My Blogging Experience

This semester I was challenged with the task of starting a blog and updating it weekly for my Media Law and Literacy class. I took this as a chance to write about topics that are interesting to me yet still relating to the class topics. 

Some topics I covered along the way are the Music Modernization Act, an Antitrust Investigation into Google, the Supreme Court, Individual Self-Fulfillment, students valuing their grades over their comprehension, the invention of the Camera Phone, Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation, and questioning if privacy still exists in today's world. Although all of these topics were interesting to investigate and form my own opinion on, my favorite blog posts to write were When Did We Become Prisoners to Our Smartphones?, My Online Presence, WikiLeaks, and Cord Cutting. These topics were my favorite to write blogs on because I found out that I had strong opinions on them that I felt confident enough to share. A major part of blogging is finding out how to use your voice and formatting it properly. I believe through these four blogs listed above I was able to do just that.

In the blog, When Did We Become Prisoners to Our Smartphone that was reflecting on this video I was able to form an opinion that our society's addiction to our smartphones and social media is destroying us even if there are some positive aspects to owning a smartphone and participating in social media.  

In the blog, My Online Presence, I explored how much of my life I share online. I discovered I share probably more than most people through documenting moments in my life on YouTube and constantly sharing photos on Instagram/Instagram Stories and Facebook. I came to the conclusion that it is alarming how much someone could find out about me through my online presence but that I can protect myself somewhat through privacy settings. I decided I will continue to share parts of my life on social media to keep my friends and family up to date. 

Before I wrote the blog about WikiLeaks, I did not know anything about it. This allowed me to research WikiLeaks and form an opinion without pre-existing opinions interfering. I was able to determine that "There are instances where crucial information is revealed through WikiLeaks that people have tried to hide which I think is important for the public to be aware of. Also, mainstream news sources can be biased so WikiLeaks can provide another point of view. However, users of the site must remember to investigate what is published to determine the facts". 

In the blog that discusses cord-cutting, I was able to share the benefits of canceling your pay-TV plans from my point of view. My family is one of the many households that have canceled their pay-TV plans. With this, I was able to provide a recommendation of switching to YouTube TV to save money and share that in the future I will not be purchasing my own Cable TV plan. 

Keeping a weekly blog this semester has led me to be a more informed individual. I am not one who keeps up with the news and events going on around me but through the process of researching topics to write about I was able to gain an understanding of how important it is to be plugged in with the world surrounding me. For future students taking this class or anyone who wants to start a blog, I recommend that you blog about topics that fascinate you that way the blog posts come naturally and do not seem like a difficult task. I found out that I enjoy blogging and hope to start a new more personal blog in the near future.