HW 17B: Most Politically Influential Blogs

After reading both the interviews and checking out both blogs I would have to side with Zuniga on this one. Zuniga was very professional during the interview and proved himself as a risk taker, which is extremely admirable. Though I am not one for politics its not bright to be apathetic. Zuniga motivated me to be apart of the world and to make a difference even if it is small. Cox's interview was boring. She wasn't very proper which to some people can be comforting, but not for me. Her responses were either short one-liners or long rants that went nowhere. Zuniga wins in my book.

HW 17: The Science of Strippers' Tips

From the "Salon: Broadsheet" blog my eye was caught by "The science of stripper tips" by Carol Lloyd: http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2007/10/04/stripper_tips/index.html?source=rss&aim=broadsheet
In fact they celebrate the fact that, "A new study finds that strippers make more money when they're ovulating"(opening pp.) Geoffrey Miller, a psychologist at the University of New Mexico studies the breakthrough. He claims that observers could guess nearly 60 percent of the time whether a woman was ovulating based on her dress. I think it's hillarious that people actually study things as rediculous as this. Sure, women can be complicated...but why complicate more? Miller does have good points supported the fluctuation in wage. It's quite interesting and worth reading.

HW 16b: The Five Pillars

Robert Scoble is interviewed about the five pillars the made blogging so popular. He explains why really simple syndication is so important. RSS is defined as allowing a blogger to offer his Weblog for people to subscibe to, as well as to integrate links and news from other websites. The first pillar discussed is "ease of publishing": blogs need to be simple for people to navigate them properly. The second is "discoverability". How easy is it for people to find your blog? The third pillar is "cross-site conversations". Make the Weblog eclectic in that all people are comfortable to post and or change the topic. The fourth pillar is listed as "permalinking". This simplifies accessing a post. Finally the fifth pillar is "syndication" which allows you to check out a number of sites as you expand your network.

HW 14: Take An Obsession, Then Feed It!

While being interviewed Denton Explains that the formula is actually very simple: "Take an obsession -say, a gadget obsession-and feed it." (Kline & Burstein, pg. 151) Therefore the more you give the audience, the more then will want to read. He is asked whether or not he believes that blogs represent more of an evolution than a revolution. "Yeah, but sometimes it has the effect of a revolution."(Kline & Burstein, pg. 155) Furthermore it can destroy whole industries. After all, at some point, music compression and digital music files collaborated. As a result blogs will begin to transform the news business on a larger scale.

HW 13: Blogs Will Change Your Business

Blogging is an information revolution that can be so personal it could potentially get you fired from your job. Or at least that's the case for Mark Jen, a former Google employee, who started blogging about his first days on the job. In the blog he complained about the the less than generous health plan and how "Google's free food was an enticement for employees to work past dinner. (Kline & Burstein, pg. 225) Two weeks later Jen was fired. Google may have completely overreacted, but they were making a statement to other bloggers at the company.
Blogging has had a huge impact on businesses no matter what's being sold. Who could answer whether blogging and communication is more influential than blogging and business. And frankly, who really cares? Although this may seem of concern to only a small group of bloggers, it should in fact concern anyone who cares about their business at all.

HW 11: Making Global Voices Heard

hoder.com/weblog. A weblog about Iran, technology and pop culture, by Hossein Derakhshan. He blogs in English and Persian, and is responsible for triggering thousands of Persian blogs both within Iran and amongst the Iranian diaspora. The blog as it now exists still corresponds to MacKinnon's view of it. Many young Iranians have come to this blog to speak their mind and get to know eachother online. It seems that these Iranians have been careful about what they're saying due to people going to jail. Yet some readers may challenge my view that people are holding back how they feel because why would they say something if they couldn't fully state what they ment or how they feel. However the Iranian government is taking it seriously and viewing it as a challenge to its power.

HW 9: Punching Holes In Old Faded Mirrors

I have chosen to respond to "Punching Holes In Old Faded Mirrors", an interview with Arianna Huffington. I Found this article most compelling. I agree that gas-guzzling SUV's are linked to terrorism, a point that needs emphasizing since so many people believe otherwise. The "blogazine", or the Huffington Post, is a vital part of the media industry and will contribute to the national ebate on a wide range of issues. Huffington's theory that blogs have made a huge difference is extremely useful because it sheds light on the difficult problem of media's attention defecit disorder. The media can only focus on one story at a time while blogs can jump back and forth between topics. Huffington is surely right about the theory that if you put thoughts and ideas out there and they'll enter the cultural bloodstream. "You don't need to reach everbody in order to have an impact". (Kline & Burstein, pg. 348)