Draft #1

Here is my first draft of the formal essay. You may edit it if you want.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ATMvchvxrOF0ZGQ2dGs0YzVfMGRucDY0N2d4&hl=en

Blogging Thus Far

Through the course of this whole blogging process that has begun to take place in my English 105 class, I will not be so bold as to say that I have greatly changed the way I think about things, but I can honestly say that I have been enlightened on a few different things. First and foremost, I have been exposed to blogging for the first time, and I have to say that it is more “fun” than I thought it would be. I like the idea of putting your own ideas out there for anyone to see and comment on. Secondly, I have been able to see my other classmates’ opinions on certain topics, and I have found out that there are multiple sides to an issue, and both sides can make valid points. Just because one side of an issue makes one good point, it doesn’t mean that that side is right. Through the course of this blogging process, I have come to realize that in most cases, both sides of an issue are usually “right,” based on how you look at the situation. Thirdly, I have had a new awareness of how some professionals look at how the internet is affecting our society. Most of the articles that we read were based on the internet and the fact that technology is making people lazy. I am not saying that I agree that the internet is increasing illiteracy in our society, but rather, I am saying that I have learned other people’s views on certain issues.

Surprisingly, I have not been faced with very much difficulty in writing these blog posts. Before, I am sure that I would have felt that it would be a pain to write these posts, but once I sat down to write responses to the articles, the words seemed to just flow out onto the screen. Most of the difficulty was in writing truly how I felt, knowing that my other classmates were going to read it. Sometimes, I was apprehensive to write the exact thoughts that were in my head, and I would try to find ways to twist my words in order to say my thoughts without thinking I would offend someone. Overall, I feel that I expressed what I needed to say, and I am glad that I am being exposed to writing blog posts.

"How We Failed the Next Generation"

This article is about just as it says, how the new generation of our age has been failed because they are so accustomed to the internet. I do not agree with this article, but it will serve as good counter-evidence.

http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0BzMvchvxrOF0ZmEyZWI0NDktY2FmMS00NDgzLThlODUtMjNmNWU1M2Y5ZjRl&hl=en

How is the Internet Affecting Our Society?

I think that we all get Chris Hedges’ point. He is sad that the age of newspapers is dying and he want to put all of the blame on the Internet. His negative and pessimistic tone that he uses about the way our society tries to obtain information is almost too much for me to handle. I understand that he must have a deep love and appreciation for newspapers, but no one ever said that he can’t read them anymore. They are still out there for anyone to make use of.

Our society is simply making the transition from one form of technology to another. Just as the transition of news being spread by word of mouth went to the newspaper, the newspaper is now evolving to the Internet. I am sure that there were many people that did not appreciate the newspaper when it first was invented. But the newspaper turned out to be a great invention. Yes there will always be some negative effects in this evolution process, but like anything, when placed in a new environment, it will adapt in order to fit the environment. Yes, newspaper writers and editors may be losing their jobs. But there are plenty of opportunities out there for them to find new areas of expertise. I personally think that the internet is a better way of obtaining news anyways. Because newspapers are so biased and slanted, you are only getting one perspective a newspaper story. On the internet, it is so easy to search for many different sides to a particular story, and you can form your views or opinions based on the many different perspectives that were offered to you.

When it comes to Thompson’s article, I was very appreciative of it. I agree based on my personal experiences that many adolescents are practicing poor grammar, etc. on a regular basis via text messaging, facebook, and so on. But when those same adolescents sit down and write an academic essay, it is no problem for them to make the transition into a more formal tone. I thought it was interesting when the author says, “The Stanford students were almost always less enthusiastic about their in-class writing because it had no audience but the professor: It didn't serve any purpose other than to get them a grade.” I had never really thought about this before. Writing is a lot more fun, at least to me, when I know that many other people will be reading it and judging me accordingly.

I also know so many people that use the Internet to discuss/debate certain issues with other people around the world. This is obviously a great way to not only practice writing skills in a more formal way, but also communication and debate skills with other people. I completely agree with Clive Thompson’s article. The use of the Internet may not be the most formal way of writing, but it is allowing the young people of our society to practice their writing in a way that they enjoy, so they will get more exposure to writing, and that will in turn make them more well-rounded people.

Illiteracy in America

After reading Hedge’s article, “America the Illiterate,” I am quite disturbed by the facts and figures that he presented. I have somewhat of an awareness of the poverty that is present in our country today, but I had no idea it was as bad as what Hedge projects. Although, I am not very surprised at my reaction, because I have not really been exposed to very many people in poverty throughout my life thus far. I was knocked off of my feet at the statistic that only twenty percent of adults in America have high school diplomas. It is hard for me to believe. This may sound very cliché, but article has made me appreciate the fact that I have been blessed with a high school education, not to mention a college education and possibly even a further education past the college level.

I do question one specific part of Hedge’s article. When he compares presidential speech levels over time, I do not really see the connection to the rest of the article. I was under the impression that the article was about the amount of illiteracy in America. Why should it matter how the literacy of our nation’s leaders is changing over time, at least in the context of this article. And furthermore, I don’t really see the point in classifying the way that our presidential candidates speak in a debate based on a grade level. As time goes on, language changes. For this reason, I do not think that it is plausible to compare someone’s speech skills of today’s generation someone’s of 150 years ago.

When comparing Hedge’s article to Carr’s article, there are definitely some similarities and differences. Both articles are making the audience aware of problems or potential problems that our society faces today. However, I feel that Hedge is bringing about a little more serious of a problem. I do seem to see a theme in each of the writers’ viewpoints: if they can create more awareness of problems that our society is facing, that may be the first step in solving the problems.

Response to "Is Google Making Us Stupid?"

I will say this flat out…I do not believe that the internet is making us stupid, and I completely disagree with the author’s point of view. The internet is a modern tool that has been given to us to use to “build” something—knowledge, friendships, etc. if you will. This is a very handy tool that we have at our hands, and our society has the potential to and can do many different things with it. I think that it is ridiculous to say that it is making us “lazy.”

To those who say that the internet is making us “lazy,” I believe that it is just those same people that are allowing themselves to become “lazy.” You are solely in control of whether or not you want to feel lackadaisical or not; the internet is not some feverish virus that infects our bodies and tampers with our brains. There are so many beneficial things that the internet brings to the table, and it is absurd to think that we should waste this God-given gift that is made available to us.

For me at least, I am just as distracted when I read a book as when I am reading an article on the web. Although it may be easy for me to procrastinate more on the web because of facebook, YouTube, etc., I believe that the internet can teach you good time-management skills. Now that I think about it I can also easily procrastinate when reading a book or something of that nature. There are just as many distractions around the house, workplace, etc. then there are on the web.

So, in conclusion to the initial question that was put forward to us in this article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?,” I say that no, Google is not making us stupid, rather it is the people that allow themselves to become stupid that are writing articles like this.

Harris vs. Sullivan

In Harris’ book, Rewriting, after reading the introduction and the first chapter entitled “Coming to Terms,” I am beginning to see how Joseph Harris defines reading and writing. In their most basic form, reading and writing is a process. That is what I took away from his text. When conducting a draft or any type of writing that contains support from someone else’s work, Harris says that the first step is to be able to get the author’s point across in one’s own words. This is defined as coming to terms with the resource that one is using. Coming to terms is just one of five steps in the process of “rewriting.” The other four are: forwarding, countering, taking an approach, and revising. This idea of rewriting is the art of taking someone’s ideas and “drawing from, commenting on, and adding to the work of others.”

Even though I personally do not see many parallels between Harris’ understanding of writing and Sullivan’s understanding of blogging, I do see one main similarity. Both take on the form of a response to something. Harris’ way of writing is a technique to write a good response/argument to another work, just as Sullivan’s way of blogging can be a response to a political, economic, social, etc. event/idea. However, Harris uses a more formal way of writing where there is a long and drawn out process of drafting a text, where Sullivan uses the form of a blog post where it is more spontaneous and less thought out.

I am not saying that one style of writing is more advantageous than the other. Both styles of writing are beneficial in their own ways. Harris’ style is more formal/professional whereas Sullivan’s style is more informal.

Is the Spider Living in the World Wide Web Poisonous? Or Not?

After going through all of my classmates’ blogs, I have come to the conclusion that my peers and I seem very similar when it comes to surfing the web. In pretty much everyone’s case, Facebook takes up the majority of time when it comes to internet use. Time is also well spent checking and responding to emails, which actually can be very time-consuming. There are also many music websites that are popular to visit, because let’s just face it, everyone likes their own form of music. Then there is YouTube…anyone and everyone can find something to enjoy on YouTube. Whether it is music videos, comedy, or movie trailers, there is something for everyone on YouTube.

Other than these sites and maybe a few others, it then comes down to the more specific sites that one person may love and use all of the time, and another may despise and never use. Just to name a few, sites like espn, Wikipedia, blogging sites, and newspaper sites may be visited many times by some, but not so many by others. I am not saying that these sites are disadvantageous, but rather I am saying that different people have their own personalities, and these personalities naturally do not accommodate all forms of entertainment/learning.

So, I guess it is safe to say that the world wide web has become very prominent in our society, a very, very large crutch, if you will. People can use the internet for so many different things—that is the beauty of it. It is a place with no or very few regulations, where people can do seemingly limitless tasks. I feel that our society has definitely passed the point to where people will be bored out of their minds if for some reason the internet was unavailable. I mean, this is not completely a bad thing. At least we are using the resources that we have. But being too attached to something or relying too much on something is certainly never a good thing.

Internet Usage Over Two Days

These two days were over Labor Day weekend, so my internet usage was more sporadic and limited. If normal, I would probably spend more time on Youtube and Facebook doing pointless things to keep my time occupied...

Day 1:

11:36 am—Checked Yahoo email

11:39 am—Managed Youtube profile

11:44 am—Checked Louisville email and responded to emails

11:50 am—Checked Facebook

11:57 am--Offline

3:56 pm—Checked Yahoo email

4:00 pm—Watched videos on Youtube (mainly music videos)

4:17 pm—Checked Facebook, chat with friends, respond to wall posts, etc.

4:31 pm—Checked Louisville email

4:38 pm--Offline

10:21 pm—Facebook (chat)

10:42 pm--Offline

Day 2:

1:09 pm—Checked Yahoo and Louisville emails, responded, etc.

1:24 pm—Facebook (responded to messages)

1:35 pm--Offline

8:17 pm—Checked Yahoo and Louisville emails, no responses

8:20 pm—Facebook (mainly chat)

8:37 pm—Youtube (watching a video a friend sent me and then just music videos)

8:54 pm--Offline

Response to "Why I Blog" by Andrew Sullivan

In Andrew Sullivan’s article “Why I Blog,” he attempts to answer just that—why he blogs. Although he conveys many different advantages and benefits to blogging, I feel that the main reason he blogs is because it different. In his article, he highlights how bloggers and their readers have a special connection—more than that of a newspaper writer and his or her reader. He also compares blogging to jazz music—it is just a different way of writing and reading in the same way that jazz is a different way of playing and listening.

As mentioned before, Sullivan describes the special bond that a blogger has with his or her audience. Since blogging is such a personal and open way of writing, the only way to describe the relationship, in Sullivan’s opinion, is as a friendship. Both exchange their own thoughts and ideas interpersonally, which forms the unique bond between them.

Sullivan also compares the blogs that we have today to the logs that sailors kept on ships years ago. These logs were the only concrete evidence of the memories and events that would happen on the voyages. Where a memory on the voyage would escape the mind, a person would simply have to reference the log in order to be re-reminded. In a similar manner, this is what blogs do for people today. Sullivan recalls many of the historical events that have happened since he has been keeping a blog just by going back and rereading his posts.

So, in conclusion, I feel that Sullivan keeps a blog and supports blogging because of the many conveniences that it offers. It is also much more of a spontaneous way of portraying thoughts to the world, where one can feed off of the criticism that others have to offer.