwards of seventeen contributors, but in this wider array of voices lies the task of establishing credibility.
First, the visual: do I know your purpose at first glance. No, but it looks good. Again, the black text on white background, but Crooked Timber (CT) utilizes a black border and red links, making for a strong color pallet. So what is being discussed here? Well, everything.
Not everything, exactly, but a multitude of timely subjects (from economics to social issues) through a 'hip' academic eye. With a quick click on the contributor's names, a reader is taken to their personal blog. From there credentials can be hunted down. The short of the long is that these people all work at Universities and are well-informed enough to be spouting off their own opinions.
Lacking in Colomer's blog, CT links to additional information and references source material when need be. Another differentiating factor is readership, which appears to be high for CT. With dozens of meaningful comments for each post, this site exemplifies a point made by Andrew Sullivan: Readers are truly editors and contributors themselves, shedding light on new viewpoints and correcting mistakes.
As far as these three academic blogs, the choice is clear; CT takes the crown. Its aesthetically appealing, limiting the length of posts. I trust the voice of collective academics more than the limited opinion of a single professor. What they say has merit and people are listening and feeding back.
While these sites exemplify (to differing degrees) the sphere in which I want Blog-a-Blog to operate, there is no doubt that originality will prove most important to retaining readership. So, what should I take away from these academic evaluations and what is best kept separate?
While Crooked Timber is king, my sole authorship of this blog is a fundamental separation from what makes them successful. That said, they do not display any images and reading the site for an extended period of time makes the eyes tired.
I found little of Colomer's blog appealing, but his strict adherence to the suggested subject matter would definitely define his audience for appropriate communication.
Lastly, from Bordwell's blog I take away the clean visual composition of the web page, as well as the clearly defined subject matter (that is strictly adhered to) and careful interplay of images and text only when applicable. On the flip side, I believe that more concise posts will yield better readership. So from now on... one post, one point. [Scanning this post up and down] Well maybe not.
I found little of Colomer's blog appealing, but his strict adherence to the suggested subject matter would definitely define his audience for appropriate communication.
Lastly, from Bordwell's blog I take away the clean visual composition of the web page, as well as the clearly defined subject matter (that is strictly adhered to) and careful interplay of images and text only when applicable. On the flip side, I believe that more concise posts will yield better readership. So from now on... one post, one point. [Scanning this post up and down] Well maybe not.
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